"Why should I do what you are asking me to?"- R Sridhar opens up on eye-opening chat with veteran Indian star

Former Indian fielding coach R Sridhar played a huge role in making the Men in Blue arguably the best fielding side in the world. He was the fielding coach of the national team from 2014 to 2021 and received plaudits for his work.

However, Sridhar has also made some bold revelations about some of the conversations that he has had with the players in his book, 'Coaching Beyond - My Days with the Indian Cricket Team.'

In one of the chapters in his book, R Sridhar narrated an interaction between himself and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. He said:

"Being with Ashwin, I was struck by one of our early conversations in my first week with the national team. 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 a way. Then a new fielding coach will come. 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's realization after talking to the Indian off-spinner

Sridhar had decent coaching experience before joining the Men in Blue. He was an assistant coach with the U19 team and also had prior experience of coaching domestic teams.

However, he opened up on the humbling experience that he had after the chat with Ashwin. He realized that he had to buck up to become a successful coach at the international level. On this, Sridhar stated:

"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?"

Has India's fielding standard declined ever since Sridhar left the fielding coach's position? Let us know in the comments.