Gurcharan Singh, a recipient of the Padma Shri award, has stated that it is inappropriate for many coaches to take credit for the achievements of athletes just because the athletes trained at their academies.
The 87-year-old veteran cricket coach said that players like Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma are “once in a generation” players. The coach is responsible for the development of more than a dozen players who have earned international acclaim, including Kirti Azad, Ajay Jadeja, and Maninder Singh, among others.
This year, the octogenarian was honoured with the Padma Shri for the contributions he has made to Indian cricket. He is just the second cricket coach, after Desh Prem Azad, to earn such a prestigious award for his work in the sport.
“In order to be successful as a cricket coach, one must ensure that their fundamentals are sound. Numerous coaches will assert ownership of an athlete even if that person has done nothing more than show up to basic practise sessions and training sessions.
“It’s (practise) entirely wrong, although Kapil (Dev) had been visiting my coaching camps in Bombay, but I still don’t claim he is my product; he is from Chandigarh and he is a product of DP Azad,” said Gurcharan. “It’s (practise) completely wrong,” said Gurcharan.
“The length of the bat is the same, and the width of the bat is the same; what differs is the techniques of the coach,” he continued. “Every coach has a different technique of coaching.”
In an interview with PTI, Gurcharan stated that “oxygen comes from the cricket pitch” for him. He went on to say that players such as Gavaskar, Tendulkar, and Kohli would forever remain the greatest cricketers that India has produced, and newcomers can never overshadow their legacy.
“You can’t produce Rohit; you can’t make Kohli; you can’t produce Sunil Gavaskar or Sachin Tendulkar.
These cricket players have established themselves as legends and have left a lasting impact. New members will join the team over time, but they will not be able to take the place of existing players. Players of their calibre have always been terrific and will continue to be great.”
Gurcharan, among whose other wards are Rahul Sanghvi and Murali Kartik, said that he was taken aback by the honour.
“At this age, I wasn’t expecting this award, and as a result, I am really thankful and honoured that I was selected for the award at this age,” the speaker said.
On the other hand, he mentioned that his supporters believed he ought to have been given the Padma Shri award a long time ago.
Cricket was where Gurcharan’s adventure began, and the Maharaja of Patiala, Yadavindra Singh, was there to guide him along the way.
During his time on the field, he was a member of the Patiala and Eastern Punjab State Unions, Patiala, Railways, and the Southern Punjab team.
Approximately 37 first-class games were played by him before he turned his attention to teaching. After accumulating a sufficient amount of knowledge and experience over the course of his career, he eventually became one of the most successful trainers that India has ever produced.
Gurcharan, who has been around for a number of years and has witnessed the development of cricket in the country, stated that “cricket in the country has changed a lot” due to the introduction of new formats. He continued by saying, “But the change is for the better.”
