Coaching Beyond: My Days with the Indian Cricket Team

by R. Sridhar, R. Kaushik, V.V.S. Laxman (Foreword)

The book is a dive into the minds of the top players and what has made them and the Indian team tick. I am sure it will make for a fascinating read.
— V.V.S. Laxman
Coaching Beyond reflects primarily on R. Sridhar’s seven-year coaching tenure with the Indian cricket team as its fielding coach. This book isn’t as technical as it is anecdotal. It throws light, for instance, on how Virat Kohli overcame a dismal Test series in England in 2014 to smash four hundreds in as many matches in his next overseas outing, in Australia.
It also traces Rishabh Pant’s journey towards becoming the ferocious ball-striker and outstanding gloveman he is today while delving into the minds of players and the support staff to analyse India’s progression towards the number 1 Test ranking. Revelations of behind-the-scenes parleys jostle with the then head coach Ravi Shastri’s motivational skills in a riveting read that provides an insider’s account of the rise and rise of Indian cricket.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Autobiography

204 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 5, 2023

Reviews

[Akhilesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given the autocratic nature of how cricket is run in India (BCCI hires all players, coaches,commentators etc) and how non-controversial ex-players want to be, it's hard to find books about Indian cricket which are honest and provide deep details about events and players. This is one of those books. The last such "honest" book was Sanjay Manjrekar's "Imperfect" and I enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed reading the former.

I'd been seeing snippets of this book being shared on /r/cricket on reddit when Sridhar was talking about MSD's retirement, Samson's concussion substitution rule observation etc and was intrigued since noone associated with Indian cricket was speaking about the details behind such incidents in recent memory. This book does go into detail about such events and given that Sridhar was associated with Indian cricket until pretty recently (Late 2021), most of the details were very relevant and talk about active players (Kohli, Pant, Rohit Sharma, Shami, Gill, Shaw, etc) and explains the skillset and mindset of such elite cricketers and what makes them tick.

Having said that, there were so many important incidents about which Sridhar just glosses over or only briefly mentions - India's 2016, 2019, and 2021 WC losses, Anil Kumble's brief tenure and controversial exit, MSD's form in his last couple of years, Virat Kohli's exits from captaincy in all forms, India's refusal to play in the 5th test in England which could have cemented their first series win since 2007, their comeback win 2021/22 in Australia. He either mentions these events in passing or does not at all and it's surprising considering that these were the biggest events during his tenure. However, the justification could be that this book is about coaching, and the chapters are divided into coaching-based lessons.

Even with all these omissions, it's extremely refreshing to find a book that provides details about the inner workings of the Indian cricket team. There have been other books by ex-cricketers (SRT, VVS, etc) but they have been so bland (and full of just their scores and how they got them) that it's not worth picking them up. Sridhar does a great job outlining the strengths and weaknesses of current players and how they work on them.

Great job on the book and good luck to Sridhar on his coaching endeavors!

[Girish Querido II · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sridhar along with writer Kaushik perfectly incorporate his experiences as a fielding coach with life lessons. Must read. Loved reading this one.

[Gaurav Sagar · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an avid Indian cricket fan, there was no way one would pass the idea of picking this piece written by the ex-fielding coach of the men's Indian cricket team who had a proud stint of 7 long years with the team.

They say failures are great teachers and the thing with the Indian cricket team is.. in the last 10 years or so, the team have had some excellent cricketers and an amazing run of play with a win rate of ~70%. Yet there is no ICC trophy in the cabinet post 2013 CT that could validate the claim of dominance Indian cricket poses over other playing nations. This book was able to bring inner circle perspective in greater details.

Being an eminent part of the league of support staff, the author was privy to finer details that could shed some light on the process the team took towards the complete transformation as a top-ranked red ball team. Notably the parts where he narrates the preparatory rituals of Virat, the cricketing mindfulness of MSD, the evolution of Rishabh Pant, the sudden jolt of COVID on team's usual BAU, and quite a few interesting nuggets around these central pieces - these are all worth a read.

