“Greg Chappell called up and asked Ravi Bhai, how the hell do you bounce back after so many losses?” - R Sridhar

Former India fielding coach R Sridhar has revealed that he saw bad days like 36 all out at Adelaide, 78 at Leeds as 'great coaching opportunities'. Sridhar explained that challenging days like Adelaide and Leeds allowed him to understand the Indian team and players better.

India were all out for 36 in the Adelaide Test played in December of 2020. At Leeds in August this year, they were rolled over for 78. On both occasions, the Indians fought back to win the next Test in incredible fashion.

Reflecting on his stint with the Indian team, Sridhar said that the side’s resilience under pressure stood out. Speaking to PTI, the former Hyderabad player said:

“It was a wonderful opportunity to learn. To me, as a coach, a bad day is a great coaching opportunity. Good days are not great coaching opportunities but bad days are. When I say coaching opportunity, it's about understanding the person, striking a nice relationship with the players, an opportunity to coach them technically and mentally if required."

Sridhar added:

"You get to know about player and team. Basically, how you are on your bad day, says what you are as a team. This team was outstanding in terms of resilience.”

Sridhar also revealed that Aussie legend Greg Chappell even called up former coach Ravi Shastri to compliment him and the Indian team. The 51-year-old recalled:

“Recently, Greg Chappell called up and asked Ravi Bhai, ‘How the hell do you bounce back after so many losses?’ That's a benchmark for this team. Every bad day was harnessed like a gold mine.”

Recovering from the Adelaide disaster, India went on to clinch the Test series Down Under 2-1. In England earlier this year, they were 2-1 ahead when the fifth Test was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.

A good leader and outstanding man-manager: R Sridhar on Ravi Shastri

As head coach, it was Shastri who picked Sridhar as fielding coach and Bharat Arun as bowling coach. While India failed to lift an ICC trophy during this tenure, there was a significant improvement in both the fielding and bowling departments.

Shastri has always spoken highly of Sridhar and Arun. Asked for his views on the former head coach of India, Sridhar opined:

“Leadership qualities and man-management skills. These are foremost of his (Shastri) qualities that come to mind. He could get things done whether it was from the CoA then or after that BCCI. He had a great stature and that was required. He was a players' man and knew what players wanted and helped them remain in that space. A good leader and outstanding man manager.”

The coaching stints of Sridhar, Shastri and Arun with the Indian team ended simultaneously, following the conclusion of the T20 World Cup in the UAE.