Rahul Dravid’s life lessons | CRED curious with Kunal Shah | No angry rants

in the old days and you know when you went into the airports and um and obviously we're always traveling with Kate and always with excess luggage right because cat and clothes and it's you know suitcase and so always had excess luggage so if people just passed you by no problem it's like 25 kgs allowed but you have 45 that's okay but if you've done badly sir you have to pay 20 kgs so you knew you knew how you're going how your form was at that point in fact [Music] oh [Music] wow I've never seen this uh so I will go get straight to it because I'm not going to introduce you uh we were discussing uh API experiences before coming up and uh uh we were discussing about how a lot of shops ask for a phone number and uh we both have hesitation on giving phone numbers so my hack was uh I tell people that I'm not from India so they immediately dropped the idea of asking for a phone number and I was going to give him this recommendation and he had the best recommendation I mean best reaction to that saying that not an option for me okay uh Rahul I'll go straight to this uh the most important question for the night uh how did your life change after coming the credit [Applause] thanks thanks for having me here uh thanks a lot um thanks a lot for that welcome uh really lovely to always walk in and uh and and get that and and you know experience that so it's it's always nice and sometimes when you've retired and you don't play that often uh you don't get that very much uh okay uh how did my life change uh yeah certainly there are people who look at me very differently at times now um thinking when is this guy going to explode you know uh but but no I think it's just it's it's been um it's been a really good positive response you know I must say that when I when I think Kunal told me about it he told me I think almost a year before I actually did the ad you know we have this really interesting idea and you know it'll only go with you and and I don't know I think that first year I wasn't available or I think I was traveling or something happened and anyway yeah yeah correct there was something yeah there was some you know I assumed we couldn't get the ad done and we eventually got the ad done and I I you know did the ad and it's probably one of the most embarrassing things I've done sitting in standing in Bombay in front of uh you know in the street even though it's you know it's an ad Shoot and you know there are people around you who are semi actors or whatever they are but it's still I think so someone like me to stand in the middle of that road and just keep screaming and shouting was uh was really embarrassing but uh but yeah I think it's something that's you know I I think I wasn't very sure about the reaction but I think it's been uh really well received it's been really positive except for my mom I think my mom is still not really convinced about it I think she still believes that I shouldn't have been smashing that um the the the glass so uh yeah she's like I I really think this is her mom okay there was a clip that we released afterwards about your reactions further and that you said uh In that clip that yes Mom I've had lunch already like that we added that for a special effect for also a nice boy also in that one but one question I remember you told me that uh uh hopefully your kids will be more scared of you that there is a version of you that can come like this uh has that held or they figured out it's us not really unfortunately okay great um uh talking about uh uh your journey uh you're an inspiration to so many of us and and your all your achievements and uh it's very hard to pinpoint on which parts of the career but uh you've kind of adapted yourself to many many formats there was a time where we're like oh is privately capable of doing one days and then there is new pressure of being able to prove yourself as a coach and like it doesn't end and there's under 19 now there is the India team like what what is the thing that gets you to evolve so quickly because they're all different games technically that you are playing and and what's your motivation to kind of keep going like because you've been in this for many many years how are you keeping yourself motivated yeah I mean I mean one of the things um about me is that I think I've been very lucky as well uh not to be very honest in the sense that um I just love playing Cricket you know and I think um coming back to Indra nagar and you know um is obviously very nostalgic for me because I grew up literally you know on the parallel road to this one where we speak and uh and I grew up on these roads I mean indranagar was was uh I mean it was empty in those days it was not the indranaga that you know you young people see today uh in in the 80s you had a lot of empty plots even you could just used to play cricket on the roads and um and and sort of I just grew up loving the sport and just wanting to to play the sport uh I had no actual Ambitions of it becoming a career or it uh you know being a part of my life you know for I'm 50 today you know even even today it's so much a part of my life and it's what I do uh so I just love the sport and I just love playing Cricket I love my playing with my friends I love playing on the streets so I just love doing it and I think that that for me I've been really fortunate that I was able to do something that I really loved and in time uh it's like a hobby became a profession for me uh it's something I lived my life and I continue to live my life with something that you know I've really loved as a kid and I've walked grown up looking out of the window hoping that it's not raining so that the match would we could play the game and you know it's literally all of those stories and experiences a lot of you maybe relate to or have that and I just sort of that love is really been for me that's something that that I've been able lucky to be able to do for the rest of my life and um and in that I think one of the things is is I've always been quite curious I've always wanted to um even just the way I sort of even my own career I always just wanted to explore new things uh experience new things uh get better at whatever I was doing or or try to do things you know just try and just be curious about the sport I was playing how can I get better at this or what can I do differently uh different experiences trying to put myself in places where it gave me the opportunity to have different experiences so I think whenever I was faced with sort of a different challenge or an or a situation where I was you know not equipped at that point of time to deal with I always saw it as a challenge and an opportunities you know how can I get better what are the skills do I need to improve how can I get better and it's just been a sort of constant I think a journey so I think the the exciting part now comes in hey this is what I'm doing how can I get better at it how can I evolve uh what can I learn new and then obviously it changes you know you're a player then you move on to be becoming a coach and so you're not doing that so you're trying to learn more about coaching you're trying to understand that uh you're trying to understand the various aspects of it and how do you get better you make mistakes you learn so so I think that's probably been a recurring theme for me it's just that love and enjoyment of what I've done and I continue to do and and just that Curiosity of wanting to learn new stuff and it's probably been just always been there great uh you've seen talent for so many years and you've coached a lot of talent uh what percentage of talent is innate slash in one or what percentage of talent is just about showing up every day and working hard what do you think after all these years of seeing Talent are people just some people just gifted what what do you think is the case yes I can I can speak on a sporting perspective a little bit about that um yes I think you know there's there's no doubt that there are certain people who are are just gifted a little bit more uh than the others so you know I always give this example for me the the greatest inspiration in my Cricket one of some of the greatest Inspirations in my Cricket for