Bharat Arun - Indian bowling coach

[Swashbuckler]

Stat: Only for the third time in the last 32 years across 32 Tests, Australia have been bowled out in each innings of a Test at the Gabba - the other instances came against WI in 1992/93 and against NZ in 2008/09.

With a Ranji level attack, India got all 20 wickets against Aussies at their fortress, Gabba. Most of those guys are strictly T20 bowlers yet executed a solid plan. Could have come cheaper if we knew how to catch.

We may not like the present coaching staff and for good reasons. But unfair to club Bharat Arun with the others, he is a brilliant coach. Understand the bowlers well, always has multiple plans for the opponents, knows how to polish raw talent, great mentor.

Wasn't a hotshot cricketer at the highest level, but a successful coach. His work at MRF pace academy is underappreciated, worked at NCA, was U-19 head coach when we won in 2012 and now with Indian team overseeing development of a tremendous bowling attack with great depth and decent man to man replacements for all our first choice bowlers.

So, bowling experts on PP, how do you rate Bharat Arun?

[freelance_cricketer]

He's highly regarded with Indian cricket. Has done great work with the Pacers. I don't know what he is earning but his sticks must rise further.

[Swashbuckler]

Not just pacers, even Ashwin gives a lot of credit to Bharat Arun for helping him improve his craft. We don't have specialized spin bowling coach like other countries, Arun is in charge of the whole unit.

[omairsiddiqui]

He may well be the best bowling coach in the world at the moment. This is not the second tier of Indian bowlers. This is the third tier, and they bowled the Aussies out twice. They probably swung it more than the Aussies too.

An excellent coach who has not only developed these bowlers' skills, but he has made them smarter. Extremely impressive.

[AMSS]

B Arun is Shastri's drinking buddy. No bigger qualification than that.

[hoshiarpurexpress]

Much better coach in terms of results as compared to the great Waqar and even Azhar Mahmood.
He is doing lots of things right the bowling performances have been really good since him at the helm.

[Devadwal]

He along with Kohli change the entire fast bowling of India

[Babbar]

When things are going good, everyone downplays the contribution of coaches and support staff. Bharat Arun is the best bowling coach in the world today, bar none. He was specifically asked by Kohli, Ashwin and shastri to stay with the team. In fact Shastri made Bharat’s inclusion a mandatory condition for him taking up the role of head coach.

Not every coach has to be the greatest and best player, else Pakistan, with Waqar, Wasim and Shoaib, and Imran as PM, would have the best fast bowling team in the world rather than competing with BD at the bottom of the barrel and desperately trying to get rookie trundling teenagers to somehow do the unpredictable.

Ravi Shastri is among the best head coaches, who can make even India-C team threaten the mighty Australia at their fortress. We can make fun of him and he, getting a huge salary, choice of women and daily shot of his 25yr old single malts, won’t mind a bit, but he’s a smart cookie.

[Savak]

What is the secret to his success? What does he do exactly? How does he operate?

[freelance_cricketer]

What is the secret to his success? What does he do exactly? How does he operate?

Experience probably counts for something.

He's worked his way up from grass root level unlike some big names who get to coach without paying their dues.

Coaches are also like players, takes years to mature and learn how to deal with talent and nurture them into stardum.

[Savak]

Experience probably counts for something.

He's worked his way up from grass root level unlike some big names who get to coach without paying their dues.

Coaches are also like players, takes years to mature and learn how to deal with talent and nurture them into stardum.

Based on my research, he is very big on fitness, training, putting in the hard yards but unlike our D Waqar, he has respect for sports medicine and rest recovery as well. He also meticulously works with each bowler and helps them to plan how they will bowl to each opposition batsman. The players love him as he knows how to motivate the troops after a bad day in the office.

It's no surprise his record is superior compared to D Waqar. If you give the likes of Ishant Sharma, Bhumra, Shami, Yadav, Siraj to Waqar, will be be able to produce Bharat Arun results with them? I don't think so. Even Wasim Akram was not able to help the likes of Sharma and Shami in the IPL and the nets whereas everything that Bharat Arun touches turns to gold

[Markhor]

Seems very adept at drawing up opposition specific bowling plans. Not once have AUS batsmen racked up a huge score and been allowed to score freely. And this is a third string Indian attack !

Whereas in Pakistan we bow down to these former greats like Waqar who don't have an iota of coaching and planning skill simply because he's a big name.

[Sir Alex]

1. Extreme attention to detail while planning how to dismiss opposition. Each and every batsmen is studied diligently, chinks noted and exploited. Smith was completely negated in the two decent bowling pitches in first 2 tests and then slowed down at SCG. Overall his average is just 44 in this series which is a big plus compared to how he was rampaging in ODIs. Warner was neutered. Labuschsgnr was made to work hard for his runs and couldn't get away with big scores. Lesser batsmen were all tied up and frustrated.

2. Works with bowlers more like a friend than a strict master kind of guy. Helps them improve themselves without affecting their core playing strengths.

3. It also helps that the bowlers he get to work with are all decently experienced and have come through the rigours of domestic and are not novices who have been picked out of obscurity just because they might have some talent or can bowl faaaaast.

