[Exclusive] Rohit and Virat will play for their reputation in Champions Trophy: Lalchand Rajput

Former Indian batter Lalchand Rajput played two Tests and four ODIs between 1985 and 1987. Post-retirement, he took up coaching and administration roles, holding positions with the Mumbai Cricket Association. His coaching career has been extensive, serving as coach of India's U19 team, Afghanistan (2016-17), Zimbabwe (2018-22), and currently the UAE (since 2024). 

The 63-year-old also was the manager of the Indian team during their historic triumph at the 2007 ICC T20 World Cup. He also coached Mumbai Indians in IPL 2008. During his stint with Afghanistan, they achieved full ICC membership and defeated West Indies in an ODI. His tenure with Zimbabwe lasted four years before moving to UAE in 2024. 

In an exclusive conversation with CricTracker on the sidelines of the DP World ILT20 2025, Rajput expressed his views about the ongoing form slump of Indian batting stalwarts, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

The former India manager also highlighted the talent coming in the DP World ILT20 2025. He also reflected on India's domestic cricket and the players getting call-ups for the national team. Lastly, he picked the most challenging team to coach. 

Excerpts

1. With such great talent showcased at the DP World ILT20, what do you think about the tournament as a coach? 

Yes, talents are there, but how do we nurture them [is more important]. The ILT20 is a big platform. And if players play on this big platform, they can showcase their talent. They know how mentally strong they are. And I think when they play [at] such a platform, the players become more positive and they start performing better. So when they come back to the national team, they [will] perform even better. So, I think this competition is a boon for UAE cricketers.

2. Can you shed light on how ILT20 has helped UAE cricket?

See, when IPL came to India, it gave us new players. Now over 15-17 years, we have improved Indian teams. Because we have so much talent, because there are so many good players, we cannot give them opportunities. So what happens is that our two or three teams, like bench strength, they are very strong. Even if somebody is injured, they can be replaced easily. The same process is here now. This is just the third year. It's the beginning. We are getting a lot of players now. We have started with 12 players, and now we have almost 24 good players. From 24 to the next 36-40 players will be there. When you have the variety to choose from, then the players also perform better because they know that if they fail, someone is sitting outside. It's important to prepare for bench strength. And we have put our foot forward. And ILT20 is the best platform for giving us bench strength. I am sure these players will perform so well that their next step will be to play in the national team

3. We often see players performing in domestic cricket not getting a chance in the Indian team. Karun Nair is a recent example. What do you have to say on that?

See, I think domestic cricket is there for players to perform. If you are not recognizing the performance, then where will the players go? So I think domestic cricket performance has to be taken care of. Whoever is there, like Sarfaraz Khan, has come from domestic cricket to the national team. You name it, all the players, those who have come, they have performed well in domestic cricket, then only they have come to the national team. I think domestic cricket performance has to be given its importance. If you give importance, the players also will try and perform even better, and some more players will come. Otherwise, the players get dejected. I think the BCCI or the selectors will look at that aspect that the players who are performing in domestic cricket have to be given a fair deal.

4. Virat Kohli has been getting dismissed constantly in a similar manner. Rohit Sharma has faced such issues while playing the pull shot. What is your advice to them as a coach?

Every player has a USP because those are the shots that have given him the maximum runs, so they will not cut down on those. And as a coach, I will also not tell them to cut down on those. But during the bad phase, all the odds turn against you. You try hitting a shot it goes to the fielder or someone takes an exceptional catch so these things happen in cricket. But as great players, they will never leave their USP shots. I am sure that they will come back stronger and once they get going it's all about getting that start and everything will fall in place and that is the beauty of this game.

5. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Babar Azam have also been struggling to find form with Champions Trophy around the corner. What are your views on that?

I think they are big match players. Every player has a rough phase. I think that rough phase is gone. Now, the Champions Trophy is there and the wickets will be good here in UAE. So you will see that Virat and Rohit, especially Rohit, I'm sure they will top performers in the Champions Trophy. They must be hungry to perform because they didn't have a good performance in Australia, and failed in the Ranji Trophy matches. So I think all those bad luck has gone back now. They will be fresh with a fresh mind. These players, have a reputation as well, so they want to play to the reputation as well, and they require a big platform, and the Champions Trophy is a big platform.. Even Babar Azam, he's a top-class player. And the same thing: he is to going through the rough phase, and I'm sure he will also come back with very, very strong performances.

6. You have had a great time the coaching India, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and now the UAE. Which team was the most challenging to coach?

If you look at the challenging team, see Indian team is not so much because people were there, they were all talented. The Afghanistan team was much more challenging because they were just new to the international cricket. And then they never had those many infrastructure facilities [like India]. So we used to practice at Noida. And I think nobody knew how good the Afghan players are here. But they are very hardworking. Their life is cricket. You tell them that we don't want to run for half an hour. They say, "No, sir, I will do it for an hour." Because they don't have anything else. Back home, they didn't have anything. They cannot have jobs. So they spend a lot of time in cricket. And you see now where the Afghanistan team is. Because they have risen from very low [standard] to very high. And now Afghanistan team is such that they can beat any of the Test-playing countries. So they have worked hard. Then Zimbabwe, yes, after those four years I was in Zimbabwe. We qualified for the T20 World Cup that took place in Australia (2022-23). That was the main thing, and then I left. Now my next challenge is to get UAE to the World Cup.