me to try and get the best out of myself was always when I moved from when I was a player and I moved from uh City to City you know as the Indian team does as we go we go and play matches and you know we move from City to city and you would um every time when we went to a new different city they we would have practice sessions there and and people would come to bowl to us you know people would come to bowl to us or they'd come to our Nets and and you know they would uh come there and and they sort of bowled to the Indian team and bowl to all of us and I would see incredible passion incredible hard work in in those kids you know you could see the desires some of them talk to you and some of the sacrifices some of them have made uh to be able to want to play the game and you know and you could see they loved the game deeply and they're willing to and they work really hard at it but you could you know honestly you could just see that irrespective of however hard some of them worked it was not going to happen right it was just not going to happen you know and and and I sometimes people say oh if you just work hard at something uh you can do it you know I think that's sometimes being very disrespectful because it's not acknowledging sometimes the the little bit of lack of Fate that you've got in life you know I think you've got I mean and I was lucky I can't explain it but I just had a gift in this game I had a certain talent in the game it it you know and and I think acknowledging that for me was very important because I could see other people who had the same drive the same passion people spoke about my driver hard work and yeah I did work hard and I had that you know drive but I also had something I had a little bit of luck I had a little bit of a gift um which was given to me uh but having said that you know and I think that's as you get to the top of the pyramid and as you get closer and closer to the top and as you play at an elite level or an international level everybody has those gifts right then you're starting to compete with people who all have those gifts and that's where then it really matters as to what you do with those gifts and what you do with those challenge so yeah at your school team you can clearly see the difference right you walk up to your school team and you're playing in your school team and your it was pretty obvious to me that I was one of the really better players in the school team because the other guys love the game but you know just didn't have the ball sense or didn't have that but as I went up to the Indian team I suddenly realized hey I'm not that gifted you know or I'm not different from anyone else here or in fact I am inferior to a lot of the people who are here so as you go up and up you know I think you have to be conscious of the fact that then you're competing with guys who have equal talent and that's where then that hunger that desire that that constant desire to improve or or just to you know um start understanding yourself better as a person and and just all those other various factors that that you mentioned come into place so I don't know the answer to your question so it's a bit of both so and and you know I think uh you can't be uh you can't be exceptional or world class at something without being lucky and given some gifts but honestly to be world class and be exceptional you're competing with people with equal talent and ability so you need a bit of both so you you've been uh seeing a lot of under 19 talent that is now kind of showing good results in different formats of the game what are the trades that you've seen in early gifts being gift so let's assume that they're all Elite in their gift ability because it has made it to that point what are the early traits that you see in them that is going to tell you that this guy is going to break out from now what are the early leading indicators of that I I think it's um it's it's a it's a hunger I mean there is a desire you know I think you can um if I can interrupt the the hunger may have a destination let's say Fame and money which can of getting bridged sooner than what happened when you are younger with the format of the game allows this thing to happen sooner so you can become popular very quickly you can get Instagram popular very quickly and I'm sure you dealt with that at least a younger team you managed so is the feedback loop like getting dwindled quickly because they achieve all the markers of success yeah and I think that's a huge challenge I think that's a huge challenge for a lot of the younger generation today because you can actually become very popular and so-called successful it depends success again is different in different people's eyes um but you could do that without necessarily actually doing something or not or doing something for a very short period of time and not having that body of work you know and I think I think one of the things that you always try and challenge a lot of the younger people or the young players that come through is that can you can you sort of have longevity in your career you know can you have that level of consistency that lasts a period of time because then that's a lifestyle that's a huge challenge to maintain that level of consistency that performance for 10 years you know I I think that is that is hugely difficult to be able to do it in one shot in one tournament for one year you can do it and I mean it's not easy but you can still do it but then to be able to do that constantly to be able to to sort of keep coming back and dealing with that pressure that pressure of expectations to keep evolving as a player because when you succeed people are watching what you're doing right they are going to be able to come up with strategies and tactics against you are you going to be able to evolve are you able to be are you able to grow your game and keep developing your skills As you move along and then if you look at the guys who've sort of played for 10 years whether it's a Virat Kohli today or Rohit Sharma or Ms dhoni what you will notice is one of the things is that they're constantly evolving they're constantly growing they're getting better because everyone else around you is not staying still right they're evolving they're getting better and today data analysis you know I think it's just incredible the amount of data and Analysis there is and and that's so easily accessible to people that they're going to use that data and Analysis against you and it's really up to you to respond and how you do that I think is is the challenge and and the guys who are able to do that and the guys who are able to you know I think just do it not I think do it for the not so much just for the fame and the success of it but I think who do it because they genuinely loved the game and want to get the best out of themselves and see this as a journey of I don't know of sort of self-satisfaction of trying to I have this gift and I have this ability and let me see how far I can take it and what sacrifices am I willing to to be able to take it you know because after a point of time I think like you rightly said you know you money is not a factor Fame you've got so then what right and I think the guys the guys I've seen at least who have this longevity are people who are doing it for something more than just the money and the fame um you talk about consistency and discipline for years uh can you talk about how you live your life is your life still as disciplined as an athlete in terms of your routines your like have you become a little more relaxed or you're still the same I'm a lot more relaxed now hopefully um I I think as a as a I think as a player um you know I think that a large part of of our life or what I was doing um was controlled for you because you know practice timings were set or matches were set by somebody else uh you didn't have a it felt you had control of your life but a lot of your schedule actually you didn't really have a lot of control over and and of course to lead that kind of lifestyle and to and and and and play at that kind of elite level um I think there's certain sacrifices and certain disciplines that I had to do as as a as a cricket player uh one of the joys of not being a cricket player or at least I think as a