New Delhi. It is believed that the first teachers of any child are his parents. Under the supervision of parents, a child learns the ‘first lesson’ of life. This thing also fits in the context of sports. The first coach of many cricketers was their father. It was under the supervision of his father that he learned the intricacies of the game. The latest names among those who got coaching from their father and played top level cricket are Sarfaraz Khan and his brother Musheer Khan. ‘Khan brothers’ are being considered as the future cricket stars of India.
Sarfaraz made his debut in the Test series against England and impressed by scoring three half-centuries in the first three Tests. His younger brother Musheer was India’s star performer in the Under-19 World Cup. 19 year old Musheer, who is also an expert in spin bowling, broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record by scoring a century in the Ranji Trophy final. He is the youngest player from Mumbai to score a century in the Ranji Trophy final.
Both Sarfaraz and Musheer have touched great heights under the tutelage of their father Naushad Khan. Naushad worked hard to make his children cricketers. As a coach, he was very strict against his children. The viral photo of father Naushad wiping tears emotionally at the time of Sarfaraz’s Test debut had caught everyone’s attention. Let us look at those other cricketers of the country whose initial coach was their father.
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Cheteshwar Pujara: Apart from father, uncle has also been a cricketer
Team India’s trusted test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara learned the art of cricket from his father. His father Arvind Pujara has played first class cricket for Saurashtra. To improve his batting, especially his defence, Cheteshwar practiced for hours under the guidance of his father. Cricket is in Cheteshwar’s blood. Apart from his father, his grandfather and uncle have also been cricketers. Father Arvind had told that when Chintu (Cheteshwar’s family name) was young, I used to make him practice on the cement pitch. To make his son efficient in batting on short pitch ball, he was bowled from 18 yards instead of 22 so that the ball reaches him faster and he gets less time to play the shot.
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Yuvraj Singh: Fighter son of fighter father
Left-handed batsman Yuvraj Singh learned cricket early under the supervision of his father Yograj. Yograj, a fast bowler, has played one Test and six ODIs for India, unfortunately his career did not last long. The pain of not having a long career always remained in Yograj’s mind and he devoted his entire life to make his son a better cricketer than himself. Yuvraj used to do roller skating in his childhood but his father strictly asked him to concentrate on cricket only. To make Yuvraj practice batting, Yograj himself used to bowl to him for hours. For this, he had made a pitch behind the house. Yograj had once told, ‘Many times I used to make Yuvraj work so hard that my mother (Yuvraj’s grandmother) used to cry and say that this strictness of yours will kill Yuvi.’ Yuvraj, who practiced hard under his father’s supervision, later honed his game under the coaching of Sukhwinder Bawa. Yuvraj’s image is that of a ‘fighter’ player. It is believed that he has inherited this quality from his father. After Yuvraj recovered from cancer, Yograj also fell victim to this disease but returned from America after undergoing surgery. Along with working in films, Yograj is also giving coaching in cricket. He recently came into limelight by coaching Sachin Tendulkar’s son Arjun.
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Deepak Chahar: Father learned the nuances of coaching for the sake of his son.
31 year old Deepak Chahar is the only bowler from India to take a hat-trick in T20I. Swing bowler Deepak has played 13 ODI and 25 T20 matches for India. He has also made his mark as a good lower order batsman. Born in Agra, Deepak has improved his bowling under the guidance of his father Lokendra Chahar. The story of Deepak’s coaching is interesting. His father Lokendra was a good cricketer but could not play top level cricket. Later he started working in the Air Force. Deepak took initial coaching from Sherwood Academy coach Ranjit Singh. Till this time his father Lokendra had no coaching experience. Later Lokendra learned the nuances of coaching and made Deepak practice bowling under his supervision. For his son’s training, he got a pitch prepared at the Air Force campus in Sriganganagar and used to make him practice for hours every day. Deepak’s cousin Rahul Chahar, who has played for India as a wrist spinner, has also practiced bowling under the supervision of Lokendra. Despite not having a formal degree in coaching, Lokendra used to teach bowling tricks to his son by watching videos of famous coaches and bowlers. Having a cricket background was beneficial for him in this respect.
Washington Sundar: Father is a cricketer, sister also plays cricket
24 year old Washington Sundar is an excellent player in all three formats. Washington has played four Tests, 19 ODIs and 43 T20s and has made important contributions as an all-rounder. Washington’s father TS Sundar has also been a cricketer. He was the initial coach of Washington and his sister Shailja. It was under the guidance of their father that Washington and his sister learned cricket. Shailaja is also an all-rounder and plays cricket for Tamil Nadu. While debuting for Team India, Washington had said that he has reached this position only on the strength of his father’s coaching and his hard work.
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Jatin Paranjape: Father Vasu was a famous coach
The international career of left-handed hard-hitting batsman Jatin Paranjape was short due to injury. He could play only four ODIs for India in 1998. Although he was rated very high in domestic cricket. In first class cricket, Jatin scored 3964 runs for Mumbai at an average of 46.09, which included 13 centuries. Jatin’s father (late) Vasu Paranjape was a very famous coach. Vasu played 29 first class matches and has also served as a coach in the National Cricket Academy (NCA). Jatin had learned the nuances of cricket from his father. Vasu has also played an important role in honing the sporting skills of many famous cricketers including Sachin Tendulkar, Sanjay Manjrekar, Ramesh Powar, Rahul Dravid.
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Tags: Cheteshwar Pujara, Deepak Chahar, Sarfaraz Khan, Washington Sundar, Yuvraj singh
FIRST PUBLISHED: April 1, 2024, 07:50 IST