Saurabh Walkar with Sachin Tendulkar in the Mumbai Dressing Room
When we talk about the support staff, people usually talk about the different coaches, mentor and the physio but very few recognize the role of an analyst who plays a very important role in keeping the performance in check.
One such analyst is Saurabh Walkar. From Domestic to League to International, he has worked at all levels. He began his career with Mumbai Cricket Team, after which he has been a part of Rajasthan Royals (IPL), Multan Sultan (PSL), Guyana Amazon Warriors (CPL), Libra Legends (MCL), Barisal Bulls (BPL), Khulna Tigers (BPL),Delhi Bulls (T10) and currently is the part of Afghanistan Cricket Team. He is currently in UAE with the Afghan side for the T20 World Cup. He recently travelled to Kabul for a Training Camp, despite being aware of the situations there which displays his commitment.
Lets have a look at the excerpts from the interview:
Tell us about your role
It can be defined in 2 different ways - working with the kids and working with the international teams & organizations as both are different from each other. Right now, when I am working with the elite groups and associations, my role is to make strategy, identifying the strength and the weaknesses of our side and opponents as well and accordingly giving the reports and solutions to the coach and the captain. This is what I can brief you in very short.
Currently I am working with Afghanistan Cricket Team and we played a couple of series against Ireland and Zimbabwe. My job was to get the data of Ireland and Zimbabwe sides. I had the data of their last couple of years performances - how they performed, their strength and strategy and accordingly come to a conclusion and presenting them in the team meeting.
How are Stats and Match ups important ??
We try and find out matchups according to our strength or what kind of bowlers we have when it comes to facing opponent batsmen. My job is to find out solutions according to our strength and give them a plan, so the bowlers don’t have to go out of their box or out of their comfort zone to deliver that. Whatever strength we have, we make sure we are working on it and accordingly we prepare plans.
Saurabh with Sachin Tendulkar’s Bat
How did you land to this profession? Was it planned ?
It wasn’t planned as I was just enjoying cricketing journey as a net bowler. In Mumbai everyone plays cricket whether it is gully cricket or the professional cricket. I used to go as a net bowler at CCI (Cricket Club of India), where the teams used to travel for the practice.
There I saw one guy, who came from the Chennai, as an analyst. He was recording the videos, capturing all the cricketing action, putting in a software and then he was presenting it to the team. I found he was doing something new and interesting.
I was pursuing engineering at that time. I was stuck in the Dilemma of whether to pursue a career in engineering or to choose something related to cricket. But when I saw that person doing analysis stuff, I decided “ok even I can do that, so that I can a technical work also related to the sport.“
Saurabh with Rohit Sharma
Share with us your experience with Mumbai Domestic Cricket Team
After learning the analysis, I got an opportunity to work with Mumbai Cricket. Getting a call from them was a dream come true as I was following Mumbai Cricket Team since my school days and there were so many legends in the team. In my debut season (2007), the team was full of stars. In that team we had Sachin Tendulkar, Wasim Jaffar, Amol Muzumdar, Ramesh Pawar, Nilesh Kulkarni, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, etc. where majority were playing for India or were domestic stalwarts. In that team Rohit Sharma and Abhishek Nayar were debutants while Ajinkya Rahane wasn’t even part of 15 back then. I worked with the team for 10 years.
Saurabh getting an Autograph from Sachin Tendulkar
How did it feel watching the farewell test of Sachin Tendulkar (for Mumbai) from the dressing room
That was Sachin’s last game for Mumbai and he was set to retire from all sorts of recognised cricket in two weeks time and yet he was playing the Ranji Trophy. For us to see him or to walk with him or watch him bat, with the naked eyes, every day was exciting. Looking at him, his work ethics even on the last day at the age of 40 and a half, he was practising like a player who is going to make his debut.
In his final match in Lahli (Haryana), wicket was tough to bat on, as we got 136 runs in the first innings in response to Haryana's 134. During the second innings, Haryana made 241 and on the fast wicket of Lahli we had an uphill task of chasing 240 runs in the last inning. When he came out to bat in the last innings, we needed 150+ runs to win. At the end of the second last day, we had just 4 wickets in our hand, and we needed around 40 runs with only Sachin Tendulkar left along Dhawal Kulkarani and the rest of the tail was set to follow and therefore it was looking very difficult as Harshal Patel and Mohit Sharma would be bowling in the next morning on a seam friendly wicket, so it was really dicey. We all were quite tensed as what will happen tomorrow.
In the evening before the final day, Sachin called us for the dinner. He was staying at some other place due to too much media around him and we were staying in other hotel. He called me, Wasim (Jaffar), Zaheer (Khan), Abhishek (Nayar) for the dinner to his place. He didn’t speak anything about the match, he was just sharing his experience about his Europe and China tours, whatever he experienced over there in terms of the food was what he was telling us. I was a bit tensed about the match as we were not even talking a single thing about cricket or the present game. I was just discussing that with Wasim and he said “Don’t panic he knows what he has to do tomorrow.”