coach again I've had to go back into that little bit of you know of having my schedule decided by somebody else but but a large part of that period in the middle after I finished playing one of the nice things for me was to get a little bit more control of my life in a sense that I could then choose what I wanted to do or I was at least lucky enough to be in a position where I could choose uh you know what I wanted to do and make some decisions for myself so for example if you know I wanted to be there for my sons for example drama you know I could choose like when I was playing if it so happened to fall in the middle of a test match then I had to be at the Test match so you know I could make those kind of decisions and and I think that for me was uh was was a really nice thing to do and to be to have that little bit of control of my life so I think uh certainly my life's a little bit more Loosely I'd say Loosely channelized now it's not as thing I I just like that uh like the ability for it to just ebb and flow a little bit uh but of course it's not like it's just I mean I I do have a plan or a Target and you know you have certain routines but I wouldn't say that I'm as disciplined about them as I was for literally from the time I was 18 to 40. yeah interesting uh if you if you had an ability to go back in time and start your career all over again what are the few things you will do differently uh uh what would I do differently I'd certainly enjoy my success a little bit more what does that mean I I'm asking for myself also like I I think just just enjoy the journey a little bit more because I think when you're in that you're just maybe sometimes it's always just what's next you know you just wanna you're always and I you know I think that maybe that's what gives you longevity also but but sometimes I think you know being able to just step back and and just relax a little bit more and just enjoy it and not you know keep your mind sort of not thinking about hey what's next and you know what's the next challenge and how do I get better how do I get you know what I keep doing um sometimes just being able to sort of sit back and and enjoy it and and enjoy the the friendships the connections uh you know I think just connect a little bit with more with with friends with family are you doing it now yeah yeah I think a little bit better now I think I try and do it a little bit better now again though of course again like when you take up something like coaching again it sort of gets back into that you know uh you get back into the fact where you don't have much time I mean I'm on the road a lot more than I was say two three years ago so again there's a lot more uh that takes this takes out of you but uh but yeah I just being able to relax and enjoy myself a little bit more um and not getting too stressed about things as much probably would be something I I would change uh just from a overall perspective but yeah I think on the cricketing side I think just from my own cricketing perspective uh you know growing up I probably would have um tried to hit a few more sixes in the Nets seeing how valuable that became at the end you know uh so yeah no no none of that hit the ball on the ground and hit the ball and if you hit it in the air run laps around the ground or you know a coach used to tell us I still remember he used to say um you know Don Bradman used to love quoting this as a Don Bradman averaged 99 point something and he scored 6996 runs and in that he hit six or seven sixes that's all you know so if it's good for him better be good for you keep the ball in the ground you know and and yeah we're all diligently doing that little did we know that you know 20 years later all the values in only eating it out of the park yeah yeah the world changes okay uh the the new format of the game and and uh there are positives and negatives and and uh it at least generating awareness to a lot more talent and uh it's kind of causing this uh what do you think really changed for the sport like introduction of this format but like what has really changed from the time you were playing Cricket to now in terms of other more there is more motivation to become cricketers or is it like like the the the joy of Fame success like what is the real structural change of cricket that has happened as a motivation for an athlete who's let's say in teenage Desiring to be a cricketer yeah I think uh one of the things that certainly changed is the professionalism around the sport you know I think it was very much a large part of my life the sport was was actually an amateur sport um and and you kind of like typically all of us um you know you sort of studied and you went to school and you went to college um and and and the side you kind of played cricket and you sort of thought hey maybe let's see if this works out but but you always never thought of cricket as a profession or a career you know you you really could not you know because honestly even for someone like me um to to really be comfortable you know that hey I you know I could live a life in the sport or I need to do something else it was almost after I played 10 years of cricket you know only then you had that level of Financial Security or or comfort you know today that's not the case I mean today you know a lot of these guys uh I I sort of will be comfortable very quickly I and can seriously think about it as a career at a younger age so that's again something that's changed it's become a lot more professional around it so you know just the kind of support systems that there are today for a lot of the young cricketers is is absolutely phenomenal uh things like the IPL it's brought in a lot of money into the sport so it's also meant that infrastructure has improved not only in the big cities so typically in in my time you know you generally find that cricket was sort of concentrated around the big cities and even if you wanted to play cricket say from anywhere from a smaller town most people would gravitate towards a big city and join in a college there or play for a club here and so people had to move homes to come here I mean today I think you could see that that with sort of infrastructure and Facilities improving even in smaller towns and cities uh you're seeing so many young cricketers coming from these smaller towns and cities and I think that's that's been a really positive of more money coming into the sport that infrastructure has improved um again I think uh one of the things that's that's that's sort of um probably fundamentally changed is um is just the the physicality of the sport I think the power and the speed of the sport I mean some of the things that you see uh some of the players do today uh in the 2020 format you know the quality of Fielding the quality of hitting just the power the sheer strength in the sport uh I think that's that's been a huge difference from from the time when I started I mean you know uh when when we hit a six uh you know you kind of remember I mean I can still go back and remember when somebody hit a six and you know people would talk about it for a really long time or a brilliant piece of Fielding was what you know what talked about and people would write about it and this guy is a brilliant field I look at that diving stop or look at that brilliant catch he took and now it's almost like you expect it to happen if it doesn't happen people say hey what's wrong with him or how can he not hit that and and it's it's not easy to do but it's just phenomenal how you know with uh with that level of practice and that level of improved physical fitness um you know this kind of skills that have improved in in terms of you know especially the power game in terms of hitting big sixes in speed uh in covering ground uh sort of the power aspect of the game is completely different from from the time that I played it interesting I've also also notice the ratio of tattoos per inch of skin has also changed dramatically in the game yeah that's that's that's true I mean sometimes I wonder why man why would you [Laughter] no and some of them are pretty creative and pretty good tattoos I must say you know but yeah I think it's become much I think it's become a lot more um it's become a lot more I think glamorous it was