[Swashbuckler]

I love how we have plans against all opponent batsmen, different matter that we overdo them against tailenders .

Our tactics against Smith this series were so impressive. Sundar tried to copy Ashwin so I think this preparation was courtesy the bowling coach.

[Markhor]

1. Extreme attention to detail while planning how to dismiss opposition. Each and every batsmen is studied diligently, chinks noted and exploited. Smith was completely negated in the two decent bowling pitches in first 2 tests and then slowed down at SCG. Overall his average is just 44 in this series which is a big plus compared to how he was rampaging in ODIs. Warner was neutered. Labuschsgnr was made to work hard for his runs and couldn't get away with big scores. Lesser batsmen were all tied up and frustrated.

2. Works with bowlers more like a friend than a strict master kind of guy. Helps them improve themselves without affecting their core playing strengths.

3. It also helps that the bowlers he get to work with are all decently experienced and have come through the rigours of domestic and are not novices who have been picked out of obscurity just because they might have some talent or can bowl faaaaast.

This is literally the exact opposite of five times failed coach Waqar and his philosophy which is basically turn up and hope for the best.

[freelance_cricketer]

Feel great when low-key guys make it and earn a name like this. We hear too much of criticism often but it's a breath of fresh air to see some appreciation for the good work too.

I'm sure in Pakisyan Cricket, many people are working very hard in low-key positions who are not getting their recognition due to superstars hogging the limelight.

Pakistan must find its own Bharat Arjuns

[Titan24]

Have rated him highly for few years now and he definitely deserves all the praise considering how every pacer under him consistently does the basics right.

[Manunited18]

B Arun is Shastri's drinking buddy. No bigger qualification than that.

Lol

[Buffet]

Fantastic job here. Even a 3rd string bowlers bowled out Aus twice despite catches going down. Yes, I am talking about catches because it means they created enough chances to bowl Aus twice despite catches going down.

[Saurav]

Mad respect.Don't even remember the last time we conceded a big total and failed to get wickets.Earlier 500 and 600 declarations were common

If our batsmen bar Kohli were any good,we'd have won in SA,Eng as well

[Hyperion66]

Mad respect.Don't even remember the last time we conceded a big total and failed to get wickets.Earlier 500 and 600 declarations were common

If our batsmen bar Kohli were any good,we'd have won in SA,Eng as well

This.

[Shafi]

Waqar needs schooling from Bharat Arun. Not sure Bharat Arun has any time to spare for this dull wanna be coach. May be Waqar needs to visit him personally and get few lessons in order to save his job.

[Shafi]

Feel great when low-key guys make it and earn a name like this. We hear too much of criticism often but it's a breath of fresh air to see some appreciation for the good work too.

I'm sure in Pakisyan Cricket, many people are working very hard in low-key positions who are not getting their recognition due to superstars hogging the limelight.

Pakistan must find its own Bharat Arjuns

Exactly opposite. We hardly have any half decent local talent coach like Bharat Arun. Most of the coaches are there due to their connection and most of them are not even qualify to coach third division country cricket teams in England.

[Varun]

A no-name who has somehow transformed our historically non-existent fast bowling resources into a champion unit.

Deserves a documentary.

[Shafi]

A no-name who has somehow transformed our historically non-existent fast bowling resources into a champion unit.

Deserves a documentary.

He must have talent to shine and BCCI has eyes to identify talents. Our all talk Wasim Khan also chosen some nobody as fielding coach (cheap option) but he failed miserably and make our fielding worse.

[ethan hunt]

This guy is easily the best coach in world cricket.
Its not even close. Whoever hired him is a genius.

[volcyz]

Whoever appointed Rahane as Captain is a genius too

[Savak]

The biggest key to India's victory and consistent pressure on this tour was the fact that not once did Australia score 400 runs on this tour. The Australian formula for success is to score big runs either batting first or batting first in the second innings and score big runs i.e. 500-600 runs at a very brisk rate and then allow the bowlers to bowl with freedom.

Indians did their homework beautifully on each and every Australian batsman and rather than fall for the common approach of bowling on offstump, just outside for the first hour and a half before the Australian batsmen wrecked havoc on the tiring bowlers, they instead decided to target the off, middle stump and placing fielders on the leg side and backed themselves to bowl loads of dot balls, forcing the batsmen to try to flick the ball straight to the beautifully placed fielders on the leg side, forcing the batsmen to shovel across the line bringing the lbw into play, making the odd delivery outside the offstump or bouncer to induce the batsman desperate to break the shackles to make a mistake.

It is the most beautiful piece of planning and execution i have ever seen a visiting team do in Australia and i am now pretty certain that a lot of teams touring Australia will use this template. I am just shocked that the Australian Coaching staff led by Justin Langer had absolutely no answers to this Indian bowling and fielding approach for 4 test matches in a row.

[ethan hunt]

Shardul freakin thakur bowls like steyn under this bloke and importantly with a plan.
Can shaheen and company work with him?

[jagatk]

Sack sridhar, give this guy the money saved as a raise. No one's deserved it more.