And then in the next morning he came out to bat with everyone knowing that it was his last game. I was just watching him bat because I knew this was the last time I was watching him LIVE with naked eyes and we got those 40 runs in around 20-25 minutes. It was just a special knock and after the end of the match, he came inside the dressing room and said “Mumbai is Mumbai, Anything for Mumbai !!” It was a happy moment.
After the win, we had a small meeting in which everybody was talking about one experience about Sachin. All the players spoke about him. When my turn came, I just said being with him in the same dressing room was the most memorable thing for me.
Saurabh with the RR Team consisting of Shane Warne, Shane Watson, Rahul Dravid, Ajinkya Rahane, Johan Botha and Shaun Tait
You joined Rajasthan Royals in 2009, Did you feel the pressure while joining a side that were the defending champions ?
Frankly speaking I was a bit tensed because I had to meet players like Shane Warne, Shane Watson. Both not only won the IPL but were champion players from Australia as well. I was travelling from Mumbai to Durban (South Africa) and met Munaf Patel for the first time in the flight. He was so chilled-out and friendly. He helped reduce some pressure of being with the international stars.
When I met Shane Warne first, he came to me, put his hand on my shoulder and said “Don’t worry I am here and you are a part of our team” and then he said some funny words which I can't say here (chuckles) but those words made me comfortable and made me feel like a team member. I feel that’s what best players do - making you feel at home. He never let me feel the difference that he was a legend, and I was just a newcomer. He was not too much into analysis and didn’t like computer stuff, but we were so close to each other that I knew what he wanted exactly. He wanted all the motivational stuff in the team meeting to be represented. My focus, most of the time, was just on that i.e. to motivate by showing good videos from the previous match. So that's how I was working with the Royals.
Saurabh with Bollywood Star and KKR Owner, Shah Rukh Khan
You were a part of Barisal Bulls (BPL 2015) , Guyana Amazon Warriors (CPL 2019) & Dehli Bulls (T10 2021), all went to the final and lost. Especially Guyana did amazingly well with 11 wins in a row so did you ever felt disappointed in such occasions?
Its always disappointing to lose in the final especially after doing really well, not losing a single game till the final and then to lose the final (GAW in CPL 2019). One bad game and you don’t get the trophy. It is disappointing but that teaches you a lot. You are not a winner until you win the last game, last battle. The same thing happened with Barisal Bulls and Dehli Bulls and it's nothing new for me now. Whenever I meet international cricketers they always say “You make sure your team reaches to the final but what happens in the final?” (Smiles). In the Sylhet, I was talking with Johnson Charles, the West Indies opening batsman. He was with the Barbados side that defeated us in the CPL 2019 Final. Then during T10 our team beat his side in the semi-final, he said “I am sure about you being in the final but I know you are not going to win”. That hurts a lot. when you know you are there in the final, but you lose it all the time.
Saurabh with Chris Gayle in the Guyana Amazon Warriors Dressing Room
How did you get the role in the Afghanistan Cricket Team ?
Lance (Klusener) asked me in the interview about how I work. I just clearly told him that numbers and videos can be provided by anyone as you have the software and machine. With just a click, you get all the data, there is no rocket-science. But if you put mere numbers in front of coaches and players, that is not going to work. I as an analyst will study all those numbers and give you the final input which will help you run the team meetings by keeping it short, sweet and to the point. It was a thing that he liked. Then he asked me my aim with which I want to join the Afghanistan Team, I said obviously it is to win the World Cup, if I am with the team I want them to win the World Cup. These are the things from which he got impressed and hired me.
Secret of Afghanistan team cruising ?
Apart from cricket, they are obviously a war country and struggling to get the better facilities. So that hunger for the game makes them different from others. Every Afghan player when given the smallest of facilities, makes full use of it. I saw it when we were prepping in Dubai, they used to practice for 5-6 hours every single day which I have experienced for the first time. So that hunger and passion is very much visible over here.
Saurabh with Rashid Khan in Afghanistan Team
Thoughts on Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi
Rashid Khan behaves very simple. He likes to share his experience with all his teammates. He runs the team meeting with the bowlers. When I first interacted with him, he made things simple, talking politely without any attitude despite being ICC Player of the Decade. I showed him the videos of my academy and he helped me in that by sharing his experience and knowledge to improve my academy. Even in the practice, he works really hard and gives more than 100%, his intensity is really high compared to any other player.
Mohammad Nabi, like Rashid, plays all the leagues including CPL, BBL, IPL. He is getting a lot of exposure. He is the No. 1 All-Rounder in the (T20I) World Rankings right now. He understands the situations well. He has that hunger to be the No.1 always. He always keeps working on his power hitting and off-spin. I had spent a lot of time with him for Delhi Bulls and now we are working together in the Afghanistan Team. He looks very confident whenever we speak about cricket. He still has a lot of cricket left in him. He is leading the side for T20 World Cup which will really help the youngsters.
