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Ravi Shastri's era came to an end in the recently concluded T20 World Cup where India faced elimination at the Super 12 stage. Despite a disappointing T20 World Cup campaign, Shastri helped India dominate top teams in overseas conditions along with former Indian bowling coach, Bharat Arun who played a huge role in the development of the team. After his tenure, the former bowling coach has revealed how he helped the team revive their fortunes by guiding few bowlers to overcome physical and mental challenges. The former Indian player also spoke about how different it would have been, had they won the T20 World Cup 2021.
Speaking to the Indian Express he stated that the idea was to get the bowlers out of their comfort zone and prepare them for the new challenges. The former Tamil Nadu player was more focused on coaching players and providing them with the necessary boost rather than focusing on inventing new techniques. The 59-year-old emphasised on the impact he had on the players he coached, mainly Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma.
The former bowling coach was adamant, “You don’t coach the sport. You coach the person. It’s not about reinventing the game or talking too much technique, it’s in the background. You build a rapport, mutual trust, you playfully challenge them or be strict at times. Ultimately, it’s about, I am your big brother, I will support you and be with you all the time, but I will challenge you. I might irritate you but it’s for your own good,”
Impact on Shami
Speaking about mental health of the pacer, Arun explained, “Shami was totally disillusioned. He was on the verge of giving up the game. When Ravi and I sat down with him, he said he was extremely angry with life and said “I want to give it up”. We said, ‘it’s good that you are angry. You should be. Angrer is best thing that has happened to you.”
Arun believes that the 31-year-old had two personalities, one as a ‘player’ and the other as a ‘man’. Shami had a good run-up but it was his balance that let him down. Despite having good release he was not able to generate the force required. Arun played an important role in balancing the technique of the Indian pacer.
Speaking about the personal life of the pacer, he explained that the pacer had almost given up the game. Both of us (Shastri and Arun) played a pivotal role in boosting the confidence of the bowler. Shami was sent to the National Cricket Academy(NCA) to get out the best of him. Aggression was the key and he needed to get his aggression out at the right place. Indian speedster has since overcome all the obstacles and is part of the Indian contingent on a regular basis.”
Change in Ishant Sharma’s bowling angle
With regards to Ishant he pointed out the changes that he suggested as he said, “Ishant wasn’t making the batsmen play as much as possible. He had the consistency but we now wanted him to attack more, rather than dry up runs. As it was with most, it was just a small tweak. The angle at which he approached the stumps. It primarily came from the way he held the ball."
The former bowling coach also underlined his role in Ishant's development. The Delhi-born bowler was bowling close to the stumps, while the angle of the delivery was something that the tall guy needed to focus on. Arun suggested that Ishant needs to change the wrist position as it would help him in a better release of the ball.
Ishant was asked to bowl from the center of the box. The main focus was on the around the stumps attack to left-handed batters as they emphasised the need to have him bowl more accurately. Speaking about Jasprit Bumrah, the former bowling coach pointed out that the unorthodox run-up and action helped the Mumbai Indians' bowler as he always wanted to explore Test cricket.
The 58-year-old Arun was fundamental in the progress of the Indian bowlers as India achieved notable success overseas. He further highlighted that winning the T20 World Cup would have been the perfect end to his tenure.
