“We don’t believe in stardom of players. For us, the only superstar is our owner, Abhishek Bachchan,” says coach Srinivas Reddy.
The 42-year-old Hyderabadi, who earlier coached Haryana Steelers and Telugu Titans in the ProKabaddi League, is visibly delighted at the impressive start his team made against U Mumba on Monday night when it recorded it’s first-ever win over the opponent in six seasons.
“This is exactly what we are looking for — team effort. We always tell the boys to work as a unit. The focus in the camps has been on fitness with the owner himself setting the benchmark,” he says in a chat with The Hindu. “It was an unforgettable experience to start on such a winning note in front of my home crowd,” he says.
Srinivas, who is into his second season with the Jaipur-based outfit, says his mantra for success to his players is pretty simple — “believe that your are the best, don’t look for others as role models, you should be the ones with your performances”.
“I believe that body language and the confidence level are the key factors which play a major role in any sport,” says the bank manager.
For someone who played 18 senior Nationals and was also a member of the 2006 Asian championship gold medal winning Indian team, Srinivas says the first target is to reach the play-offs. The Jaipur coach, who earlier guided India to a gold over Iran in the Dubai Masters championship, reveals that owner Abhishek, despite being a celebrity is a very simple human being, involved in the sport, and takes special care of the players’ welfare, especially on the diet front.
“Abhishek keeps reminding us how his father Amitabh continues to work for long hours even now when he can actually take a break and relax. This to emphasise that there is no substitute for work,” says Srinivas, who was also the Indian women’s team coach in the last Asiad where it settled for a silver.