always a really big sport I I hate to say that crickets become I mean I say this and I think always when I always think back you know kavascript was a huge name in my time growing up and cricketers were always big it's just a today's day and age with social media and with you know just the hype and the number of television channels it just it seems so much bigger and it is bigger it's just gone tenfold the hype's gone 10-fold I mean popularity is popularity I mean the great name they were really popular cricketers you know um Saleem durani unfortunately passed away recently but I've grown up stories hearing about how popular he was and people would flock to the stadiums to come and watch him play or watch a couple live play or gavaskar play so they were a lot less popular uh it's just that I think it's become more accessible to people players have become more accessible um you know I think there's probably more connection between the people and and the players through a lot of social media uh and there's just a lot of hype and a lot of marketing around it it's it's yeah I mean we saw a bit of it in the 90s but but I think now it's sort of gone to a completely different level and and I think one of the good things about it is one of the things I've noticed and is is just a number of new people who are following in the sport you know and watching the sport you know and I say that you know um with respect but you know a lot more women follow the sport today and we've seen with the success of the wpl and how many more women are playing the sport today which is absolutely fantastic you know it's brought a new audience to the sport you know growing up uh it was not a sport followed yeah I mean there were very few women who would come to the ground to watch the game and follow the game closely but I think that's changed a lot today and I just sort of get to experience that as well you know are you on any social media uh no no I'm not yeah just to stay away from it what's the reason you've stayed away from it you must have considered it no I mean no I just I have grew up with it you know I've just not grown up with it I I just I don't want to be I don't want to be honest your contemporaries are on social media yeah I know I just I just don't I don't know I just don't see the need for it I I just don't want to be I don't like staring at my screen too much and wanting to you know um you know want I don't know I don't really have a good answer to this one but I I just never felt the need I don't you know uh I mean I'd rather like I said spend my time doing something different or you know and and I think you know I think I've realized in with my you know sort of experience it comes with the social media comes with the good and the bad you know and I think when you expose yourself to that level of social media in especially what you know in a public profession and everything is scrutinized and and all uh good days and bad days are out there for people to to see um you need to have a very thick skin you know I think you need to be able to be someone who um Can can sort of shrug off a lot of abuse or or get you know um question for a lot of things or irrationally sort of um you know abused and and be okay with it I guess um and and and then then love the praise you know so it's like someone said you know you should have that ability to uh forget all the criticism that you've received and remember the praise uh if someone's figured out that formula please teach me you know it's uh I'm honest about it you know I I just don't think I want to deal with uh you know I wouldn't be able to deal with people just random people questioning me and and saying random stuff about you um you know I I I I just I it would just affect me mentally and why do that why get into that space and why worry about that you know so yeah it makes sense uh uh what other actually uh two-part question first is uh can you talk about one or two life-changing advice that you got from contemporaries or seniors that is still there and has played an important role and maybe from people who were much younger and they still made an impact because you're an evolving person yourself so I'm sure you've also got something from them that change your perspective on things um yes I I think one of the uh sort of early lessons that you know I I think and I sort of mentioned it a little bit earlier uh you know I I got uh from sort of from from one of my coaches was I think that you know the real importance for me of um not sort of you know not sort of not brushing failure under the carpet you know but you know there's and just actually uh learning from I know it's like everyone says that you've got to learn from freely you've got to learn from failure but you know this just to think of of actually constantly evaluating when things haven't gone well for you you know and I think there's sometimes a tendency at times you know um is to brush things under the carpet or to blame other people uh you know without looking at sort of yourself in the mirror or looking at your own skills and I think something I was always taught is that things are not going right always look at just look at yourself first and look at what you can do better or what is it that you're lacking in that particular situation and what it is that you can do to get better you know I think that's something that's like I said probably stayed with me and something that I've because I'm constantly maybe curious about stuff it's kind of uh it stayed with me so in when things not going well I tend to tend to look in and say hey what what can I do better or what are the skills lacking at that point of time what do I need to improve how can I get better in that particular kind of situation so so I think that's probably been something that's you know I've probably got told by a coach early on and and something that I um you know I was sort of um it's that just that pursuit of kind of Excellence I was given this book as a kid by a coach you know uh Jonathan Livingston Seagull I don't know if many of you have read it and I think it's a book that had a huge impact on me you know in terms of it's a very small tiny book and and it had a huge impact on Me on the stage in my life in my career I was just sort of just in college and and it's sort of in a sense clarified that path for me that this is what I want to do I want to have that level of you know desire and hunger to get better and and you know to sort of and and like for the seagull it was flight but for me it just happened to be cricket and something that I really love doing you know so that's something that's kind of stayed with me a little bit um in terms of you know I I think when I look at um what I've uh sort of in my coaching you know someone wants it's sort of one of the players uh told me he said you know Rahul he said that for me for coaching you know a large part it's you know when you're coaching people it's not so much about what you're saying but it's what you're making people feel you know it's it's they respond to how do you make them feel rather than what you say people are going to listen to how you make them feel and not what you say you know they've probably forgotten what you said very quickly but how how can you you get the best impact when you know you made like I think you know you made me feel really good and that's really had a huge impact on me it was not the words but can you convey that that feeling of you did you give that person confidence or did you make him feel secure I think that's something that's probably in some ways drives my um drives my coaching or something that I try and do is that you know can you make people feel secure or feel comfortable um knowing fully well that you know it's not necessarily your words that are going to have the lasting impact that's a good one I should remember that one uh in uh the the part of coaching like you somehow uh get connected through your soul through those players also because it's a part of you that lives in them after that you've kind of coached and you see that change and transformation uh how important is for a coach to be attached or detached from the outcome which is the The Athlete's own Fate on doing things so how do you what is your style