Brian Lara and Dale Steyn (Credit: SRH/Twitter)
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) batting coach Brian Lara has opened up on how he has imparted his wisdom to young players in the ongoing IPL 2022.
The West Indian batting great was appointed the batting coach of the franchise ahead of the season. His impact has been evident, as Hyderabad have won five games on the trot after starting his campaign with consecutive defeats.
Lara, who has been working extra hours with the batters, stressed that it is more about man-management and understanding every player. Speaking in a video shared by the Hyderabad franchise, the former player said:
“I think yes, there are different ways of going about getting a youngster to understand what you’re talking about trial and error; he may just go through a period of trial and error where you know just through failure; he understands what’s happening. Some others grasp the opportunity quicker. And even before they get to the failure, they understand where you’re coming from.”
Lara added:
“So you have to have that side of you where you can put your hand around the shoulders of the young ones that are not doing well. And then the others that you just need to use to sort of push in the right direction, and they understand what you’re doing. It’s a learning process. It’s a lot of man-management, and being able to understand each other and every player and what makes him tick.”
SRH opener Abhishek Sharma has looked the most-improved batter in this edition of the cash-rich league. After a couple of underwhelming performances at the start of the tournament, the left-hander has hit his stride. He is the team’s highest run-scorer this season with 220 runs in seven games at an average of 31.43.
“I try and put myself back into that space” – SRH pace bowling coach Dale Steyn
Hyderabad have one of the best pace attacks in the tournament, with every player performing to their potential. Umran Malik, a young fast bowler from Jammu & Kashmir, has grabbed eyeballs with his ability to clock 150 kph consistently.
SRH pace bowling coach Dale Steyn said that he tries to put himself in that space and remembers what he did while going through the same phase.
The former Proteas speedster said about his role:
“There is a period of my career, and I’m sure in Brian’s career, whether it was just as difficult, you know, and I was sitting in the same shoes as that player.”
He continued:
“So I try and put myself back into that space and remember when I was struggling with a particular thing, and we’re trying to work out something and, give them tips on how I did it to improve myself, but also recognising that players are already good enough to be here and they’re not trying to break them into doing more than they’re capable of or something that’s like it’s not possible to do with their skills at the best of their ability.”
SRH will hope to continue the winning streak when they play table-toppers Gujarat Titans on Wednesday at the Wankhede Stadium.