Both these guys talk about cricket a lot.
Saurabh during his recent visit to Kabul
Share with us your experience about your recent visit to Kabul and how was the situation there ?
One of the ACB board member asked me – “If we set a camp, will you come to Kabul?” So I said “YES.” So, when I was actually called upon, I said I will travel whatever the situation is because I had committed for that before getting the job and I don’t want to break it. I spoke to Lance Klusener and he was travelling there too.
When I was there, I didn’t find anything fearful. It was quite safe. I received a brilliant hospitality which was the best so far. We visited many houses as well. The way they treated us, it was just fantastic. You ask for one thing, they will give you 3 things. It was amazing to be in Kabul. They also provided us security, bulletproof car, etc. It was safe to travel. We were just traveling from the ground to the hotel. I dared to step out on one day though (chuckles)
Difference in Domestic, International Cricket and League Cricket ?
After looking at all the leagues, the intensity of players, you can make out the player whether he has the standard of playing at the international level. The intensity, attitude and the approach towards the game is different altogether. For example, I have been watching Surya (Kumar Yadav) and Shardul (Thakur) since their days of age group cricket. When they entered the Mumbai dressing room, I could feel the intensity as it was high. Looking at my 10-15 years of experience in cricket, it’s the intensity of players that make a level higher than other cricketers, if you compare domestic and international.
Is it easier when dealing with the same set of players again and again ?
Yes, it does become easy but it is also challenging (when the same players play as opponent) because for example, I have been working closely with Shoaib (Malik) for the last 2-3 years now and he knows my way of working. But if he plays for the opponent side, then you have to change the strategy and the work pattern. So, sometimes it is very challenging. As an analyst it's challenging for you to keep studying and keep working on their new techniques or new strategies to work on.
Things you did during the 2020 Pandemic ?
I was working for CPL as I knew CPL was coming up. I was in touch with Johan Botha as he was the Head Coach (of Guyana Amazon Warriors), who was giving me small assignments, like stats and venue analysis. Also, I knew Afghanistan Cricket is looking for a new analyst and I was waiting for that vacancy to be posted on their official website. So, I was preparing for that job as well. I was preparing for 5 to 6 months for that job interview.
Who are your close friends ??
In the current Indian team, I am very close with Suryakumar Yadav, Shardul Thakur and Ajinkya Rahane. Amongst overseas players, I am close with Shaun Tait, Johan Botha and obviously with Shoaib Malik. I am working closely with these guys.
Saurabh with Suryakumar Yadav and Ajinkya Rahane
Do you ever feel the analyst role does not get enough appreciation ?
In the older days, not much information was available about the analysts. Nobody identified the role of an analyst. Some people thought we are just recording the videos and giving the footage to the players but with the evolution of cricket, people started understanding the role and its importance in making strategies and helping build the team balance.
Whenever I am working with Lance, Andy or Johan, they mention my name in the team meetings or wherever I am working they really put me ahead. So if you look at the last 5 years, analysts are getting positive responses from the coaches.
How are your side's preparations for the T20 World Cup ?
Our team was practicing in Kabul all this while. I know who our opponents are, so I have already prepared our strategies against each team so that we can have a significant impact on the tournament this time around.
Saurabh with MS Dhoni
Any advice for people aspiring to become analysts:
I have been getting so many calls and messages regarding how to become an analyst but I feel that some people don’t understand the role and choose this field just to be with the team. You need to watch each game no matter how small or big it might be and then analyze everything. You must be well educated and should have a sound cricketing knowledge as well.
These days, I have noticed people don’t want to work with club or domestic level cricket. They are just interested to work with an IPL or International side but to be an analyst one must start from the scratch and gain the experience from domestic cricket, club cricket and the age-group cricket and then you can aim for the big franchise cricket. There are opportunities but one must be patient and stay focused towards the game of cricket.
I have also given opportunities to a couple of new analysts as well. They work for me.
About his Academy:
It has been 4 years since I have set up an academy in Wakad, Pune. I started with just 10 kids but now I have 150 Kids. I haven’t done any marketing as I believe in pure coaching and word of mouth. We train U-16 kids and we have 4 certified coaches. I try to give them exposure to International Cricket as well. Every year, I bring an International player to my academy. Last year it was Shardul Thakur.
Rapid Fire:
Favorite Food: Mutton and Bhakri
Favorite Destination: Goa
What would you have been if not an analyst: I was an engineering student so maybe a bad engineer working with some IT Company (chuckles)
Favorite Sport other than Cricket: Football
Favorite Format: Test Cricket.
Favorite Cricketer: Brian Lara
Most Memorable moment: When I first met Sachin, he called me by my name