of dealing with that like what is your coaching uh mantras on doing some of these things yeah it's a really good question I think you know you so I think you care for each of those people who you coach you know on a personal level as well and you try to make those personal connections um you you want to coach them as people right you you try and Coach people and not so much you're not coaching cricket players so we say we try and Coach people and so when you're trying to coach people you're always trying to build those connections you're trying to build those relationships and you want all of them to succeed you know but you have to be realistic enough there to understand that not all of them are going to succeed and at times you're going to have to make tough decisions you know and you're going to have to make difficult decisions about people every time we pick up playing 11 we are disappointing people you know there are others who are not playing uh every time we pick a 15 for a tournament you know there are a lot of guys who who believe they should be there um and you feel bad for them you know at an emotional level but I think that that that um that sort of at least you try and I I don't say I'm perfect at it and I don't say that I get it right all the time because it does affect you I mean I think that's the hardest part of coaching or leading teams is is having to make those tough decisions about people that you truly care about and you truly want them to actually do well but for the larger interests of the team or the organization uh you know you can only pick so many players or I mean you're forced by the rules in cricket to pick only so many players um and you have to do that and you have to sometimes be able to make those tough decisions um and and I think it's there's no easy answer to it I mean I think the thing that comes to me is at least you try and be honest about it you know I think in your communication and in your um in your dealings with your players if there is a level of honesty and and I think if you're trying you know that if they can sense that you're doing it without any political agenda or any bias in play um then that is the best you can hope for uh and and you know that is uh that has to be the sort of guiding principle in at least in my case that's what I try and do uh General uh inputs for excellence like what are the like key ingredients that drives Excellence uh because it seems to be only achieved by a few like gift is one sure but like Drive is another like what are the other few things that you think results in excellence and there is a moment when you know somebody is kind of reaching Excellence there is an aura that gets created around just what they do and it can be anything it can be coaching it can be playing it could be in any parts of life so what are the things that you've seen that and I'm sure you bet people who are not like you probably met musicians you've met actors that is something that you see what are the traits that you see that causes excellence I I think again we've probably touched like you said I mean one of the things you've got to accept that you know you've got to have a little bit of luck you've got to have a little bit of talent uh you've got to have that hard work you've got to have that desire um you've got to constantly keep improving you've got to keep evolving um and yeah I when you look at some people who are just you know excellence and I think you you look at people it's the kind of people that I've sort of seen in my at least in my Arena who have achieved that level of Excellence which I say you know a body of work and across all formats 10 years real numbers 100 odd test matches you know I think one of the things that that really stands out is for me is that what they do or the sport or Cricket is front and center of everything in their lives everything else revolves around that you know and I think they're almost to an extent selfish about it you know this that everything else it's not like the living life and this happens to be one part of it so if this becomes front and center of everything they do and then they run their lives around it you know so so I think that for me is something that's I have always seen I look at people and and they will run they will sort of manipulate the rest of their life around this desire to become excellent or brilliant at this profession this profession or this skill you know and I think it's nothing will they will not compromise on that you know and I think that sort of really stands out and uh I want you to touch upon a role of sacrifice in excellence what do you think is it a almost an important ingredient or a necessary ingredient yeah necessary ingredient and uh you need to have the luck that there are other people sacrificing for you you know I think one of the things of excellent people uh or people who achieve a certain level of Excellence is obviously their own sacrifices which get seen a lot and discussed a lot about and obvious but I think what sometimes not seen is just the sacrifices of other people around you that you need to be you know grateful for or the kind of team that you build around you know the sacrifices of your families your friends you know all of them actually your coaches uh people who throw you certain so many balls people who come and bowl to you in the net so you know people who prepare the wickets for you to practice you know that guy's sacrificing something to come and do that so so I think it's it's you know a really successful Cricket careers are not built on just your sacrifices they're also built on a lot of other people's sacrifices for you you know and I think so sacrifice is critically important for yourself of course and obviously but also also just recognizing that a lot of other people need to sacrifice a lot of their time effort um and um a lot of other things to help you succeed great uh I'm gonna open it up uh I have unlimited questions but I have been told that I should allow the team to ask some questions uh okay there are questions prepared for me over here uh uh there's a question from srini he says that uh what's your take on radical Candor how important it is as a captain and a coach like being absolutely candid with your feedback uh in saying the truth the way it is okay I'll explain can I Google the thing or something you should Google it actually I'll be your child GPT and explain that uh radical Candor is uh being absolutely honest and brutal in your feedback and saying things as it is but not uh you actually care for that person also so the feedback is not with just the intent to just say a thing but you actually mean to care for this person and have their good in mind like you you're not giving this feedback just being a a prick what's the guy's name srini thanks srini for showing me up a little bit uh she's using big words you know yeah but I'm glad Kunal simplified it a little bit but uh hey uh no I I think it's it's so I think it's really important to prepare the uh to be able to so when you have advice right I think of I always think of a device as this um you think of a plane landing just humor me and just you're thinking about a plane landing right in on a on an on a Tarmac or on a landing strip so the plane is the advice and you're sort of you know wanting to give it but for the plane to land successfully and for there not to be a crash that Landing Strip has to be really good and has to be prepared really well you know and and that's the kind of relationship that you need to probably build with people before you are able to give this candid and honest kind of feedback so I think preparing that landing strip or preparing that relationship or building that relationship um obviously easier in our environment slightly because a number of people we deal with is less I'm sure in organizations like this you know I mean I'll just look at the numbers I'm sure you can't have that level of connection with everyone but certainly I speak from a cricketing perspective that you know being able to build that relationship um makes it much easier for that honest feedback to be able to to land so investing in that relationship a lot of young players must be looking up to you so they probably just take your vote