For Ayaan Aslam Shaikh, a 10-year-old boy who plays cricket almost daily to emulate his cricketing heroes, it was like hitting the perfect straight drive at the hallowed Lord’s when he got to hold the mic at a packed press conference in Dubai recently.
It was a rare opportunity to throw a question at legendary cricket coach Dav Whatmore, who has been roped in as an advisor in Elite Corporate Cricket Bash, a domestic cricket tournament in the UAE launched with the ambition of giving a platform to aspiring local players like Ayaan to show their skills.
Without showing any signs of nerve, Ayaan stood with poise in the middle and asked the World Cup-winning coach: “I know there are so many coaches to train young players worldwide. But as a youngster if I want one tip from you, what would that be?”
The veteran Australian coach smiled and asked the young boy to watch YouTube videos!
“Yes, you can learn from the coaches, but more importantly you should watch videos of your favourite cricketer, try to see what he is doing and how he is doing it and then try to copy. It’s a great way of learning,” Whatmore said.
Inspired by the words of Whatmore, Ayaan, a Grade 6 student at Repton School, Abu Dhabi, went back home and picked up a bat, imitating every shot of his favourite batsman Virat Kohli.
“I am a left-hander, but Kohli is my favourite player. I love his technique, his temperament and his amazing shotmaking skills. Now I am going to try and do what he does so well every single day,” Ayaan told the Khaleej Times.
Ayaan believes that the piece of advice from Whatmore, who famously led Sri Lanka to the 1996 World Cup triumph as the head coach, is going to add a new spark to his batting.
“It was an unforgettable experience for me to ask a cricket question to Mr Whatmore. I was a little nervous at first, but he was very kind and he gave me such a good advice,” he said.
“Talking to someone who had coached a World Cup-winning team was something I would never forget. What he has achieved in cricket requires a lot of hard work, commitment and discipline.”
Later, while talking to the Khaleej Times, Whatmore admitted to copying his favourite players during his days as a young cricketer in Australia.
“It doesn’t really matter as long as that person in the kid’s mind is the one he wants to emulate, that is the main thing,” said Whatmore.
“When I was young like him (Aayan), I also had my favourites who I loved watching and I wanted to be like them. I watched them on television and then in the backyards I would copy that, putting into practice what I was watching.
“Of course, there are coaches to help, and there are good information around, but nothing wrong in aspiring to be somebody you admire.”