Sandhu set to achieve new coaching benchmarks

Balwinder Singh Sandhu wedged into our memory after wrecking Gordon Greenidge's stumps with an in-swinger in the 1983 World Cup final. He now aims to enrich our memory beyond disturbed stumps and a miffed Greenidge. ``I want to raise the level of coaching and help the players realise their potential,'' he says while discussing his new role as the National Cricket Academy (NCA) head coach.

A firm head might chime loud but when he started out as a coach in 1991, it almost became a case of running feet. ``The first day in the Bombay Cricket Association's (BCA) Mafatlal scheme for bowlers was harrowing. That was in 1991. When I saw the faulty actions, wrong techniques....I almost felt like running away. But I thought `okay just one more week' and soon I was hooked to coaching,'' he says.

Setting new coaching benchmarks and dwelling in the fireplace of lateral thinking might be Sandhu's present karma but the past was a case of moving with the tide.

``As a kid I never dreamt of playing for India. I was always a tennis ball cricketer. But then my pals joined these summer cricket camps and I was left out. Soon I joined them and once I played for Mumbai, I visualised playing for the West Zone and later India,'' he says.

However in the quirky world of sports, limelight and fade out are bosom pals and soon Sandhu was out in the wilderness after playing 8 Test matches and 22 one-dayers.

``I did have a few bad matches and I was out,'' he says while selection foibles presented a silent backdrop. However in his book of a strong self-esteem, there is no chapter on past regrets.

The present gives a bearhug to hope as Sandhu handles the NCA reins. ``The academy is doing well and with the zonal academies functioning as a feeder system, more talent will come through,'' he says.

He stepped in after last year's NCA team - director Hanumant Singh and coach Vasu Paranjpe - resigned citing personal reasons. Sandhu now heads a team of coaches including Erapalli Prasanna and Jayantilal while physio Dr. Arjun Singh Rana and consultant Roger Binny chip in with specialised inputs. And the KSCA secretary Brijesh Patel in his new role as the NCA director lends the infrastructural muscle.

Cricketing skills and fitness yardsticks do govern Sandhu's vision at the NCA but a foster father's tone chips in when he says, ``They (trainees) are adolescents and sometimes their behaviour will be whimsical. It's upto us to give them the necessary support.''

English and Hindi roll of his tongue while he probes the trainees' minds and bolsters their spirits with a pep talk.

``Communication is very important. Research says only 20 per cent of what is said is usually retained. But visuals and demonstration increases the retention levels. I am working on these aspects during my classroom sessions,'' he says.

Reverence is an abiding tone when talk veers towards coach Frank Tyson. But sometimes reverence does have roots in disdain. ``When I heard in the early Nineties about the Bombay Cricket Association's moves to rope in Frank Tyson, I was unhappy. I was wondering what new can he teach me, after all I have played Test matches. But when we met and within 15 minutes of my conversation, I surrendered completely. His knowledge is immense and it was he who goaded me to do the level three coaching programme at the Australian Cricket Academy. I owe my coaching skills to him,'' he says.

A two-year stint as the Mumbai coach set him up for higher assignments though nemesis did strike in the whirlpool of association politics and his contract was not renewed.

``I coached Mumbai in the 96-97, 97-98 seasons. Dilip (Vengsarkar) recommended my name and I had a good rapport with captain Sanjay Manjrekar. However my contract was not renewed and I was hurt. I had put a system in place and suddenly I was pulled out,'' he says.

The RCF-Mumbai employee shrugged aside the bruises and made books and the internet his second home. ``I read a lot, surfed the net for hours while working on coaching research papers. All that helps now while working with the NCA trainees. Right now my term as NCA coach expires in September. Hopefully I will be here next year. All I want is to help these trainees. Seeing your wards play for the Country is a high,'' he says.

Gurus dispensing wisdom beneath banyan trees is now an ancient visual. And now in the age of floppy discs and CD-Roms, the laptop is a necessary cerebral tool.

Sandhu says, ``coaching is scientific and there is no place for mental blocks against computers. The laptop helps in quantifying performance besides being a good reference point for players.''

India's cricketing past, an inhouse library, media management and an academy website will be a few nuggets that embellish the NCA while Sandhu is at the helm.

``Once I was surprised when a youngster asked me who Eknath Solkar was. I am working on a few articles on former greats. Our youngsters should know our cricketing past,'' he says.

Nostalgia may have lost some sheen in the ebb and flow of time but for Sandhu, the magic of the past can only embellish our future plans. He believes that learning is a river which brooks no horizons.

K. C. VIJAYA KUMAR

Bangalore

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