Interview: Abhay Sharma 'I wish I had the opportunity to work with Rahul Dravid earlier'

Interview: Abhay Sharma ‘I wish I had the opportunity to work with Rahul Dravid earlier’: Today if we are in a position to call the Indian cricket team a bunch which also among the best fieldingrail side in the world, it has got a lot to do with the way India has worked upon its fielding at the basic levels. Go across and watch a club game being played on the Maidans of Mumbai or those around the country, a common feature would be the boys as young as 12 or 13 to those in their late teens are not reluctant fielders on the field. They don’t think twice before sliding on to stop a ball or to put in a dive to take a catch or a spectacular looking attempt just to save a single.

That wasn’t the case if we look back 6 or 7 years from today. So how has this been possible? How have things changed so drastically and in such little span; from having fielders who were liabilities while on the field to those who are capable of turning matches on the back of their effort? Yes, the facilities have improved, the grounds now have a greener cover, the chances of getting yourself injured has come down; but it has a lot to do with the confidence. The belief that they can pull something off without hurting themselves, that they have the caliber and physical abilities of standing along the best fielders in the world has made a world of difference to the fielding standards of Indian cricket.

And how has this change come about? This chemistry of good fielding needed a catalyst to ensure this process occurs smoother and without the harmful effects (injury in this case). The fielding coaches we have had in the recent past have played the role of the catalyst pretty perfectly and have ensured India no longer carries fielders as baggage’s but are swift enough to lift this 3^rd aspect of the game to another and a defining level.

India A’s fielding coach Abhay Sharma has been one of those guys, he has been the medium that has helped players right from the preliminary age group levels to the pro’s who field for India A.

After India A’s win over Bangladesh A in the limited overs series, which comes on the back of their tri-series win, which also involved South Africa A and Australia A CricTracker got Abhay Sharma to share his insight about India’s fielding, the experience of working with the young brigade and Rahul Dravid.

Abhay Sharma is better known as Abhay Sir how does it feel when even those elder to you call you Sir? How it been thus far?

I am still Abhay Sharma, people refereeing me Sir is a different thing. But yes, it has been really nice, have put in a lot of effort for this and looking forward to working hard in the future as well.

You’ve spent quite some time at the Railways, how was your journey with the team?

I played for the Railways and was given the captaincy in 2000, we got to the finals that year but couldn’t win; I was the captain in the 2001 season as well and that is when we won it and we also won Irani Trophy that season. The experience with Railways was tremendous, really good memories, fantastic memories in fact, and had some very good fellow cricketers there, who have done well in their cricketing career, met some very good human beings and friends.

Isn’t it exciting to work with Rahul Dravid and so many young, dynamic and vibrant boys, the likes of Unmukt Chand, Sanju Samson who are the future of Indian Cricket? And how drastically have the fielding standards in India changed?

Fantastic, outstanding I should say, he (Rahul Dravid) is a great human being; it’s been a learning curve for me working under him and I wish I had this opportunity to work under him earlier. But whenever the opportunity came I am really thankful to everyone who have put up my name for this job. He is a cricketing genius and a really good human being; I would say the best person I have ever met.

From being termed a slow or uninspired fielding unit to having the confidence of pulling off unimaginable stuff on the field, what has played a major role in this quantum of change?

Fielding a really important aspect which is often not given the due attention; the thing is we have been working on fielding and wicket keeping with very specific efforts and that is why it has improved. It is not just because of the coaches, but it was with some big effort from the young players who have come in. Whatever new methodology or techniques we try to find and implement, they are able to implement those in match situation, it is really good to see that the fielding standards, the target hitting, the attempts for catches has improved a lot and that has been noticed by the spectators as well. The first thing is once the player starts believing something different is happening to him and he is the first one to notice that there is some improvement in my game and as he grows, it is really evident for those watching as well.

Hasn’t the coaching job changed? With kids coming in who already know a lot about the technical aspects of the game, they have the internet at disposal plus so much of technology around.

I must tell you it is really easy to cope up with these guys, since I have been working with them from U-15, U-16 levels, I was at the NCA camp, have done a lot of work with them from there till the U-19 level. It is good to see that now they are graduating into the senior level; it is like most of the boys are not new to me and I am not new to them, so they pick things up really well, many times even with my body language and sometimes I need not tell them, they just understand my reactions and signs. We don’t talk much during the practice sessions and now the scenario is that they all know what message has been conveyed just with the signs.

How much is it about the mental aspect than just physical efforts?

Actually technique is good, talent is good but as far as performance is concerned you have to be mentally tough during the pressure situation to perform and that is the key area. This has been a great year for the youngsters and India A that Rahul has come in as the Coach, and he has been working on those areas mental and all preparation kind of things and has been creating an atmosphere which supports them I think these youngsters are really lucky to have Rahul as the head coach and since I have been working with them from the age group level we don’t have the atmosphere that we are the coaches, it is really a friendly atmosphere in the team now.

Looking forward to your stint with Himachal Pradesh? While there is a certain air that since Abhay Sir is coming in HP cricket will see definite change.

Himachal Pradesh is a really good team, they have some really good youngsters and it is a young side, there are some challenges as well, since Himachal is a tough state geographically and the weather there is tough as well so we have to cope up with that, the low temp and all. But as far as infrastructure is concerned I think Himachal Pradesh has one of the best infrastructures in India under the guidance of Shri. Anurag Thakur, he has done a fantastic job and he has a really good team, of committed people who are working for Himachal cricket.

Gurkeerat Mann from the India A side has been included in the Indian limited-overs team to play against South Africa, do you think he will fit into the number 6 slot, that designated for the all-rounder in the team?

Yea definitely he is a really talented player, he is one player who is a good batsman and rotates the strike, and he can hit the ball long. As far as bowling is concerned we have seen that he can bowl well. He can bowl under pressure as well and he is a good prospect for the future, is a sharp fielder as well and is a complete package. I wish him luck with the seniors team but in the end the decision to play a certain player at any position is up for the management to decide and I would not like to comment on that.

Lastly tell us how you look at the future of Indian cricket, you coach Ranji teams and are with the India A team as well, these youngsters know they have the future of Indian cricket relying on them?

I’ll be very honest in saying this that some of the youngsters are really good; they are going to be world-class players. We have some talented guys who are mentally tough and know how to perform at the top-level and the best part is they are all willing to work hard, whatever technique we are trying to implement in fielding, like working on the reaction, and the techniques that improve target hitting to help create run out opportunities, or striking the wickets. They are all really open to these ideas and with Rahul there they are all comfortable, they share their ideas and the exchange is there at both ends and it’s a really happy dressing room actually. And that has been a positive influence.