Shardul returned with fine figures of 7/61, his best bowling in Tests, as India bundled out the hosts for 229 on the second day of the second Test at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.
It was this lad with whom the ‘Lord Shardul’ or ‘Palghar Express’, as he is now affectionately called for his reputation as a partnership breaker, lived in Mumbai during his formative years.
An excited Lad told PTI on Tuesday, “I didn’t do any special work with him, but worked on his mental strength. I remember when he was taken for IPL, and he didn’t play for Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), he used to get frustrated and say that he doesn’t play me.
“I used to tell him that it’s okay, he picked you and it’s important for you to practice with the big players.”
The 30-year-old made his Test debut against West Indies in October 2018, but had to wait a long time for his next chance.
Lad, who is also India’s white-ball captain Rohit Sharma’s childhood coach, had just one piece of advice for Shardul after achieving national success – “don’t do anything different”.
“When he was picked (earlier) for the West Indies tour, the only thing I told him at that time was don’t do anything different. You have to bowl the way you have bowled in Ranji Trophy so far.”
“Now you are grown up (and) at that point, you will do something different and that will affect your bowling. The better way is to do what you grew up with and keep listening (for advice),” reveals Lad, one of the best coaches on the domestic circuit.
“There was no specific discussion, he kept on learning. Regarding bowling, I told him to let the batsman play, the more you play the batsman, the higher your chances of getting wickets, quipped Lad.
Shardul, apart from being a fast bowler, is now a handy batsman who can score much-needed runs, as he showed at the Gabba against Australia last year and Lad remembered how he worked on his grip.
“I changed his top-end grip and he was able to use it. But he worked on it, he understood what I was saying and he worked on it. He was a tough batsman, but once he started playing with the straight bat, he realized that he could stay on the wicket and do anything,” Lad recalled.
Shardul, who has now played in all three formats for India and is a regular member of the national team, hails from Palghar, but stayed at his Mumbai home only at Lad’s insistence.
“When I saw him, he played in a match against my school, after that I insisted (he should stay with me) because travel was an issue. I convinced my wife to stay with Shardul with us.
“One thing I’m proud of is that I knew this baby would do wonders and that’s why I put him in his place,” Lad said.
He said, ‘If I had not taken this decision at that time, maybe Shardul would have played there (in his city). I had a dream that if this guy comes to Mumbai, he will play big cricket and ever since it was done, I was excited,” Lad said.
Siddhesh Lad’s father, who is also known in the domestic circuit, said that Shardul was a genius and he continues to inspire him.
“Shardul justified his talent. If I had not brought him to Mumbai, no one would have seen Shardul,” signed the senior lad.
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