for granted like a lot of people may not be open to feedback so how do you prepare that I think that takes time and I've been being realistic also you know and at times there are people who you're right who are not necessarily um open for feedback or then I think it's the you know you have to realize that maybe everyone has to grow by their own experiences you know sometimes you might have had that experience and you want to just spout that when that that advice so you just want to give it without I think reflecting back that if you were given the same advice as a 25 year old probably you would have laughed at that person so sometimes people just need to go through that journey and you need to be able to be I guess respectful of that or understanding of that however much it may you know you may feel oh God man this guy I just wish he would do this you know because I know the consequences of this three four years down the line I wish he would listen to me now uh but sometimes we people just have to go through those Journeys themselves you know and I think however you tell people um sometimes you have to be appreciative of the fact that maybe you know it's it's it's sometimes not saying anything or not giving people advice is the best thing or accepting the fact that people don't have to always accept your advice or understand what you're saying um and that's not really a reflection on you but it's a reflection of their own Journeys and where they're at and their own experiences you know and they might actually might do things differently so yeah you could use it in your coaching absolutely big big words I'm not really sure they'll land very well but I was like yeah [Laughter] [Applause] okay there's a question from ishan uh what approach do you take as a coach to instill the importance of delayed gratification in young players especially in today's fast-paced world where everybody's used to instant gratification uh I mean it's a tough environment because people like you said rightly I think it's um people do get a lot of gratification very very quickly you can become famous very quickly today one couple of sixes in the IPL and you know you can be well known and people know you so yeah it's a challenge I think the way I mean the only thing is to give people examples and I think you know you kind of give people examples or you talk to people or young people about some of the other role models that are there in the uh in the in the space who've you know been there a really really long time you know you want to talk to them about the Virat kohli's of the world or the you know Muhammad shamis of the world who've been a rare a wrong long time you know and done that and that's where real respect and that's where real satisfaction comes from you know and I think it's it's again it's about challenging uh people that you know that the experiences that they'll have through the Journey if they are committed Journey you know is going to be much more fulfilling uh and the whole process is going to be much more fulfilling uh than what they're experiencing now and if no if they just relax on that or rely on their Laurels so I mean I don't know if there's a magic formula to it but but again I think it's just through you know conversations is the things that you say it's the it's the is the people who you when people ask you who are your Heroes and you say hey someone like gavaskar you know he did it over 125 test matches and did it for a really long time you know those are the kind of people I look up to or you know ask your parents who do they look up to and and I think you'll see that you know I think people um yeah the real heroes are in any in any field in any industry in anything you know are people who stood the test of time uh there's a question from Russia uh if there was a habit that you would suggest everyone should explore or should consider what would that be how has that helped you uh I I think patience is one thing that you know I would certainly say is um is something that um I think is really important again in today's day and age I think when there is so much of sometimes you feel almost the pressure to become successful very quickly um you know just having that patience and trusting that process and trusting that journey and and wanting to be on the journey and getting the joy of being on the journey rather than um seeing that hey comparing yourself to somebody else and you know saying am I successful and you know what is successful and money and fame and have I cracked it or have I you know um like sort of I think that's just that patience is something that's uh it's is I think it's a really tough quality in today's day and age and something I I've sort of you know I not saying that I was always very patient I've I've been desperate as well you know as a Young Man wanting to do things uh but but in uh but in a lot of ways also just realizing that you know hey if you want to learn new skills if you want to get better then and sometimes that takes time you know and I think in cricket sometimes you just develop a new shot or to be able to have the confidence to bring out a new shot or a particular ball in the Nets sometimes you'll hear about this and you'll read about it people take a year year and a half of practice before they feel confident enough to bring it out in a particular game and that's the level of sometimes you know patience that you require in the process and in the skill uh there's a question from uh shivatsa uh what was your motivation to take up coaching and then becoming successful uh I didn't have anything else to do no uh no I just again Your Love of the Game wanting to stay involved in the game I like the connection um left the sport and someone gave me some good advice don't commit to one thing do a bunch of different things in cricket or or in other things and then see what you like so I commentated for a while I did a few other things I coached a little bit I was lucky to be able to at the back end of my career to be able to be like a coach captain at Rajasthan Royals in the IPL so I got a taste of that and experience of that and really just enjoyed coaching the most I mean it's this thing that you know um just trying to um understand how Team Works how individuals work finding trying to see other people improve and get better uh always just you know got the kick out of me um just felt more connected with with sort of results in the game uh you felt you were always sort of you know I just think the thing that I loved the most you know to be honest of the other things that I tried I also realize that coaching is also becoming younger and younger I think as a coaches are becoming younger and younger so you need obviously you know it's there's a time frame for coaching as well as well just as I was playing so yeah you you've got to you know I felt this was probably the best time for me to do it and yeah simple answer I just enjoyed it I'm going to ask out of turn question uh what are one of the random things that you tried before you became a coach that you thought was a terrible decision in your time of getting bored uh no I I sort of uh looked at you know at some stage I thought maybe hey I'd done a bcom and then done a year of an MBA yeah luckily for me like I said I'm very lucky that you know I can still come here and be involved in cricket after so many years that's a good one uh there's a question from srinivas it's a googly question uh do you have a philosophical take on a world where everyone lives forever dude I know what I got myself into you're hiring some intelligent people Canal I must say that no no they're just trying to show off oh my God why would you man why would you want to huh I agree I agree no man I I think it's I think it's exciting to see new things right it's exciting to see new people uh it's amazing to see new skills come through with news thought and that only comes when when the old passes on you know when when people move on and and so uh no and I think it's it's absolutely uh I would never never want to live on a thing I think you know you have your time in this world you got to make the best of it and and then let somebody else come in and have a good run and that and then Cricket our lives are much shorter