[jagatk]

Mad respect.Don't even remember the last time we conceded a big total and failed to get wickets.Earlier 500 and 600 declarations were common

If our batsmen bar Kohli were any good,we'd have won in SA,Eng as well

Doesn't this kind of make the opposite point, if kohli the captain just let his team be rather than making nonsensical selection and hamstringing his team we might have already won in those countries.

We just beat aussies in Australia, yes our bowling was fantastic but batting deserves credit too. They had No kohli to save them here so clearly him being the only good player isn't true.

[JaDed]

WD to the man!

[ftbno1]

The real unsung hero of this win. Look at India's pace pecking order.
1. Bumrah
2. Shami
3. Ishant
4. Bhuvneshwar
5. Umesh
So India took 20 wickets with 7th, 8th & 9th while 6th(Saini) was injured. He prroved that you do not need big name players as coaches.

[Shafi]

Shardul freakin thakur bowls like steyn under this bloke and importantly with a plan.
Can shaheen and company work with him?

Shaheen is not good enough to grasp skill. He is good according our standard. You cannot appoint high profile coach for average player. He will muddle up everything. Also you cannot appoint someone like Waqar as well. Should appoint good coach to improve

[Saurav]

Doesn't this kind of make the opposite point, if kohli the captain just let his team be rather than making nonsensical selection and hamstringing his team we might have already won in those countries.

We just beat aussies in Australia, yes our bowling was fantastic but batting deserves credit too. They had No kohli to save them here so clearly him being the only good player isn't true.

Kohli is captain of a great team,not a great captain

[Colorblind Genius]

Based on my research, he is very big on fitness, training, putting in the hard yards but unlike our D Waqar, he has respect for sports medicine and rest recovery as well. He also meticulously works with each bowler and helps them to plan how they will bowl to each opposition batsman. The players love him as he knows how to motivate the troops after a bad day in the office.

It's no surprise his record is superior compared to D Waqar. If you give the likes of Ishant Sharma, Bhumra, Shami, Yadav, Siraj to Waqar, will be be able to produce Bharat Arun results with them? I don't think so. Even Wasim Akram was not able to help the likes of Sharma and Shami in the IPL and the nets whereas everything that Bharat Arun touches turns to gold

Listen to Siraj from @3:05 to 3:56

Can a single Pakistani player HONESTLY say this about Waqar?

[JaDed]

Listen to Siraj from @3:05 to 3:56

Can a single Pakistani player HONESTLY say this about Waqar?

Wow didnt know Bharat Arun caused the change @Saurav he does deserve a raise!

[Suleiman]

We don’t even know who half the coaches of other countries are. Almost never hear their name. Because for all other top teams, the bowlers or batsmen or fielders are made at grass roots level and polished in domestics.

For Pakistan the bowling batting or whatever coach is a celebrity. Always in the limelight and a sword hanging above his head because he will get chopped if he doesn’t transform loser batsmen or bowlers into champions in a coaching stint at international level, when those guys should already be developed and ready to go at the highest level.

[Yk313]

Listen to Siraj from @3:05 to 3:56

Can a single Pakistani player HONESTLY say this about Waqar?

Actually, better to listen all the way to 5:36. Not just about Bharat Arun, but sheds more light on the mentality of a lot of the players in Subcontinent who come from smaller places/families and how their aspirations shape up in comparison. Need someone to nurture them.

[Babbar]

Now imagine after watching this video!

What’s the probability that Siraj will ever

1: try to get into ego tussle with coach.

2: give priority to a T20 circus in a remote minnow country over playing for India.

3: humiliate his country by doing spot-fixing or some other human excrement.

4: announce on twitter or instagram that he will only play once Ganguli, Shastri and Arun (or their successors) are thrown out.

This kid is one humble, sorted, level headed guy! Will go far.

[Golden arm]

Stat: Only for the third time in the last 32 years across 32 Tests, Australia have been bowled out in each innings of a Test at the Gabba - the other instances came against WI in 1992/93 and against NZ in 2008/09.

With a Ranji level attack, India got all 20 wickets against Aussies at their fortress, Gabba. Most of those guys are strictly T20 bowlers yet executed a solid plan. Could have come cheaper if we knew how to catch.

We may not like the present coaching staff and for good reasons. But unfair to club Bharat Arun with the others, he is a brilliant coach. Understand the bowlers well, always has multiple plans for the opponents, knows how to polish raw talent, great mentor.

Wasn't a hotshot cricketer at the highest level, but a successful coach. His work at MRF pace academy is underappreciated, worked at NCA, was U-19 head coach when we won in 2012 and now with Indian team overseeing development of a tremendous bowling attack with great depth and decent man to man replacements for all our first choice bowlers.

So, bowling experts on PP, how do you rate Bharat Arun?

In terms of output and performance miles ahead of our megastar Waqar

[Markhor]

This is Waqar's coaching philosophy in contrast.

