"Bring your front foot more forward. Put your body behind the ball."
Just after these words, the man in question, after about 5 minutes, rushed up to the little boy and spoke to him about prodding the front foot more forward than he was.
J Arun Kumar (JAK) was hard at work as I met him at his academy (The Nimritha J Arun Kumar Academy), training kids from different age-groups, putting them through batting and bowling drills, throwing in the odd comment, when he saw anything awry.
"The idea for this academy came first when there was no cricket in East Bengaluru. We just had one academy- the Imtiaz Ahmed Cricket Academy. I heard a few locals living here raise that point, that's when the idea came about and it was also a way of developing a backup plan before I retired.
"With all due respect to those involved in media and administration, the best way to give it back to cricket in any way is to perhaps shape the upcoming youngsters, to share the experience that you have gained and give it back to the next generation," The 45-year-old told Sportskeeda in an exclusive interview.
A veteran of Karnataka cricket from 1993 to 2008, JAK, as he is popularly known in the local cricketing circles, has seen a successful transition from the player to a coach, having been at the helm when the state won back-to-back Ranji Trophy titles, in 2014 and 2015.
That success at the domestic level meant JAK got a chance to showcase his skills in the IPL when the Kings XI Punjab offered him the position of the batting coach and also a reunion with a friend and teammate at the Indian Airlines for many years- Virender Sehwag.
"What a guy! He is a very straight-forward guy. If he observes something he will say it directly.
"He is a very witty personality. Win or lose, he remains quite balanced in his approach. Has a smile on his face most times. He has played over 100 Test matches for India, gone through a lot played with almost all the players, retired recently and brings that experience into play while coaching as well.
"His style of thinking is very positive. He is not someone who would negotiate with a draw, he would always look for a win, a trait that Anil (Kumble) also has.
"The IPL was a fantastic experience for me. I was waiting for a chance like this for a long time. Mentally, I was prepared for the challenge.
"I studied each player, personally. Looked at the data available about them. Got the chance to meet different players from different cultures and it was a great couple of months for me to work with them," he added.
Domestically, JAK and his side endured a tough time last year, when Karnataka were knocked out in the quarterfinal by Tamil Nadu on a pitch he described as 'tacky'.
"In all fairness, it was just one bad away game (on the loss to Tamil Nadu in 2016-17 Ranji Trophy quarterfinal). We had played excellent cricket until then.
"We batted first on that wicket, it was a bit tacky. We had a good batting line-up at our disposal, but I guess the cricketing luck just alluded us on the day.
"Overall, I think we had a good season. Contributions from certain senior players, who had done well throughout the season, they didn't stand up and that mattered a lot on the day.
"I think if you look at some of the players, who have done well, people like VVS Laxman, Sehwag, even Wasim Jaffer, they have got a 100 or a 70-80 score under their belt in every alternate innings and we should aim to do that," he said.
The 2017 IPL saw several players being selected from different local leagues like the TNPL and others.
JAK felt that one of the reasons for them finding buyers in auctions was because teams were not necessarily looking at just the big names, but also players, who were street-smart.
"Sometimes, it is not just about the big names, it is also about how street-smart you are. Someone like a T Natarajan has a good slower delivery and it could take a few deliveries for a batsman to figure out a bowler like that. So they bring with themselves a new element as well," he said.
One of the talking points about the last Ranji Trophy season was the concept of neutral venues and post the conclusion of the season, the players expressed their apprehensions to the concept.
Arun Kumar, too echoed their views.
"Home and Away should be the way to go. In order to become a good batsman, one must be able to play in all kinds of surfaces.
"Everyone would like to play on good batting tracks, but places like Dharamshala, Bengaluru, where the ball darts around a bit, one must be able to counter that challenge as well. You may have contests finish early, but they happen in international cricket as well," he said.
He concluded by stating that he was interested in the Indian coaching role and also had a piece of advice for KL Rahul.
"Ya. I have applied again for the role. Let's see what happens.
"He (Rahul) should go to a temple and pray," he signed off.
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