Haven’t seen anyone having Vikram Rathour's man-management skills, says Mandeep Singh
Mandeep Singh, who worked under India’s new batting coach Vikram Rathour at the Kings XI Punjab in the IPL, believes that the appointment is a good move for Indian cricket, particularly due to his interpersonal skills. Rathour replaces Sanjay Bangar who had served in the role since 2014.
Although he once played for India and was part of the selection panel in the past, Rathour is well-known for his coaching stints in India’s domestic cricket circuit with Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, and a spell with Kings XI Punjab in the IPL. His resume was so impressive in the cricketing circle that he was touted to replace a very successful Bangar way before the interviews for the role actually commenced. According to Mandeep, this has everything to do with how the Jalandhar-born Rathour builds relationships with the people he works with.
"I think it's great for the Indian team, they've got a very solid guy. I haven't seen anyone else having the man-management skills he has. I don't think anyone he has worked with would ever have a negative word to say about him," Mandeep told ESPNcricinfo.
Although a player who has largely blown hot and cold in patches in the IPL and domestic cricket, Mandeep admits that he learnt a lot of things from Rathour.
"I don't talk about my batting with anyone else, just him. If someone else tells me something and I feel it's good advice, I'll still discuss it with him. Not just cricket, but in general I have learned many things from him. Somehow he will make you feel good. He's so positive and optimistic,” Mandeep said.
“For example, let's say I have not been selected in some team, so he'll sit down and ask me, 'Okay how many runs did you make last season?' I'll tell him I made 600 runs, so he'll say, 'Koi nahin [Doesn't matter], make 800 runs next time, make 1000 runs.' He won't let you crib, he'll just focus on how to get better,” he continued.
Mandeep then proceeded to give a very specific example of Rathour’s coaching style, citing an incident when the 50-year-old was in charge of Punjab.
"When he was the Punjab coach we were playing against Saurashtra in Mohali. We won the toss and chose to bowl and they made 550 runs (542) and then bowled us out 250-odd (278) in the first innings and 100-odd (120) in the second innings. I mean it was a bad defeat. Generally, if you lose so badly in a home match when you have a good team, coaches give you a talking to,” Mandeep said.
"But he said, 'Okay, what's happened has happened, so now I'll give you guys a punishment'. Everyone was nervous. But the 'punishment' turned out to be that he told us we each had to wear one of the official jerseys left over from the World Cup that happened that year, which were an awful orange-yellow colour mix, and come out for dinner together. Nobody talked about cricket. The next day was given off, and then after that in practice the next day he spoke about what went wrong and what didn't.”
"I have seen the biggest coaches get very upset and angry after these kinds of defeats. But he always stays cool. Even if he gets angry - I mean he doesn't actually get angry - but if he has to say something, his style is such that you'll never take it to heart. Instead, you get motivated to do better," Mandeep added.
For those Indian fans who’ve followed all the facets of Indian cricket for decades, Rathour will be remembered as a prolific run-getter at the domestic level. For those fans on the younger side of age, these comments and many more instils a new ray of hope for the future of Indian cricket.
0
0
0
0
0
0
Comments
Sign up or log in to your account to leave comments and reactions
0 Comments