right so I mean honestly I wouldn't want to keep on playing forever and playing bouncers all my life man seriously I did it for a while and then now I don't want to play Brett Lee bowling 150 at me and trying to knock my head off you know that's enough it was enough for a while okay there's a question from Amia uh expectations are difficult to manage as a player but it's still a shared responsibility uh however as a coach you are individually responsible to many stakeholders uh how do you manage to keep all of them happy and earn their trust uh again I I think even as a coach I see it as a shared responsibility I I don't think that I'm uh singularly responsible for all the good results that we get and and I'd be foolish to think that every bad result that goes is only my fault you know I think that I'd go nuts if I thought like that uh so so I think a lot of it whether you're a player or whether you're a coach I think a lot of it is teamwork as a coach of course you're responsible for a lot more things I think sometimes as a player you're sort of largely focused on your own performances and of course you you do have a little bit of a connection of of other people's performances as well but largely it's you know you know that if you keep doing better and keep improving you're going to make the team stronger you're going to get better as a player individually which is going to help the team as a coach of course you have a a bit more of a I guess a say and a responsibility and a lot more people to deal with but I think you know I still see it as a large part of a shared responsibility you know as a coach I uh I do think that you know I'm only as good as a team uh and uh and I have to ensure that you know we uh the T the whole team gets better uh is you know for me to be able to succeed and and you know it's not that I can just take any bunch of guys or any bunch of people I can't take a 11 for maybe there might be some great cricketers here but but I can't take just a bunch of any random people and make them great cricketers or make them a great team so no I think even as a coach you have a shared responsibility with people um I have a question on a random question if you uh rana's software company which could build software for Cricket what software would you make what do you think would be a magical solution you could create that could improve you as a coach assume that you can code magically and write any software what would you make oh uh what are the I I think um assume there are no limitations you can create whatever you want assume AI has solved everything and uh you could ask for anything from the software what would you ask for uh I think I would really love to know how the mind works I think we've got a lot of sense now about you know I think we've a large part of it we've cracked in terms of um in terms of just the technique and the skill of the game and the tactics of course keeps evolving changing we're getting better at that um the physicality of the game like I said it's improved a lot this professionalism quality of physios trainers Sports Science medicine a lot of that is improving but again I think um you know mind how do you why do people react one way in pressure then others do act differently in a same similar situation you know what is it that what is it that sort of triggers some people to be able to make much more better and informed decisions Under Pressure than other people and what is it about that you know I think how do you how do you crack that you know I mean I don't know if there's a yeah like I said if you said there's no limitations then it's really someone being able to go into someone's mind and and almost understand what are they thinking Under Pressure how are they thinking when they succeed in incredibly Under Pressure you know what what's going on inside dhoni said Under Pressure right when he's when he's playing at the end he's obviously got you know something incredible there you know how's he thinking right it's only something that's in his head you know is that something that you could get a better understanding of or I think that would be brilliant that's that's a good one uh I'm I'm gonna be curious and ask you a question that no you must have felt those moments multiple times in life what happens in you when you were in these extreme pressure situations like what did you see in your own mind and behavior like what evoked like did you become a different person are you more Primal in your instincts like what changed in that moment and there is this audience that is screaming there is this moment of making that big decision or do playing a stroke I'm curious what happens so I mean different things have happened at different times so again again it's not like every time I was under pressure or we were in a precious situation you know you experienced it the same way you know there are times where I messed up under pressure you made the wrong decision you made the wrong call you left later later reflect on that and you think wow you know what is I doing there and then you just realize that hey you know I just got like the pressure got to me you know I just messed up there and there are other times when you had just Clarity of thought and you had absolute um ability to focus on the ball and just react towards it um and and and I think in time you obviously learn how to deal with pressure a little bit better because if you're willing to learn from those experiences and I I honestly can't say that every single time uh you know I was I was under pressure that that I solved or I got out of it in the right way you know the like I said a lot of times you fail a lot in cricket you you don't succeed you make the wrong calls so it's a it's a I can't say there was one reaction every single time but there were some moments when you just felt real Clarity and just the Stillness of the mind and stuff like we call in the zone like just being in the zone wherein you know you just there was almost an absence of thought and you're just watching the ball and you're just playing and you're just reacting you know and that's what you then you then you drive and then the whole goal is about trying to do that every single time and unfortunately that never happens and that drives you mad you know that drives you nuts because you know you've sort of experienced what it is to have that kind of feeling uh and and then the next time you're under pressure sometimes it just doesn't come it just doesn't happen it's super interesting uh the last question from debashree over here uh how do you navigate through people as a leader coach when you can see that they may be making a mistake but you also want to show respect for their process yeah I think we kind of briefly answered that question a little bit I think respecting that process is a really good question um you know I think sometimes uh you know we can see those um we can see people make the mistakes that we made as as young people you know we all made mistakes as young people and and we see them make those mistakes we we see them on that Journey uh and and we think hey you know uh and and sometimes you just need to let them experience those things because sometimes the greatest experiences come and learnings come from your own experiences rather than from someone telling you things you know so I think just I think challenging people to just put themselves in as many different situations and as many pressure situations as they possibly can and get those experiences you know I think for me is is uh is really important you know for people to sort of you know when you find yourself in like always tell people is in a different situation in a situation where you feel uncomfortable where you feel that you're not really comfortable sometimes those are the best situations to be in you know trying to do things that that sometimes scare you or that make you feel uncomfortable because that's where real learning is happening that's where real growth's happening love it uh I'm curious uh I'm gonna ask you last few I'm going to let you go I I bored you enough not at all it's been really interesting yeah uh I mean you've had this illustrous career you've made made some met some greatest of Minds uh Talent all that stuff