The Kashi Rudras: Kashi Rudras captain Karan Sharma revealed that stepping out of his comfort zone to train under veteran batting coach and former India batter Pravin Amre in Mumbai brought noticeable improvements to his power-hitting and timing, though he admitted that altering years of batting habits was a tough mental and physical challenge.
Sharma, who routinely relies on childhood coach Rajan Sachdeva to fine-tune his game, spent ten days with Amre prior to the season to work on subtle technical adjustments in his posture and swing. All of that effort has yielded fruit via Karan leading the run-scoring charts with 298 runs in nine games at an average of 37.25 and strike-rate of 146.8.
“I work a lot on batting with the help of my childhood coach Rajan Sachdeva sir. I chat a lot about batting with him as he’s someone who can understand my batting very well. But before this season, I had a thought about trying something different – so I went to Mumbai to work under Pravin Amre sir.
“I practiced for ten days under him and understood about batting in-depth and what more can I do to improve my batting and work on small things. He helped me a lot in one or two technical points with my batting which he felt that I could improve upon to make my game better. Due to that, I saw the change in myself and my shots and power and began to time the ball better,” Sharma told IANS in an exclusive conversation on the sidelines of the league in Kanpur.
He also explained that rewiring established batting mechanics required patience from him, as initial struggles were inevitable before the results start showing on the field. “In those ten days - I mean, if you change anything in your batting, or something else, it's not easy, obviously.
“As a batter today, because you are leaving your natural state, and you've been doing one thing for a long time, it's in your muscle memory. So, breaking years of muscle memory, I mean, I don't think it's an easy job, obviously. So, for that one month, there was a bit of a struggle, but after that, I started enjoying batting, and things started making sense.
“I've planned to go again, to try and go again before the next Ranji Trophy season, and spend some time there and improve because I feel that every batter, if they are not improving, they are somehow going downwards. So, I think as a batter, you have to remain in a phase of constant improvement,” he said.
Two-time winners Kashi Rudras are currently sitting at number three on the points table with eight points as the race to knockouts tightens up. Addressing how the squad recovered after dropping four games in a row, Sharma revealed the importance of staying positive and process-driven to help the team to come back strongly through a 67-run win over Noida Kings, where he hit a blistering 102 off 51 balls, laced with 11 boundaries and five sixes.
“It's going well right now. After the way we started, we went down a little in the middle. I think we lost 3 or 4 matches straight. When you win like this, obviously the atmosphere in the dressing room becomes very good. It boosts you up and there was a change of venue - so, it was exciting for us and that led to us thinking that maybe we can do something next.
“So, the atmosphere in the dressing room is very good right now. When you win, obviously the atmosphere in the team is good. But we saw that time when we were losing, we were still trying to stay positive. The things that are working for us, we should focus on those things.”
On keeping the team grounded ahead of crucial matches, Sharma insisted that focusing on immediate micro-execution and staying in the present takes precedence over worrying about results. “I am a person who believes in the process a lot. So, I try to focus on the things that are needed to win. I try to focus on those things in the team and in my mindset rather than just thinking that we have to win.
“But how we have to win is more important and what all things we have to do right, even if we have to focus on small things. So, as a person, I try to focus on small things which will ensure us to win games - like small tactics for every batter. I have my own personality – like how I bring myself in the present because our game is all about being in the moment.
“So, I think we keep practicing being in the moment. We try not to go too far or too far back because in the tournament, things are running very fast. I think you are playing 10 matches in 20 days. So, you have to ensure that when you are coming the next day, you are not coming with a win or a loss in the previous game in your mind. So, it is good for me to think like this and my team also has to think like this,” he added.
Having already led Kashi Rudras to two titles, Sharma signed off by saying that while defending the crown remains the ultimate motivation, executing immediate tactical requirements remains the team's primary focus.
“So, I think we keep practicing being in the moment. We try not to go too far or too far back because in the tournament, things are running very fast. I think you are playing 10 matches in 20 days. So, you have to ensure that when you are coming the next day, you are not coming with a win or a loss in the previous game in your mind. So, it is good for me to think like this and my team also has to think like this,” he added.
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“We should focus on the things that I feel are going and on all the small things that will ensure we will do well rather than thinking that after this we will play the finals or this and that will happen. But I think from a team perspective, we should focus on the things that are important at that particular moment and at that particular time.”