The only light-hearted criticism can be around the author's structure of content being thrown around slightly unordered and clumsily. But then one should definitely acknowledge that this is his first attempt as a writer.

Overall, it is a great light read option for a cricket fan that enables to develop a perspective around the hard yards the top athletes do behind the stage.

[Debabrata Mishra · Rating 4 out of 5]

𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 :

•• TITLE : Coaching Beyond
•• AUTHOR : R. Sridhar with R.Kaushik
•• PUBLISHER : Rupa Publication
•• FORMAT : Paperback
•• LANGUAGE : English

𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒 :

This is a book which is written by India's previous fielding coach R. SRIDHAR.
..
Here he put light on so many unknown facts about Indian cricket & inside the dressing room stories those are just mind blowing.
..
It talks about how the greatest of all time Virat Kohli get rid of his weakness against the swing bowling where he caught behind the wicket & slip numerous times by edging the 4th & 5th stump balls. But he overcome this weakness & smashed 4 centuries on the mighty OZ's soil in the next overseas series.
..
Not only this but he also focusing on Rishabh Pant's prolific journey of becoming a fearless batsman & outstanding glovesman.
..
To know more about the book grab it & give it a try.

𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐒 :

✓ The cover of the book is something which attracts me the most to grab it as the image of the author with the GOAT best Finisher MSD.
✓ The writing style of the book is quite good. First of all the book is not about the author's life journey but it's about his experiences during his 7 years of coaching period with team India.
✓ Language used in the book is simple & easily connected.
✓ I love the way author talks on the Cricketing journey before covid & after covid it's just in situ the themeline.
✓ The way the author executed these unknown stories with that much depth is quite commendable.
✓ The book has its own beauty as it touches many different experiences inside the Indian Dressing room.
✓ The inclusion of images adds a new dimension to the reading experience.
✓ The Author just perfectly maintained the main theme of the book along with its raw essence.
✓ The book is quite fast paced & intresting. It's just a festive of read for cricket lovers.
𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

[Siddharrth Jain · Rating 4 out of 5]

R. Sridhar’s stint with the Indian Cricket team in the capacity of a Fielding Coach has been more than fruitful, results of which have been quite evident. Sridhar along with Ravi Shastri as the Head Coach and Bharat Arun as the Bowling Coach, made a huge impact on the Indian squad, coupled up with the aggressive captaincy of Virat Kohli. From being bundled out to 36 and losing in the first test against the Aussies, to clinching the series 2-1 was all done under the mentorship of this team. (Although Kohli had left for India, after the 1st Test)

Sridhar’s book in ‘Coaching Beyond’ is about his experiences with the team, and goes on to share some priceless conversations that happened within the dressing room. Perhaps the closest a commoner can get to a verbatim exchange, and I share an incident mentioned in this book. India needed to score at a run-rate of 13 in the last 10 overs, when MS Dhoni was batting with the tail, but scored only around 20 runs in about 6 overs. Ravi Shastri couldn’t take this one bit and in the dressing room blasted the team and without taking an eye off MS.

I quote Ravi, “No matter who you may be, there should not be another occasion when we lose a match not trying to win it…if anyone does it, that will be the last bloody game of cricket they will play under my watch.”

For more such candid exchanges and how things went about during his tenure and in the course of Covid, you must read this book.

📚

[Kaustubh Dudhane · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I saw this book on a marketplace, I remembered the Ashwin's Kutti Stories Episode with Sridhar. I thought - no fucking way I am going to miss this book. And then...