“We’ve never given importance to coaching. We were never analytical or scientific. That guy is there [he points to the video analysis man on the dressing-room balcony], yeah sure he’s there. And he’s sitting there, and it’s kind of a highlights package and you can sit and analyse moments. But actually in the ’90s we never did analyse anyone: ‘he plays well here, don’t put it there.’ It’s not how long do you bowl at him there, what kind of field, what lengths, what is the B plan, the C plan, after that if it goes wrong, what happens? We had one plan. Go out there, get a wicket. We had resources. We sensed it and said, OK, bring Waqar back. Not even the captain [decided]. Sometimes I would go to the captain, give me two overs, let me do it. It was a kind of teamwork within the team but not like we’ll have a plan from before.

“No other country does it. Match-winners are always handy. Shoaib Akhtar? Match-winner. He’ll be ugly throughout the game, but with one or two overs he’ll change it, one spell. That’s why you play those characters. You can’t put the game in a shell where you have to be calculating, or planned or on this laptop, seeing how often this guy has gotten that guy out. Don’t do that.”

The sooner we ditch this outdated mentality and stop hanging onto romantic 90s cliches about individual matchwinners and unpredictability the better.

[freelance_cricketer]

Listen to Siraj from @3:05 to 3:56

Can a single Pakistani player HONESTLY say this about Waqar?

Mohd. Siraj, what a story.

So proud of him. He made his family proud through hard work.

[shamaan]

Mohd. Siraj, what a story.

So proud of him. He made his family proud through hard work.

Brillant stuff

[hoshiarpurexpress]

This is Waqar's coaching philosophy in contrast.



The sooner we ditch this outdated mentality and stop hanging onto romantic 90s cliches about individual matchwinners and unpredictability the better.

Lol someone needs to tell Waqar that him and Shoaib had a well “prepared” ball after the first spell. With 30 cameras around now, Australians found it the hard way how tough it is. That was 90s cricket. Times have changed. Now you need plans A,B,C,D and then strength and stamina to execute it all day.

[Colorblind Genius]

Lol someone needs to tell Waqar that him and Shoaib had a well “prepared” ball after the first spell. With 30 cameras around now, Australians found it the hard way how tough it is. That was 90s cricket. Times have changed. Now you need plans A,B,C,D and then strength and stamina to execute it all day.

Actually, Alec Stewart has put an end to this wishful thinking once and for all, and it has nicely shut up many who harp on this strawman of an excuse.

"Let anyone temper with the ball as much as they want, and they still can't bowl like Wasim and Waqar".

[JattMaula]

Actually, Alec Stewart has put an end to this wishful thinking once and for all, and it has nicely shut up many who harp on this strawman of an excuse.

"Let anyone temper with the ball as much as they want, and they still can't bowl like Wasim and Waqar".

Stewart was absolutely right. Waqar and co were were brilliant bowlers with or without tempered balls.

English bowlers are used to Duke so they can do most with that ball. They can make it hoop around or wobble it subtly. Indian bowlers can spin anyone out with SG ball. Aussies/SA can bang in kookaburra like nobody else. And Pakistan could bowl reverse with tempered ball better than all other bowlers.

[hoshiarpurexpress]

Actually, Alec Stewart has put an end to this wishful thinking once and for all, and it has nicely shut up many who harp on this strawman of an excuse.

"Let anyone temper with the ball as much as they want, and they still can't bowl like Wasim and Waqar".

Respectfully, I agree for Wasim. He could do anything with any kind of ball.

Not so much for Waqar and Shoaib.
Their actions were right for the time and type of cricket.
Waqar will be blasted to all parts of ground. Players like Dhoni, Kohli, De-villiers etc will just wait, convert his Yorker’s to full ball and bam.
Imagine Malinga had a prepared ball or bumrah or Shaheen or Shammi.. these guys will wreak havoc.

[Sir Alex]

Kohli is captain of a great team,not a great captain

A team which he made in his own image.

[cricketjoshila]

Actually, Alec Stewart has put an end to this wishful thinking once and for all, and it has nicely shut up many who harp on this strawman of an excuse.

"Let anyone temper with the ball as much as they want, and they still can't bowl like Wasim and Waqar".

There is a big difference between Wasim and Waqar and what they could do with the ball.

[Sir Alex]

In the last five years (since Jan 2016), Indian bowling attack has provided opposition only one score of over 500, by far the best among all nations.

Shows the value aggressive focussed bowling can bring. Takes a lot of pressure off their batsmen.

https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/stats/index.html?class=1;filter=advanced;orderby=team_in nings;runsmin1=500;runsval1=runs;spanmin2=01+Jan+2 016;spanval2=span;team_view=bowl;template=results; type=team

[Sir Alex]

Actually India has given away more than 400 runs in an innings only six times in the last 5 years, again the best team in this aspect.

Pakistan has given away 13 times, despite playing fewer tests than India.

[ask_analyse_act]

Experience probably counts for something.

He's worked his way up from grass root level unlike some big names who get to coach without paying their dues.

Coaches are also like players, takes years to mature and learn how to deal with talent and nurture them into stardum

.

