Follow UsThe art and science' of cricket coaching has undergone a sea change over the past decade and National Cricket Academy (NCA) has incorporated in its curriculum the understanding of many aspects of modern day game, like how the psyche of star players works, said Head of Education' Sujith Somasunder.
The 49-year-old former India opener, who was also one of the mainstays of a star-studded Karnataka side of '90s alongside Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, has in past few years played a pivotal role in trying to create a supply line of quality coaches across the spectrum.
Somasunder, who played two ODIs for India in the 1996 Titan Cup, has also been an acclaimed Mind Coach', apart from being the man who has redesigned the coaching curriculum at NCA. So, is communication with elite players, which can help them change their technical or mental approach, a part of coaches' education programme?
"Absolutely yes. We touch upon and work on their ability to understand, acknowledge and appreciate the different preferences and personality traits of individuals and bring in flexibility in their behaviours and communication to be in sync with the players, Somasunder told PTI during an interaction on the sidelines of Ranji Trophy final.
Somasunder was appointed NCA's Head Of Education in 2019 as BCCI wanted to revive and restructure its Coaches' Education Programme'.
"I took over this role at the end of 2019, with a directive to revive it. I had the experience of working in a Learning and Development function of a very successful MNC, which helped me re-design the whole programme with a new perspective to Coach Education," the soft-spoken Somasunder elaborated.
Someone with an academic bent of mind, Somasunder is currently doing research on an interesting topic Development and validation of a Model for Coaching Cricket in India'.
"Doing research on this topic held me in good stead to implement the findings. Therefore, we can say that the current design, development and delivery of our courses have evolved as per the times and requirements," he said.
With the advent of IPL, the shot-making grammar has changed a lot and Somasunder had no bones in accepting that coaches will now have to speak to youngsters about when and how to play various types of instinctive shots like lap-scoops, switch hits which one might not find in MCC manual. It is the need of the hour, said the man, who has more than 5000 first-class runs and was part of Karnataka's Ranji Trophy-winning squad of 1998-99.
"Coaches and leaders in all domains will have to change in accordance to the present styles, needs and the advancement. Relevance has always been the need of the hour," he added.
(With inputs from PTI)