Sairaj Bahutule, a former India and distinguished Mumbai cricketer was the bowling coach of the India Under-19 team that won the ICC Under1-19 World Cup in the West Indies by defeating Australia in the semi-finals and England in the final. “The present generation of Under-19 cricketers are different; they are quick learners and execute their plans quickly,” Bahutule said while responding to questions on various aspects of the team that won the World Cup.

In a short time everything happened to you upon being appointed as bowling coach at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. You have been a coach of Ranji Trophy and IPL teams. But it must have been a wonderful experience working with India Under-19 team?

I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it because I went to South Africa with the India `A’ team before the World Cup as the bowling coach. So it was a different experience because, with the India `A’ team, the players are much more settled. They knew what they were doing, since they have that experience of playing different formats as well, and they know their cricketing abilities. Whereas when I went with the India Under-19 team, I found out that these boys were good skill-wise, but overall, they were not aware of their game, and how they would like themselves to perform at a higher platform. So I think it was a great experience, boys who could be coached, and all of them were highly skilled, but at the same time, great boys to be around with a good heart. They wanted to learn.
They were resilient as well. The COVID cases affected the team and the situation was not being good. But they showed a lot of character, and it was really good to be around the boys as they kept on fighting the situation.
More than that as a coach, it was very important to just keep them in a good headspace and make sure that they focused on cricket and not things that they can’t control.

You were a leg-spinner. How good was the team in the spin department in general? Can any of them make the next grade (playing for the State team in the Ranji Trophy? The team did not have a good leg-spinner?

These boys are very smart and deceptive. It’s a different generation altogether. They are quick learners. And they are also quick to execute things. The spinners were Vicky Ostwal (left-arm), Nishant Sindhu (left-arm), Kaushal Tambe (off-break). There was also Aneeshwar Gautam (left-arm) who did not play much, but he is a potential all-rounder in the making. The spinners had a role to play; to do the best of their abilities. Ostwal brought stability to the attack and in the process picked up wickets at the right time. These finger spinners were very effective because I think a lot of emphasis was put on focusing on their basics and not trying too many things. This is the development part of the career. There was no point in experimenting or trying too many things on a platform when you know that the margin of error is minimal. And they responded well, and it was great working with them, because, we kept things simple. They also believed in that, to do things simply. We were on the same page most of the time. This helped them to perform and not complicate things. I think it was important to just focus on what their strengths were. That was the reason why they were able to execute the way they did.

In which areas do they have to work on to go to the next level of the hard grind of first class cricket?

In fact, some of them are ready for it, to be honest. The reason why I say that is because I think they have the temperament to play first-class cricket. That’s why I said this generation (of players) is different compared to yesteryear when we thought that probably it would take a year or two to make the next level. But today’s players are much more mature in their thinking, and understanding of their skill level. All they need is guidance in the different aspects; of handling situations and knowing a lot more about themselves. And I think many of these guys will get the opportunity to play multi-day first-class cricket in the coming season. And I think they will show their worth; because I think they are skilled, all they need is the opportunity to play in first-class cricket.

There is a suggestion that the BCCI may ask States to pick certain players for the domestic tournaments?

I have not heard about this suggestion. If it’s right, then I think that’s a great initiative because you don’t want these Under – 19 boys, who have been successful, not given the opportunities to play in first-class games. What happens is that if they don’t play, they will go into the wilderness. But I am sure an effort will be made to nurture these boys, support them and make sure that they will not go into the wilderness.

Not many big individual scores were made against India at the World Cup?

For me, the challenge was to work with both the fast bowlers and spinners. When we played the Asia Cup (in Dubai before the World Cup) to be honest, all the Asian teams were very good facing spin, but our spinners showed character because Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka were all good sides; their batters played the spinners well, but yet I think the Indian spinners’ temperament was seen. They were able to control events in the Asia Cup. They followed the same process and hence were successful in the West Indies.

What about the new ball bowlers?

Rajvardhan Harnagrgekar is a good fast bowler with the potential to play at a higher level. The more he plays first-class cricket, the better he will get. He will come to know of different lengths and areas he needs to bowl at. He has the speed and reasonable control over his bowling and I think he will be someone who has to be looked into and nurtured. Raj Bawa is a steady bowler, and he has the potential to be a very good all-rounder. Ravi Kumar is a swing bowler who did the job for the team because his incoming balls to the right-handers were very effective in the first spells of his by getting wickets in the power play. We practised a lot with the Kookaburra, and they were comfortable with that.

So not many anxious moments in the context of playing the matches?

One needs to understand that they are kids who are skilled, but more than that, managing life in the bubble can be tough. So all that was important was to manage them individually; have a chat with them at their level in order to make them understand certain things. I think that’s the reason they responded well; we gave them the space also to play the way they wanted and make sure that they express themselves, rather than, bind them to certain things and all that, so we let them do that. Eventually, whatever they did, they knew that it was for a team plan.

Yash Dhull and Shaik Rasheed tested positive. They were very disappointed that they were missing the game against Ireland. But they also knew what the situation was and was determined to come back. And when they got the opportunity to come onto the field and do things, they showed their character.