Goemakrponn desk
PORVORIM: Krishna Bhaskar Pillai has taken charge of Goa as Goa Cricket Association (GCA) put a plan in place to carry out holistic development of the game with the former Delhi Ranji Trophy star batsman and ex-coach given a long-term contract.
KP Bhaskar or Bhaskar Pillai is mostly referred to in the cricketing circle. He has tremendous experience in the game, not just as a solid ex-First Class player and coach but also in different capacities, including Match Refereeing. However, his expertise in batting, having been a specialist batting consultant under BCCI and being part of NCA camps, and his overall record makes him one of the most comprehensive coaching appointments in Goan history.
As he stepped into his new challenge, KP Bhaskar spoke to GCA social media at the academy here on Friday. “Coaching is something I like, and it’s my way of giving back to the game. I have an idea about the youngsters in Goa, and I am looking forward to the season. As I am very new here, I will look to understand and assess them and then I would like to give my inputs. It’s good to be here for a long term,” said the 58-year-old coach, who is renowned for his reading of the game right from the days of his playing career.”
Having coached some star-studded teams like Delhi and lesser-knowns like Tripura, KP Bhaskar holds a treasure of situations and outcomes, but what matters every time for the Kerala-born coach is the ‘process’.
“Talking about a fresh challenge, I would like to talk about Tripura. When I got there, I told them that I wanted to give them wings to fly. I worked on their mind imparting their knowledge and exposure. When otherwise they were happy playing within their confined setup in Agartala, I opened their field, and the results were as big as scalping the likes of Bengal and Odisha,” revealed KP Bhaskar about his stint in Tripura seven years ago.
As for his philosophy of coaching, KP Bhaskar highlights ‘man management as the key. “At this level, it’s man-management that becomes the crucial aspect. While imparting technical inputs is the main task at the Junior level, the First Class demands are different. I have to make players realise their role, and the prime task is to get the team to produce good results. It’s about creating the dressing room atmosphere, working on self-belief while the impetus is on the process rather than the outcome,” he explained.
The former Rajasthan and Uttarakhand coach also expressed happiness that the 2021-22 season has been charted out by the BCCI and hoped that the full complement of the campaign can be executed as Covid 19 shows signs of coming under control.
The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will kickstart on October 20, 2021, with the final to be played on November 12, 2021.
The coveted Ranji Trophy, which was cancelled last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will be played in a three-month window from November 16, 2021, to February 19, 2022.
The Vijay Hazare Trophy will take place from February 23, 2022, to March 26, 2022.
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