Why Rohit Sharma and Gary Kirsten are fine thinkers of the game?

By K.R. Nayar
From Cantiague Park

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and Pakistan coach Gary Kirsten are two brilliant thinkers of the game. Sharma has proved to be one of the world’s finest cricketers and Kirsten, who guided India to their World Cup triumph in 2011 is an outstanding coach. The way they think is different, something that was evident during the pre-match press conference.

When I asked Sharma whether the pitch would hold the key in the match against Pakistan, his response was: “I think playing good cricket holds the key no matter who the opposition is. With the pitch, I think by now one knows what to expect from the conditions, so you've got to prepare yourself keeping that in mind.”

 

 There were many instances where his shrewd thinking of the game surfaced prominently.  When asked how players keep going despite getting blows on the body because of the uneven pitch, like it happened to him when playing Ireland, he said:. “I think a lot of these guys are quite experienced and the reason they are representing the country out of 1.4 billion is because they are mentally tough. They are different from the rest who are not part of the team. They have everything in them. They are slightly more - I wouldn't say skilled, but it's more to do with how mentally they think about the game. And when you are playing at the highest level, all these blows that you get, I don't think it counts for anything. What counts is - what's in front of you.”

 

Gary Kirsten

Similarly, I got a great response from Kirsten when I asked him on how he handled the pressure of expectations when he was Team India coach and now in his new role. Kirsten’s response was: “Not to hide from the fact that it's a big game, but you need to treat cricket like cricket should be treated. You need to play every game well, you need to hit the ball in the right areas, you need to score enough runs, you need to take your catches and field well. I don't think it's ever changed in the game.”

It is amazing how Sharma, who holds the most challenging post in Indian cricket, carries on without sleepless nights.  He went on to explain how he does it. “I have my process. I will think about what is right to do at that point in time. As the captain, I have to take decisions on the field. So, I think what's more important for me is to just think about what I need to do right now or in this particular over - not even thinking of how much we need to get after 20 overs, or for how much do we need to bowl them out. I think it's about that one over, how we want to finish that over, staying in the present, and literally just nailing down to maybe over by over, and that is where the skill of captain comes into play.”

 

 Similarly, Kirsten’s response to Pakistan’s defeat to USA displayed his positive approach. “It was two days ago and it is forgotten. We can't take it back. It's gone. So, we move on. It's a big game (against India), so we're going to treat it as any other game. But certainly, give it our best shot. “