B Arun is a excellent example. Unlike Waqar who comes in as head coach, when he is not in goes to commentary then give a try again to coaching. And the best comedian in Misbah who didn’t even coached a school

[freelance_cricketer]

In the last five years (since Jan 2016), Indian bowling attack has provided opposition only one score of over 500, by far the best among all nations.

Shows the value aggressive focussed bowling can bring. Takes a lot of pressure off their batsmen.

https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...ults;type=team

Actually India has given away more than 400 runs in an innings only six times in the last 5 years, again the best team in this aspect.

Pakistan has given away 13 times, despite playing fewer tests than India.

That is quite outstanding!!!

I have almost forgotten that we used to let teams score that many against us.

[Sir Alex]

That is quite outstanding!!!

I have almost forgotten that we used to let teams score that many against us.

Yeah actually only one time has India conceded over 400 runs in away tests in the last five years.

If they had a couple of super batsmen other than Kohli, they would have won series in SA and Eng.

[bala977]

That is quite outstanding!!!

I have almost forgotten that we used to let teams score that many against us.

Who can forget the humiliation in SL when they scored 900 odd runs against us! Also, they sent some unknown tail ender to open/at the top of the order to complete the insult .... thank god those days are a distant memory

[giri26]

Actually India has given away more than 400 runs in an innings only six times in the last 5 years, again the best team in this aspect.

Pakistan has given away 13 times, despite playing fewer tests than India.

4 of those 400's were on good batting pitches against England in 2016 series. The 500+ was in that series as well. Those were some good batting tracks and India scored heavily as well. England after scoring 400 in the first innings lost two Tests. That was an incredible series. The funny part is that in couple of Tests 400 was actually restricting the opposition as the pitches were so good to bat. The fact that we won 4-0 tells how good our bowling was.

[giri26]

Who can forget the humiliation in SL when they scored 900 odd runs against us! Also, they sent some unknown tail ender to open/at the top of the order to complete the insult .... thank god those days are a distant memory

Remember that drab of a game. India's bowling attack was Prasad, N Kulkarni, R chauhan, Anil Kumble and an over the hill Abhey Kuruvilla. The fact that India batted first and declared at 537, shows what a snoozefest that game was. Horrible decade for the Indian Test team overseas. Except for the 1993/94 tour to SL, India were pretty much a disappointment where ever they played.

[JattMaula]

Yeah actually only one time has India conceded over 400 runs in away tests in the last five years.

If they had a couple of super batsmen other than Kohli, they would have won series in SA and Eng.

While our bowlers are indeed unmatched, pitches prepared for us in SA, UK, NZ were hardly conductive to 400+ scores.

[giri26]

While our bowlers are indeed unmatched, pitches prepared for us in SA, UK, NZ were hardly conductive to 400+ scores.

These three countries always make pitches to counter the Indian batters. This helps our bowling as well which is one of the best in the world now. The biggest achievement was in Australia as Sydney and Brisbane were both pitches were 400+ could have been made in the first innings. Imagine that the same Australian batting line up was scoring 400-550 runs against NZ and Pakistan bowling attacks last year. Joe Burns, Travis Head, Matthew Wade were scoring loads of runs. India managed to keep them under 400 in all the 4 Tests. That broke the template Australia like to follow in the home games.

[Sir Alex]

4 of those 400's were on good batting pitches against England in 2016 series. The 500+ was in that series as well. Those were some good batting tracks and India scored heavily as well. England after scoring 400 in the first innings lost two Tests. That was an incredible series. The funny part is that in couple of Tests 400 was actually restricting the opposition as the pitches were so good to bat. The fact that we won 4-0 tells how good our bowling was.

3 400+ scores in the Eng series. 1 in the Aus home series and 1 vs SA.

[Firebat]

Bharat Arun explains how India caught Australian batsmen off guard

The Indian team management had started preparing for the Australia tour from July last year. As the country was slowly returning to normalcy after the lockdown, India’s coaching staff - under the leadership of head coach Ravi Shastri - had come up with a plan to tackle Tim Paine’s men during the long series.

The idea was to bowl in the straight line and make the Australian batsmen struggle on the leg side. And months later, as India yet again defeated Australia 2-1 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India’s bowling coach Bharat Arun was happy that their planning and hard work paid off.

“Ravi Shastri called me sometime in July and said we need to take the offside out of the Australians. We had our own analysis and we felt that most of the runs that Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne scored were because of cut, pull and on the offside. We took cue from the New Zealand attack. When they bowled to Smith, they just attacked his body and he felt very uncomfortable,” Arun said during a media interaction on Friday.

“Ravi called and said ‘I want you to make a plan where we can eliminate their offside’. We thought about it and decided that we will attack more on the straighter lines and have an on side field. It becomes very difficult for the batsman to consistently clear the on side field. That worked for us. The thought process started sometime in July and then when we discussed it with Virat, he bought the theory. We used the same thing in Adelaide and then Ajinkya was magnificent from Melbourne. The bowlers adjusted to that beautifully,” Arun said.

Arun has been with the Indian team since 2014 - he was out of the side for a while and was brought back again in 2017 - and his partnership with head coach Shastri has helped the team.

