Our first aim was to create family-like atmosphere in dressing room: Tushar Arothe

Tushar Arothe was looking after junior cricket in his native Baroda when the assignment to be Indian women cricket team's head coach for the World Cup in England came a few days before the preparatory tournament in South Africa. The 50-year-old did a commendable role in guiding the team to the Quadrangular win and more importantly, the final of World Cup. Initially appointed as coach until the World Cup, Arothe's tenure is likely to be extended for two years. In this chat with DNA, Arothe looks back on the journey. Excerpts:

When you took over as the coach at such a short notice, did you expect the team to enter the ICC Women's World Cup final?

I always believed that the team was miles ahead in batting and bowling. But, fielding and fitness levels needed improvement. I always thought that if we could improve fielding, though it is not an overnight job, we could do a better job. To sustain fitness levels at the international level is very important. It doesn't come overnight. It comes from within. When we went to South Africa (for Quadrangular), which was a preparatory tour for the World Cup, we beat them in their conditions. That's when the team started to believe in themselves. We did a lot of mental talk there. We needed to be consistent on the field. In the World Cup, when we beat England in the first game, we knew we had a chance to quality for the semifinals. We never thought of reaching the final. We made small targets. First, we thought we needed to play well to reach the semifinals. Then, take the semifinal as it came.

Can you elaborate on the mental talk you had with the team?

In South Africa, we had a lot of time to interact with the players. The ground was only walking distance to where we stayed. Our first aim was to create a family-like atmosphere in the dressing room. We showed them a lot of motivational videos like Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid speech at National Cricket Academy, one- or two-line wordings of Swami Vivekanand.

We gave a lot of confidence to the girls. We encouraged them to play their normal game, we never stopped them from playing their shots. A few girls used to come and say 'we are getting out playing a particular shot regularly, and that shot is my favourite shot'. I still encouraged them to play that shot. They used to say their coaches would discourage them from playing that shot. I said, 'why not? I want you to play. The timing of the shot is important. If you go in and straightaway play that shot, obviously you are inviting trouble.' My advice to them was to get used to the pitch and its bounce first before they start playing. They succeeded after that.

Has there been any instance of a player low on confidence and the morale boosted after talking to you?

(Medium-pacer) Shikha Pandey had doubts on how to bowl in slog overs and batting Power Play. I did a lot of talking to her. So also with Ekta Bisht, Deepti Sharma, Veda (Krishnamurthy), Mona Meshram, Sushma Verma, Mansi Joshi. In fact, Mona did not get many chances in the World Cup. She got only a couple of matches. But, we did a lot of talking.

Did they lack confidence before you took over?

I would not say they lacked confidence. They did not believe in their abilities. It was our job to bring out their best by giving them the confidence, creating a friendly atmosphere, creating match situations at practice, giving them small targets. I will not take credit away from the girls. They understood me.

Initially, it was a bit difficult for them. Before going to South Africa, I had two sessions with them daily. Initially, they got tired. The first two-three days, the shoulders would be stiff. What I heard was that earlier, they would do fielding drills twice or thrice a week. The day I started, we started to do it twice a day. Obviously, the girls were not used to coping up with the hectic schedule. They called out that 'military camp is going on', 'Hitler is here'. I said it was not a problem as long as the performance improved and the country's name will shine. That was my motto.

From three fielding sessions in a week to two in a day, didn't you run the risk of the players getting injured before the World Cup?

I personally feel that the players will get injured only from awkward throwing actions. The shoulder will get sore with 30-40 throws in a day. That was not a problem for me. For the first day, they enjoyed the fielding. The second day, some of the girls complained of sore shoulder. I said 'no problem'. The number of throws reduced in the next session to 20 but I made sure they threw. The third day, it was 10. From the fourth day, they became fine. There was no injury to the players.

Could the World Cup final have ended differently?

I am sure the girls would have been on a different planet today had they won. I will not point finger at any one player. There was hardly anything on the wicket. The batters should have carried on till the end. They did it till the semifinal. Unfortunately, luck was not with us – Mithali (Raj) run out, Harmanpreet (Kaur) playing a brilliant shot but hitting it straight to the fielder, Punam (Raut) should have carried on, Veda played an unnecessary shot. I will not name any one player.

How hurt were the players? Did they come to you and say things like: 'my reckless shot cost India the final'?

One after the other player came to me and said, 'Sir, I should not have played that shot'. I said, 'it is not only you, it is us'. When we win, it is not an individual effort. We win because of everyone's efforts. When we lose, we lose collectively. We will not play the blame-game. Let's take some positives from the final. At some stage, England could have scored over 300 but we restricted them to 228 because of some good bowling. There were some good partnerships – Punam and Mithali, Punam and Harmanpreet. Quite a few were playing at Lord's in front of such a huge crowd.

The day before the final, I told the girls 'there is nothing to get excited about the final. You have reached this stage with good cricket. Continue that for one more game. Don't think that you are playing at Lord's in a World Cup. It is only in your mind.'

It is easier said than done, isn't it?

Exactly. In the first seven-eight overs, they were all over the place. I sent a message asking them to calm down, not to go for the wicket and just do the process. But, it happens, playing in front of the packed stadium in a World Cup at Lord's for the first time.

What is that one best moment of the World Cup for you?

Harmanpreet Kaur's 171 not out. I have never seen this kind of batting ever in my life. One of the best knocks I have seen. Will never ever forget that knock.

How much of your previous stint (2009-12) as fielding coach with the women's team help you this time?

I knew nine to ten girls from then like Mithali, Jhulan Goswami, Harmanpreet. They knew my style of working. They told the rest of the team what I was doing was for the benefit of the team. It was too much of work on me when we went to South Africa. I had to sort out the practice, I also had to bowl to the batters, give throw-downs to batters and also to wicketkeeper, give them catches, fielding, everything. It was a bit too much for me. I asked for a fielding coach and BCCI straightaway sent Biju George. We used to enjoy on and off the field. I enjoyed working with Biju, to be honest.

What difference did you see in the team from your first stint to now?

Certainly the fielding has improved. We still need to work on it and also on fitness. Now, they are more confident. They feel they can beat England, New Zealand, Australia. They started believing in themselves.

How has the experience of working with captain Mithali Raj been. It is said that the team's success depends on how the captain-coach relationship is, isn't it?

She has made some brilliant changes on the team. Sometimes, she would ask me for suggestions by sending a message. They have yielded positive results. For instance, I wanted Mithali to bat at No. 3 whereas she preferred No. 4. My theory was that I wanted my best batter to face the maximum number of deliveries. She accepted and went at No. 3 against Australia, scoring 69. (After starting the WWC at No. 3, Mithali batted at No. 4 for next four matches and then returned to No. 3 in the remaining games). And then, against New Zealand, she scored a century; in the semifinal, she scored 36 before that unfortunate run out in the final.

She is a legend, no doubt. We all respect her and her thoughts, the way she expresses herself. She always believed me and I always believed her. For instance, against Pakistan, I suggested that she open the bowling with Ekta Bisht (left-arm spinner). She asked 'are you sure?' I said, 'yes, start with her, give her a couple of overs and see what happens'. Ekta started with a wicket in her first over. Mithali and I understand each other well. Captain and coach should be on the same line.

Before going to South Africa, I held a meeting and everyone said, 'what is there to talk?' I just asked Mithali one question. 'Why are we going to England?' She replied: 'We are going there to win the World Cup, not to just participate'. I said 'the meeting is over'. Everyone wanted to win, wanted to do something for the country and themselves. But, we could not cross the last hurdle.