RN : Darren, a lot of people will remember you fondly as the Coach of the Rajasthan Royals in the first few seasons of the IPL. The late magician, Warney and you were instrumental in guiding a young team to success. What are some of the key areas that led to lifting the trophy in the 1st season?
DB : Rajasthan Royals winning the first ever IPL was a monumental achievement given the underdog status we were given with a bunch of uncapped Indian talent. Shane Warne led the team brilliantly on the field and I was delighted to play a role as his assistant coach & strategy advisor off the field. Alongside sports Psychologist & ex England cricketer Jeremy Snape, we formed a wonderfully diverse coaching group. In addition, we had coaching support from locals, Monty Desai and Satish Samant who were both from Mumbai and had excellent local knowledge and passion for the game.

There was a lot of preparation work involved and I invested time getting to know the players in their own environment. The training and talent identification camps were invaluable in building trust (crucial element) within the playing group.

Once the final squad was assembled we gave each player a designated role within our squad and also for some light hearted fun we gave each player a nickname to match their roles. Little Swapnil Asnodkar from Goa was dubbed the “Goa Cannon”, a young Ravindra Jadeja “the rockstar”  etc etc.  The boys embraced their names by shining in  their respective roles during the IPL season. Warney had all the players believe they could move mountains and they certainly did.

The environment created was fantastic where all players could express themselves and excel. It was a memorable season and one that will always go down in the history of the IPL as the one where the Underdogs lifted the title. For the record, it was one of Shane Warne’s proudest cricketing moments. Long live the king !!

RN: You were called up last minute to an Ashes tour midway through your honeymoon but never got to play international cricket despite playing 150+ FC games and tasting success. What are some of the lessons you pass onto young & aspiring cricketers from this experience & your own journey?
DB :  The Ashes tour in 1997 to the UK was as close as I came to playing for Australia. My dream of playing Test cricket never came to fruition as I sat behind Ian Healy & Adam Gilchrist throughout my 15 year first class career. I’m proud of what I achieved as captain of Victoria and the wonderful experiences I had during my career. Cricket has taught me many lessons of persistence and resilience that have held me in good stead post career. The journey is just as important as the destination.To young kids – Chase your dream & chase it hard. Never ever give up!!

RN : ”Spin to Win” – you strongly believed in that theory with white ball cricket when you coached South Australia and the Strikers. What are 2-3 qualities a young spinner must possess to succeed in professional cricket in Australia?
DB : SPIN TO WIN was a phrase I developed while coaching SA & Adelaide Strikers. A majority of Australian batsmen are not good players of spin, hence my philosophy was born. We played 3 spinners in most T-20 games and although we were ridiculed in the media it proved very successful.  It was our point of difference.

Young spinners must learn to spin the ball and be very brave. They should not be afraid to get hit for a boundary or two as it’s one ball closer to getting a wicket. Captains play an important role in nurturing and developing spinners.It takes patience to perfect the craft of spin. Young spinners should practice hard to develop a consistent stock ball before experimenting with their variations. Shane Warne and Nathan Lyon, are both incredibly consistent with their stock ball and impart plenty of spin on them and that is why they are Australia’s two most successful spinners. I played alongside one and coached the other.  Although different spinners, both had a fierce tenacity to compete and to never give in. BELIEVE!

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