“As a head coach, Ravi has been outstanding. He gives you the freedom to work and anyone in the support staff would tell you that he gives you a lot of freedom and you can express yourself. You have common goals for the team, but it is about how can I contribute to this goal. We have our arguments, showdowns. We totally disagree on things but at the end of the day, when we decide on something, we stick to it. We consult the captain and everyone and then come up with the strategy,” Arun said.

“It helps when you know someone for that long. It gets a lot easier to agree and also to disagree, which is important in any relation," the bowling coach said.

The India team faced many injury challenges during the Test series and Arun lauded Shastri for having the foresight to retain a few of the limited-overs specialists for the Test series.

“The Australian tour itself is a big challenge. Any past cricketer who has toured Australia would know that. It's probably one of the most challenging tours. I think in the COVID times, it was a good move by Ravi Shastri to hold back all the net bowlers as well. After the ODI series, most of them were supposed to go back, but somehow, we thought that in case anything happens to a player, it will be impossible for anyone to come because of restrictions. We said we will manage with everyone and since they were with us for long, it was possible for them to understand what was demanded of them to be successful in Australia.”

https://sportstar.thehindu.com/crick...le33635823.ece

[Savak]

Bharat Arun explains how India caught Australian batsmen off guard

The Indian team management had started preparing for the Australia tour from July last year. As the country was slowly returning to normalcy after the lockdown, India’s coaching staff - under the leadership of head coach Ravi Shastri - had come up with a plan to tackle Tim Paine’s men during the long series.

The idea was to bowl in the straight line and make the Australian batsmen struggle on the leg side. And months later, as India yet again defeated Australia 2-1 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India’s bowling coach Bharat Arun was happy that their planning and hard work paid off.

“Ravi Shastri called me sometime in July and said we need to take the offside out of the Australians. We had our own analysis and we felt that most of the runs that Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne scored were because of cut, pull and on the offside. We took cue from the New Zealand attack. When they bowled to Smith, they just attacked his body and he felt very uncomfortable,” Arun said during a media interaction on Friday.

“Ravi called and said ‘I want you to make a plan where we can eliminate their offside’. We thought about it and decided that we will attack more on the straighter lines and have an on side field. It becomes very difficult for the batsman to consistently clear the on side field. That worked for us. The thought process started sometime in July and then when we discussed it with Virat, he bought the theory. We used the same thing in Adelaide and then Ajinkya was magnificent from Melbourne. The bowlers adjusted to that beautifully,” Arun said.

Arun has been with the Indian team since 2014 - he was out of the side for a while and was brought back again in 2017 - and his partnership with head coach Shastri has helped the team.

“As a head coach, Ravi has been outstanding. He gives you the freedom to work and anyone in the support staff would tell you that he gives you a lot of freedom and you can express yourself. You have common goals for the team, but it is about how can I contribute to this goal. We have our arguments, showdowns. We totally disagree on things but at the end of the day, when we decide on something, we stick to it. We consult the captain and everyone and then come up with the strategy,” Arun said.

“It helps when you know someone for that long. It gets a lot easier to agree and also to disagree, which is important in any relation," the bowling coach said.

The India team faced many injury challenges during the Test series and Arun lauded Shastri for having the foresight to retain a few of the limited-overs specialists for the Test series.

“The Australian tour itself is a big challenge. Any past cricketer who has toured Australia would know that. It's probably one of the most challenging tours. I think in the COVID times, it was a good move by Ravi Shastri to hold back all the net bowlers as well. After the ODI series, most of them were supposed to go back, but somehow, we thought that in case anything happens to a player, it will be impossible for anyone to come because of restrictions. We said we will manage with everyone and since they were with us for long, it was possible for them to understand what was demanded of them to be successful in Australia.”

https://sportstar.thehindu.com/crick...le33635823.ece

Legendary stuff by Shastri and Arun

[Hyperion66]

This is Waqar's coaching philosophy in contrast.



The sooner we ditch this outdated mentality and stop hanging onto romantic 90s cliches about individual matchwinners and unpredictability the better.

Wow, I don't know how to put this but this mindset is exactly the reason why Pak cricket is lagging so far behind. In a nutshell what he is saying is bowl fast and something will happen at some point if you are good enough, this is like sticking to your legacy system in the age of AI and data science. Just cuz something worked in the past doesn't mean it is still relevant 3 decades later.

[Hyperion66]

Bharat Arun explains how India caught Australian batsmen off guard

The Indian team management had started preparing for the Australia tour from July last year. As the country was slowly returning to normalcy after the lockdown, India’s coaching staff - under the leadership of head coach Ravi Shastri - had come up with a plan to tackle Tim Paine’s men during the long series.

The idea was to bowl in the straight line and make the Australian batsmen struggle on the leg side. And months later, as India yet again defeated Australia 2-1 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India’s bowling coach Bharat Arun was happy that their planning and hard work paid off.

“Ravi Shastri called me sometime in July and said we need to take the offside out of the Australians. We had our own analysis and we felt that most of the runs that Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne scored were because of cut, pull and on the offside. We took cue from the New Zealand attack. When they bowled to Smith, they just attacked his body and he felt very uncomfortable,” Arun said during a media interaction on Friday.

