“He Asked Me ‘Why Should I Listen To You’” – R Sridhar Opens Up On His First Interaction With Ravichandran Ashwin

Former India National Cricket Team fielding coach R Sridhar, in his recently published book ‘Coaching Beyond: My Days with the Indian Cricket Team’, opened up on his first interaction with the veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin at the start of his tenure as the coach of the national team.

Sridhar was appointed as the fielding coach of India in 2014 and he worked under Duncan Fletcher, Anil Kumble and Ravi Shastri during his tenure with the side. Under his coaching, India were known as one of the best fielding teams in world cricket. He stepped down from his role alongside head coach Ravi Shastri and bowling coach Bharat Arun after the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.

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In his recently published book ‘Coaching Beyond: My Days with the Indian Cricket Team’ Sridhar talked about the changes he made to his coaching methods and the part that Ashwin played in bringing those changes.

“Being with Ashwin, I was struck by one of our early conversations in my first week with the national team,” stated Sridhar in his autobiography ‘Coaching Beyond: My Days with the Indian Cricket Team’ as quoted by HT.

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“Non-confrontationally, he asked me, ‘If you don’t mind, Sridhar sir, why should I listen to you and follow the fielding drills you suggest? Why should I do what you are asking me to? From 2011 to 2014, we had Trevor Penney as the fielding coach. Now you have come in, you will be there for let’s say two to three years. You will say something; you will go away. Then a new fielding coach will come.”

I should be convinced that what you are saying is going to work for me – Ravichandran Ashwin to R Sridhar

Sridhar revealed that Ashwin had told him that the methods he tells should work properly otherwise there is no point in listening.

“If I am honest, in the next three years, I have a lot at stake. I should be convinced that what you are saying is going to work for me. It should help my game, otherwise, why should I listen to you?’”

R Sridhar revealed that the interaction with Ashwin got him thinking a lot and it helped him realise that he needed to make changes to his coaching style.

“We knew each other quite well by then, and I immediately got where he was coming from. His questions set me thinking: how much should I coach? What is coaching really?” he stated.

Also Read: “He Was At His Loudest And Fiercest” – R Sridhar Recalls When Ravi Shastri Was Furious At MS Dhoni For His Sluggish Knock

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