There were a few highlights for me like -

🔹Ravi Shastri's attitude after 36 all out
🔹Ravi Shastri's outburst after one match of 2019 World Cup
🔹Inability of young superstars to field at short leg or silly point
🔹Kohli's eagerness to become the captain
🔹Situation in Australia during the Covid and the complexities with different state governments

However, there were a few sore points like -

🔸Average points on coaching (Bharat Arun's management of Bumrah and Shami was awesome)
🔸Technical aspects were not articulated better or was it poor editing?
🔸The book could have been shorter by around 30 pages Could have added more about Project Pant

Additionally, I was not surprised to see absolutely no mention of the causation of Ravi Shastri's book launch and the rescheduling of the Fifth Test of the England's Tour in 2021 due to multiple covid positive cases within the touring party. Nevertheless, Sridhar tried his best to tell his story with the seven entertaining years with Indian men's cricket team.

[Ramit B · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

I would have enjoyed this book more if it wasn't for all the talk that Sridhar had written a book with great anecdotes with his time in the Indian team. There were some anecdotes that I liked, but overall, this was a poor read where Sridhar espouses some, at best, mediocre coaching tips.

He could have definitely done without the Kohli, Ravi Shastri, and Dhoni fan fare. I was expecting more critical takes and nuanced thoughts on his time with the Indian cricket team.

Towards the end, he was just making excuses for the teams failings. Sridhar partially blames the 2021 T20 WC group stage exit on how India was unlucky with the draw. He also states how it was inevitable that covid broke through the camp during the 2021 England tour. He reasons that the support staff going out for Ravi Shastris book launch should not be blamed for the Manchester test being canceled.

Finally, he should have probably hired a ghostwriter. The book felt like it was really one long instagram post and not literary work.

[Suyogaya Awasthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

• “A mentor is inalienable for one’s heightened success”.

• The 208 pages long book at hand tends to offer the true accounts of recovery and true dedication of all those players of Indian team who through their resilience give way to global recognition of the nation. Further, the chapters of the book have been divided in a systematic manner as it traces every element responsible for the state of team India which has become nothing but sturdy and indomitable. The greatest aspect of the book gets reflected from the reliable accounts of the author himself who has seen it all.


• Thus, it is a must read for anyone willing to go for an insightful read and for anyone willing to go for a good read.

[Avi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't really know how to review this book. Picked it as wanted to read about what does the team does to prepare and become the best. I am confused to say if that mission was fulfilled or not. There are some really important lessons that one might learn. There were many incidents that were already in media and the book really clarifies those issues. However, very cleverly all the part that may create controversy has been left out (really appreciate that, as we don't actually have any business in knowing what happens in the personal life of cricketers). It's a very easy read and the language is easy going.
A line that I will remember from the book is "Trouble the comfort, comfort the trouble".

[Nitin Verma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will highly recommend this book to all cricketers who aspire to go professional or improve their game. This book provides incidents which enables us to peek through minds of the Indian Cricketers. R Sridhar not only talks about the highlights of their coaching stints but dwells on things that didn’t go well. I particularly loved the culmination, where author provides call out with respect to recommendations with respect to coaching structure . This book is an awe inspiring journey of a person who through his hard work, determination& risk appetite could make most out of his career.

[Umesh Kesavan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author pens a guide on coaching cricketers based on his experiences with the Indian cricket team from 2014 to 2021. While the coaching manual part is adequately engaging, the anecdotes pertaining to superstars remain the USP of the book. The dressing room secrets of how Ravi Shastri reacted to a poor run chase by Dhoni and how the author confronted new stars unwilling to take up challenging fielding positions are interesting. Overall, the book provides a readable ring-side view of how the the Indian team coped with cricketing and Covid related challenges.

[Ramasubramanian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book is an excellent read for cricket and non cricket enthusiasts, i read the 287 pages in one day . However, rating is 4 maximum mainly due to
a) Book talks about Virat Kholi more than about coaching , Ravi shastri and Rishab also.
B) No technical details about coaching— may be he thought it will be boring
C) Some interesting incidents like Rahane not permitting Prithivi to go out of the field
D)yuzhevendra chaahal playing in place of Jadeja
are there

On the whole it is a chronology of a Fielding coach who did an amazing work with indian cricket team

[Ankit Modi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives a good peak into decision making in the Indian cricket team over the last 10 years. Enjoyed reading about thought process behind things like Ashwin’s exclusion in overseas tests, no.4 position during 2019 world cup, the Australian summer during Covid 19, etc. Some of the anecdotes give great insights on how top athletes think.