“Ravi called and said ‘I want you to make a plan where we can eliminate their offside’. We thought about it and decided that we will attack more on the straighter lines and have an on side field. It becomes very difficult for the batsman to consistently clear the on side field. That worked for us. The thought process started sometime in July and then when we discussed it with Virat, he bought the theory. We used the same thing in Adelaide and then Ajinkya was magnificent from Melbourne. The bowlers adjusted to that beautifully,” Arun said.

Arun has been with the Indian team since 2014 - he was out of the side for a while and was brought back again in 2017 - and his partnership with head coach Shastri has helped the team.

“As a head coach, Ravi has been outstanding. He gives you the freedom to work and anyone in the support staff would tell you that he gives you a lot of freedom and you can express yourself. You have common goals for the team, but it is about how can I contribute to this goal. We have our arguments, showdowns. We totally disagree on things but at the end of the day, when we decide on something, we stick to it. We consult the captain and everyone and then come up with the strategy,” Arun said.

“It helps when you know someone for that long. It gets a lot easier to agree and also to disagree, which is important in any relation," the bowling coach said.

The India team faced many injury challenges during the Test series and Arun lauded Shastri for having the foresight to retain a few of the limited-overs specialists for the Test series.

“The Australian tour itself is a big challenge. Any past cricketer who has toured Australia would know that. It's probably one of the most challenging tours. I think in the COVID times, it was a good move by Ravi Shastri to hold back all the net bowlers as well. After the ODI series, most of them were supposed to go back, but somehow, we thought that in case anything happens to a player, it will be impossible for anyone to come because of restrictions. We said we will manage with everyone and since they were with us for long, it was possible for them to understand what was demanded of them to be successful in Australia.”

https://sportstar.thehindu.com/crick...le33635823.ece

Amazing read. Unreal planning and analysis!!

[Saurav]

A team which he made in his own image.

Wrong.Most of the players were there under Dhoni or debuted this series under Rahane

[JaDed]

Nice to know about plans hopefully we have for English team as well.

[Saurav]

Why don't they plan like this for NZ,SA as well

Seems like we are extra motivated vs Aussies only

[JaDed]

Why don't they plan like this for NZ,SA as well

Seems like we are extra motivated vs Aussies only

They probably do but now that Aus is conquered I’m sure for English series there will be a lot more of planning.

Also I wonder if its Kohli that cannot execute the plan like Rahane..

[Sir Alex]

Wrong.Most of the players were there under Dhoni or debuted this series under Rahane

Yeah Ishant debuted under Dhoni, and was used as what ? His fotunes changed after Kohli took over.
Dhoni left Indian test team in tatters. Ranked 5th or 6th. Hopeless trundlers like Vinay Kumar, and play for draw defensive cricket.
Once Virat took over, and spent enough time, he converted the team into a win at any costs bunch. The teams don't settle for draws unless absolutely essential.

Saini, Siraj and Sundar.all three have been picked and promoted by Virat in IPL, despite the accusation that the first 2 are red ball bowlers. For Virat it doesn't matter, he wants to oversee the next talent himself and then fast track them to Indian team setup. That is his legacy.

[Buffet]

Why don't they plan like this for NZ,SA as well

Seems like we are extra motivated vs Aussies only

Do you expect to talk about plans in media if those plans did not work?

Of course, Indians plan for other tours. In fact, every team plans for every tour. Some time that plan will be countered well by other teams.

[AMSS]

What's going on here? Some groupie love-in? lol

I mean even in that Siraj video, he only mentions how B Arun plucked him out of obscurity. No comments on his technical competence.

[Saurav]

Do you expect to talk about plans in media if those plans did not work?

Of course, Indians plan for other tours. In fact, every team plans for every tour. Some time that plan will be countered well by other teams.

I'm not sure they plan for other tours months in advance,specially NZ

Aus tour is more looked forward to.

For example,if we did well in NZ but failed in Aus,we wouldn't have got such huge praises

[Buffet]

I'm not sure they plan for other tours months in advance,specially NZ

Aus tour is more looked forward to.

For example,if we did well in NZ but failed in Aus,we wouldn't have got such huge praises

Sure, they put the most emphasis on Aus tours and least on NZ, but they must be planning for all tours.

[Saurav]

Yeah Ishant debuted under Dhoni, and was used as what ? His fotunes changed after Kohli took over.
Dhoni left Indian test team in tatters. Ranked 5th or 6th. Hopeless trundlers like Vinay Kumar, and play for draw defensive cricket.
Once Virat took over, and spent enough time, he converted the team into a win at any costs bunch. The teams don't settle for draws unless absolutely essential.

Saini, Siraj and Sundar.all three have been picked and promoted by Virat in IPL, despite the accusation that the first 2 are red ball bowlers. For Virat it doesn't matter, he wants to oversee the next talent himself and then fast track them to Indian team setup. That is his legacy.

