EXCLUSIVE - Stability in Coaching Setup Helping Indian Men’s Team, But Too Much Chopping and Changing in Women’s Team: Lalchand Rajput

Lalchand Rajput — who topped the National Cricket Academy Level 3 coach course with 83 percent in 2004 — is all set to complete five years of coaching international teams. He spent a little more than one year with Afghanistan from June 2016 and has been with the Zimbabwe national team since May 2018. These have been tough assignments for the former Mumbai and India opener who was the cricket manager of the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Indian team that surprised the cricket world by winning the inaugural ICC Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007.

Rajput was part of the coaching staff of the IPL team, Mumbai Indians in 2008. Thereafter he became an administrator with the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) before taking up the coaching offer from Afghanistan in 2016. While the doors of coaching overseas teams will remain open to him, Rajput has the option of looking at returning to cricket administration at the provincial and national levels.

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Most tellingly, Rajput said that stability in the coaching set-up around the Indian men’s team has taken its performance to a different level, but the lack of it (stability) has not helped the women’s national team. “There has been too much of chopping and changing,’’ he said in this exclusive interview with news18.com from Zimbabwe.

Excerpts:

There has been stability with the coaching set-up of the Indian men’s team but absent around the women’s team. Do you agree?

The men’s team has got a solid support staff with Ravi (Shastri) as the head coach. They have taken the men’s team to a different level. The main aspect is that the captain and coach should be on the same page and that is why the men’s team is doing so well. The women’s team doesn’t have stability with coaches as there has been too much chopping and changing.

What do you think of the recent happenings in Indian women’s cricket? It’s been like a revolving door that perhaps has exposed the shortcomings in the system. There was Purnima Rau, Tushar Arothe, Ramesh Powar, WV Raman and back now to Powar. All happening in the last five years.

A few coaches have not been given enough opportunities to settle down. The coach needs time to understand the mindset of the captain and the players. He/she has to have a good environment for working at that level. Unless they have the comfort zone with the captain, it will be difficult for any coach to work. Ramesh Powar was there earlier (before Raman), and so he knows what he has to do, and not make the same mistake that he had done earlier. He must be wiser now, and I hope he does well in his second stint as the head coach.

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Your comments on the composition of the CAC, are they influenced by vested interests?

A. According to the Lodha Committee reforms, the CAC is an independent committee that deals with the appointment of the coaches and selectors. The CAC consists of former cricketers who have served the country with distinction and I am sure they have every right to make their own decisions.

Where does things stand now between your Cricket Improvement Committee (defunct) and MCA?

As per the MCA constitution, the CIC is an independent committee appointed by the AGM and we were given a three-year contract. The MCA unceremoniously removed us and hence we have submitted our petition to the ombudsman of the MCA and we are waiting to hear from the ombudsman.

You have been coaching national teams since 2007, starting with the Indian team as the Cricket Manager. You were part of the team that won the inaugural ICC Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa. Can you highlight three points that are vital for the coach and the team?

As a coach, the first and foremost thing is to know man-management skills at the international level. Then, he should be a good strategist or tactician, and lastly, a good motivator who can enhance the performance of the players and take them to the next level.

Culturally, it must have been challenging to work with the Indian team, Afghanistan, and Zimbabwe. India has a rich tapestry in cricket, Zimbabwe has the Rhodesia legacy, but not much in Afghanistan.

As a coach, one should understand the culture of each country. This will make things easier for you. Knowing the Indian culture, I knew how to handle players from different parts of the country. I understood their mentality and it was easier to communicate with them. Afghanistan was good to work with as most of them spoke Hindi, so it was easier to communicate with them. Since it was a war zone country, the players were very much focused on working hard and they never shied away from putting in the extra effort. When players do that, then as a coach you enjoy working with such a group of players. Their work ethic was tremendous, and I really enjoyed working with them. And we as a team had very good success and got the Test recognition because of our consistent performance on the field.

I took up Zimbabwe as a challenge because they had not qualified for the 2019 World Cup and they approached me. I like challenges, and it was a great opportunity for me to make things turn around and see that they qualified for the next World Cup.

What was your experience with Afghanistan?

When I accepted the offer from Afghanistan, some people laughed at me. But I took it (the offer) up as a challenge and I really enjoyed my stint with Afghanistan. I really worked hard as I wanted to prove that Afghanistan can become a force in world cricket. And we managed to do that and got the Test status. And a few players such as Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb (Zadran) are getting noticed at the international level.

What’s been your experience with Zimbabwe so far?

Zimbabwe was challenging to start with. They had not qualified for the 2019 World Cup. Then a few senior players boycotted as they were not paid salaries. Hence it was a real challenge to start with. But I like challenges and slowly with the help of the management, I tried to solve issues one after the other. The first step was to get the players to receive their salary on time; it is now going straight into the player’s account. Cricket-wise, there was a success. We went to Bangladesh, and for the first time, we won a Test match in Bangladesh which was positive for Zimbabwe cricket. After that series, we played UAE at home and won the ODI series 4-0. Things were going well when the government came into the picture and Zimbabwe was suspended for more than six months by the ICC. Whatever I had done had to start all over again after the ICC lifted the suspension. We have overcome these challenges and getting on to the right track now. But still, a lot of work needs to be done. Zimbabwe is a work in progress. The Zimbabwe Board, in spite of the many challenges, is very keen and supportive to get back Zimbabwe where it deserves to be, and hence it is making all efforts to schedule more matches for the national teams. Recently it scheduled matches for its `A’ team against the South Africa `A’ team in May end. This will help to bridge the gap between domestic and international cricket.

Not getting much success can be frustrating for a coach. Were you?

As a coach, you have to be positive all the time. It is important to win, but Zimbabwe is in the rebuilding process and we are throwing in a lot of youngsters. Hence it will take a bit of time, but as I believe, all teams go through this process, and I am confident that these youngsters will take Zimbabwe to newer heights.

What is the way forward for teams like Afghanistan and Zimbabwe?

I feel they should play more matches, because the more they play, the better they will get. They have to keep their calendar busy. At the moment, I am enjoying the stint with Zimbabwe and my goal is to make them qualify for the T20 World Cup 2022 and also for the 2023 World Cup. You never know where destiny will take you. But I will be happy to give my expertise to whoever offers me.

How do you upgrade yourself as a coach?

In coaching, you are never the master, as you keep on learning every day. You have to look for various avenues from where you can learn, and if need be, do some refresher courses as well. I am a keen student of the game and hence I want to upgrade my knowledge all the time. Learning never stops. You learn till you die.

Are certificate courses enough to make a beginning as a coach. Or practical experience at club levels would be a good start?

A. I would say you require both things to become a better coach. Your playing experience will definitely help you to be a coach, but with the help of coaching accreditation, you can become a better coach. Any coach should start, at least in his early coaching career, with a junior or a club team which will help him to grasp the nuances of coaching a team.

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