The contrast between leadership styles of Dhoni, Virat, Rohit & Ajinkya was brought out well. It’s one of the better books on Indian cricket.

[Kiran · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good quick read on R. Sridhar's stint with the Indian cricket team as a fielding coach. A mixed bag of excerpts, bite-size coaching gyans, covid-19 bubbles, Ravi's thunderous responses and his cut-to-the -chase team management and what you like. Nice to get a perception of folks in the Indian dressing room from someone who spent his time in close quarters. Though the last chapter seems like a quick advertisement for his coaching institute, like the and the logic idea behind it

[Nishant Bhagat · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is pretty much in the mould of VVS' excellent autobiography, 281. The common factor being R. Kaushik.  The sincerity of Sridhar and his understanding of the coaching process flows beautifully throughout the book. 

It is full of great anecdotes. I wish Sridhar had written a little more on our famous win of 2021 in Australia. 

All in all a lovely read for any fan of Indian cricket!

[JasonDeen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! A real guide for those who want to know the inside story of professional cricket. Indian cricket has always been good. All I can say is that Ghana is comparable to India in results. You can find more info here - https://1xbet.com.gh/ The book will be a good way to understand the methods of sports analytics.

[Krutarth Rindani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice anecdotal read with a lot of behind the scene incidents and stories. The book is a nice balance of anecdotes and coaching technicalities. It touches upon highly talked about incidents but makes sure it doesn't create a controversy.

[Suhail Tikoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Light Read

Good on some nuggets here and there on coaching philosophy/ player coach interactions around improvement that can be applied to other domains!

I would have given it 5 if there were 20 % more of those nuggets

[Mukund · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read if you follow Indian cricket

A brilliant book with insights to Indian cricket and coaching. As a cricket fan, found it fascinating to know more about important moments in our cricketing journey during recent years.

[Snehil Kesarwani · Rating 4 out of 5]

An earnest and sincere effort by a man who has been an integral part of Indian Men's Cricket setup that we see today. A quick read (188 pages) that never gets boring or repetitive in terms of the stories being told.

[Sohamm Patil · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light read.

This books gives an insight into of the ICT dressing room from close quarters. It also throws light on the journey of R Sridhar as a coach during his 7 year stint with the ICT.

I found the captaincy anecdotes about MS, Virat, Rohit and Rahane quite intriguing.

[Arun Kumar · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a light one time read for a cricket fan who wants to know the inside stories and what goes behind the scenes. Author also tried to portray the role of coaches and the culture can be improved in a country like India where sports and education are treated as opposite to each other.

[Sundar Ganapathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read on the 7 years of Indian test cricket under Shastri. Breezy for a cricket fan

[Harsha B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked the insights into Indian Cricket in the Covid/Post-Covid era.

[Raghavender Sridhar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its ok, some interesting insights are there though

[Sriram Mangaleswaran · Rating 3 out of 5]

About his coaching days, how he tuned the current generation players and how player needs to be trained. Nice one and will be good read for aspiring cricketers.

[arpan sahni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommended for wannabe coaches seeking to gain valuable insights about the game and practical wisdom

[Krishna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

He shows other side of a criketers life when we see how hard and systematically they work to stay in the team,it is really eyeopening.

[Arjun Jhawar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read for cricket fans!!

[Dipra Lahiri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rare book on Indian cricket, from the inside, as opposed to reporters' takes. What stands out is the role that Ravi Shastri played in the development of the team. Equally, the focus on physical fitness as championed by Kohli, and the contrasting captaincy style of MSD and VK. I wish Sri had delved in more detail about the intricacies of fielding technique and strategy; that deserves a second innings fro RS.