Gurcharan Singh: Great master with adaptability

'It’s all in the mind' is a commonly used phrase, but to understand the essence of it, one should meet respected cricket coach Gurcharan Singh, whose face is the only part that reflects his age. Otherwise he is as sound, as fit and as enthusiastic as any of his young trainees.

All you have to do is say the magic word 'cricket’ in front of him and you can see a twinkle in his eyes and get him to talk about his passion in life.

This Dronacharya awardee’s zeal is simply unmatched and he can bring a youngster to shame with his sheer dedication and hard work on the cricket field.

When asked what keeps him going, the gentle coach puts it simply: "I played my first Ranji Trophy match in 1953 and there on I never looked back. I never expected too much from life and everything came to me on its own and much before time. The best part is I am still playing and I am hail and hearty."

Dedicating his life to cricket, he has virtually built with his own hands what will be any coach's delight – a sports complex in a corner of Delhi where he imparts all his valuable cricketing knowledge to talented youngsters.

As an employee of the National Institute of Sports (NIS) and later the Sports Authority of India (SAI), he produced quite a few international players like Ajay Jadeja, Maninder Singh, Kirti Azad, Gursharan Singh and Surender Khanna apart from a host of others who turned out for Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and other state teams.

Not the one to take it easy after his retirement, he now runs his own academy on a piece of land allotted to him by the Delhi Development Authority, which was looking for someone to use the facility well to house a coaching centre. Along with his former trainee Maninder, he invested some one lakh rupees and now has as trainees, several who are knocking the doors of first-class cricket.

"When we started the coaching centre, we never knew that we would get such a good response. At a time, we train 150 boys, hence many are on the waiting list. But during the summer vacation (April, May and June) we arrange for special camps and in those camps we divide them in the category of age groups of 8-12, 13-16, 16-19 and above-19. And after the camp is concluded, we shortlist promising players and invite them for further coaching," explained the proud coach.

A strict disciplinarian - Gurcharan can be extremely tough with his pupils but with his father-like-care, he has won the love and respect of each one of his wards. He is known to sponsor the education of some of the trainees who cannot afford school fees. The talented youngsters from poor background were known to collect money from him for buying refreshments, equipment as well as transport allowance.

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Asked to reveal the secret formula of making great players, Gurcharan stresses on letting a budding cricket rely on his natural talent.

"I only rely and focus on the natural talent and work accordingly. I don't believe in changing the natural flair. Too much coaching may destroy a talent. So, it is important to let a player take his own course. If I see coaches trying to do too many things with a youngster, I stop them,'' says Gurcharan, who has coached at Air Force Bal Bharati School, Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, St. Columba's School and Khalsa College, apart from training a number of students in the National Stadium which was part of the NIS and then the SAI.

He maintains: "More than stressing on the techniques, the job of a coach is to ensure that a player is regular, punctual, and keen to learn. Then comes the 'age of attractions (16, 17 or 18 years), and that is the time where a coach has to play an important role. He needs to make sure that a youngster keeps his focus. And if during that stage, he is taken proper care of, he is made."

Even at this age, Gurcharan is open to new ideas and is ready to adapt to the needs of modern-day cricket. Being a wonderful analyst with a great cricketing brain, he believes in moving with time and making his students do everything that is required in today’s world.

Talking about the importance of fitness in modern day cricket, he says, "It has all boiled down to fitness only in today's cricket. The talent can never come up unless a player is fit.”

The coach himself takes a 4 km walk everyday and gives special emphasis on his own fitness apart from his wards, after finishing the coaching sessions.

"We have arranged special fitness classes in the coaching centre where we seek the services of renowned physiotherapists, trainers for every student. We have with us a couple who have represented India in athletics and are specialized in physiotherapy. All the cricket teams playing in Delhi – whether it is the Ranji team, or the Under-19 or Under-22, seek their help and I think we are lucky to have them with us," says the former Railways Ranji player who turned out under the legendary Lala Amarnath when the team had seven other Test players on the ranks.

Coaching for more than three decades, Gurcharan has literally turned stones into gems but if he is asked to name a few prominent talents from his current bunch of students, who he thinks are capable of making it big in international cricket, he becomes a little apprehensive.

"These days it is very difficult to say because you never know if a student, who is there with you for five years, would be there with you forever or not. Earlier, a boy who would come in standard VII would stay with you till he is 70, but now the things have changed. There are many cricket clubs that have cropped up, who offer the students handsome amounts and they just go away. Some of them also have financial constraints, so, I also don't stop them," explains the coach.

The times have certainly changed and in this money-luring age, the coach sounds worried for the future of these young boys.

"Parents are short on patience. The impatience shown by the parents is damaging the training of these students. You require time to make a full-fledged player," emphasises Gurcharan.

But his commitment towards the game is unchanged and he can be an inspiration to many, who in today's world have forgotten the essence of this gentleman's game.

This man’s motto hasn't changed and he maintains, "Worship this game which has given you everything in life and it is likely to give you more and more. Be patient and honest!"

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Dinesh Lad: The burnisher behind the scenes

Manabendra Ghosh: From coach to mentor

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