Ofcourse he's better than Dhoni,will give you that

But the players also matured and improved anyway.

lol he picked them in RCB coz hes a clueless LO captain.I'm sure he'll love to win the trophy rather than playing Test bowlers in T20

[Savak]

So actually it was NZ which cracked the code against the Australian batsmen in Australia. Rest of the world needs to take note of these tactics going forward

[Yk313]

Bharat Arun explains how India caught Australian batsmen off guard

The Indian team management had started preparing for the Australia tour from July last year. As the country was slowly returning to normalcy after the lockdown, India’s coaching staff - under the leadership of head coach Ravi Shastri - had come up with a plan to tackle Tim Paine’s men during the long series.

The idea was to bowl in the straight line and make the Australian batsmen struggle on the leg side. And months later, as India yet again defeated Australia 2-1 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India’s bowling coach Bharat Arun was happy that their planning and hard work paid off.

“Ravi Shastri called me sometime in July and said we need to take the offside out of the Australians. We had our own analysis and we felt that most of the runs that Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne scored were because of cut, pull and on the offside. We took cue from the New Zealand attack. When they bowled to Smith, they just attacked his body and he felt very uncomfortable,” Arun said during a media interaction on Friday.

“Ravi called and said ‘I want you to make a plan where we can eliminate their offside’. We thought about it and decided that we will attack more on the straighter lines and have an on side field. It becomes very difficult for the batsman to consistently clear the on side field. That worked for us. The thought process started sometime in July and then when we discussed it with Virat, he bought the theory. We used the same thing in Adelaide and then Ajinkya was magnificent from Melbourne. The bowlers adjusted to that beautifully,” Arun said.

Arun has been with the Indian team since 2014 - he was out of the side for a while and was brought back again in 2017 - and his partnership with head coach Shastri has helped the team.

“As a head coach, Ravi has been outstanding. He gives you the freedom to work and anyone in the support staff would tell you that he gives you a lot of freedom and you can express yourself. You have common goals for the team, but it is about how can I contribute to this goal. We have our arguments, showdowns. We totally disagree on things but at the end of the day, when we decide on something, we stick to it. We consult the captain and everyone and then come up with the strategy,” Arun said.

“It helps when you know someone for that long. It gets a lot easier to agree and also to disagree, which is important in any relation," the bowling coach said.

The India team faced many injury challenges during the Test series and Arun lauded Shastri for having the foresight to retain a few of the limited-overs specialists for the Test series.

“The Australian tour itself is a big challenge. Any past cricketer who has toured Australia would know that. It's probably one of the most challenging tours. I think in the COVID times, it was a good move by Ravi Shastri to hold back all the net bowlers as well. After the ODI series, most of them were supposed to go back, but somehow, we thought that in case anything happens to a player, it will be impossible for anyone to come because of restrictions. We said we will manage with everyone and since they were with us for long, it was possible for them to understand what was demanded of them to be successful in Australia.”

https://sportstar.thehindu.com/crick...le33635823.ece

Good to see this acknowledgement come through officially.

Posted in various contexts on various threads during the series that the lack of width on a hard length was the undoing of AUS batsmen. Especially when you think about how most oppositions start to go searching for wickets after a session or two if they cannot break through and instead end up conceding runs.

[Yk313]

This is Waqar's coaching philosophy in contrast.

“We’ve never given importance to coaching. We were never analytical or scientific. That guy is there [he points to the video analysis man on the dressing-room balcony], yeah sure he’s there. And he’s sitting there, and it’s kind of a highlights package and you can sit and analyse moments. But actually in the ’90s we never did analyse anyone: ‘he plays well here, don’t put it there.’ It’s not how long do you bowl at him there, what kind of field, what lengths, what is the B plan, the C plan, after that if it goes wrong, what happens? We had one plan. Go out there, get a wicket. We had resources. We sensed it and said, OK, bring Waqar back. Not even the captain [decided]. Sometimes I would go to the captain, give me two overs, let me do it. It was a kind of teamwork within the team but not like we’ll have a plan from before.

“No other country does it. Match-winners are always handy. Shoaib Akhtar? Match-winner. He’ll be ugly throughout the game, but with one or two overs he’ll change it, one spell. That’s why you play those characters. You can’t put the game in a shell where you have to be calculating, or planned or on this laptop, seeing how often this guy has gotten that guy out. Don’t do that.”

The sooner we ditch this outdated mentality and stop hanging onto romantic 90s cliches about individual matchwinners and unpredictability the better.

I know you posted this on another thread and I had the same reaction but just cannot help get over how far behind Waqar is mentally.

Reading this makes me wonder how he had the cognitive ability to realise that following his back injury he would have to reinvent himself as a new ball bowler. Surely someone else must have spoon-fed him.

[Yk313]

Why don't they plan like this for NZ,SA as well

Seems like we are extra motivated vs Aussies only

Asking the question suggests you have come to the conclusion that they do not plan for the stated oppositions.

May I ask what drew you to conclude that?

[dildilpak]

Waqar & BA - You cant have more two contrasting coaching styles. Its a huge negative having bowling legends as coaches who rest on past laurels/techniques without adapting to newer methodologies.