uh uh how has that changed you as a parent how are you coaching slash raising your own kids like what is different versus how you were raised uh kids are a lot more smarter and question me a lot more than I have a question uh no I I think I was lucky to be you know raised really well uh with some really good emphasis on simple things in life hard work you know values and respect um yeah and that's something I think Vegeta and me try and instill in our children as well uh you know uh last two questions if I can just ask you one maybe yes please I can just sort of you know you've asked me a lot sir I I am [Applause] uh no I I'm just sort of curious to know in terms of you know when you're looking to do the startups and you've done all of these sort of these just ideas is it like a bling moment that happens is it just like okay this is it I want to do or is it a process or is it how do you go about deciding that hey this is the startup or this is the this is what I want to start and this is what I want to do I mean there are lots of things right there must be a lot of ideas and this is what I want to zero on or this is what I want to focus on um I've never been asked this question but uh uh so I think I think at the Crux of it is building things and solving puzzles right so it's a combination of these two things that you want to solve a puzzle but also build something that keeps getting bigger right because it's uh like companies can last beyond you right like like many Founders have built many companies have lasted for 100 200 300 years uh so that's the power of just kind of creating permanence into things uh uh the other thing is about which idea to pick comes from a lot of people say that oh I was passionate about it I think uh it's a terrible place to build businesses because uh most people are like to look at passionate about what they have been exposed to right uh for example let's say if you had chosen badminton I know you are playing badminton also all right and let's say the prize money of the badminton would have not been bigger than the cricket money has been uh financially it would have been not the best decision as an athlete you would have probably felt great no matter which report you played so business this is also about picking up where the prize money is Big right A lot of people do not think about prize money they're just saying that oh I love doing this because it's like you've seem to be in a flow while playing badminton kind of an equation right so I think picking which sport imagine like in business you can have one million different games you can play right so picking where there's a large enough price pool because the presence of practical will allow mistakes let me explain what I mean by that uh even if you are let's say a number 39 player of a very rich paying sport you're going to be better off than being number three in a sport that barely pays so a lot of times just picking large profit pools large motivations to kind of build backwards off other thing is uh It's a combination of both so a lot of times ideas come from just intuition you're like oh this has to be done and this has to be built but a lot of people don't do the homework to say if it's really a good idea in business it can cost you a lot because at the same time you're like building it for years you have so much Capital put behind it and it can be a truly stupid idea right so it's a little bit like how movies are made right imagine trying to make a movie as Grand as RR imagine that kind of a thing and then you have one Friday where it just can just tank or take off but that just this Joy of uh getting it right but in startups you can iterate if you have not put all your resources but I think there are different ways of building but uh if I have to say uh the startup is a little bit also it happens when you are uh you can't think of anything else I think it's a little bit of that where you are constantly like I'm sure you face it your dreams are I'm sure your dreams have a lot of cricket in it uh and you are trying to solve a situation and and a lot of times I'm like constantly thinking about things and uh I think the the founders are very interesting characters uh because it's a extremely painful journey and very lonely in many ways you may be surrounded by thousands of people and all of that it's still very very lonely and uh when a company is successful everybody will have a reason to say oh I did this I did that I invested all of that but if the company fails no matter who supported you who were in your company they'll say this guy Kunal complete idiot you should do credit curious and all that stuff will kick in right so the point is that a lot of these things become a part of it but I'll tell you what uh that the joy is uh just proving criticism wrong it's a very similar thing but it's just that there is no end uh because you'll always meet somebody who's done 1000 x better than you uh and probably lives in the same time as you are alive not even like in history or whatever and and that the game is just never ending uh uh and it allows you to uh played for many many years uh so I think that's the thing that drives startups yeah but I mean I think this again it's just just curious about this is that today like startup guys like you know yourselves and a lot of guys have got a lot more well known a lot more famous right A lot of people started businesses in the past you know I mean they were started businesses 30 40 years ago they're going about starting their business doing their thing nobody knows about them only when it becomes successful people know about them but today you know you're just starting up these businesses and you're already celebrating some ways you're already famous so I put a lot of pressure on you or is that I think uh I think popularity comes when you get to a certain level of Milestone which is raising money valuation becoming unicorn all these new labels uh uh come over there but the pressure is there because uh you know this like everybody ultimately wants you to fail as a coach as a captain and then be able to have that thing I told you what a terrible decision right so the thing is that uh as a country we've not evolved to like just be like uh like we I always say that we we love to create uh Gods and then do a surgeon of them right like there is a there is a joy that continues to be there uh now the pressure is real because like just constant attention towards you everything that you do right there is like discussions about it and and uh but but the thing is uh it also gives you the fuel uh so it's a little bit of that but I think the popularity is largely due to social media uh and and uh like I'll tell you what the reason is I think earlier uh the number of journalists who covered startups was less than one percent maybe the percentage has probably gone to 20 30 so automatically the coverage is increased but it's also something it's popular so for example if the Advent of things like Shark Tank becomes a a household discussion it becomes a very interesting thing and let's say the government does startup India uh everybody's talking about unicorns in India and all of that stuff so I think it just creates these uh stories of oh I used to know this guy College then suddenly these stories and anybody can become that like for example I'm a philosophy major doing Tech startup right like it's a weird story from that perspective but I'm also by the way one year MBA Dropout uh so we share that in common uh I never try to go back to it uh I probably will never uh so the thing is that it is a thing that uh I think the newer generation is key into uh you know you made an interesting observation that ultimately I have to pick only 15 people who in the cricket team and tournament but the best part about being a startup founder or being in working in startups there can be one million millionaires so that just the non-zero-sum approach to this uh has now given hope to more people to participate and I think these so-called icons that we've managed to create out of these startup Founders my biggest worry is that uh the culture of worship that we have uh uh and and worship allows us to not see flaws in them there is a movie made for almost every major cricketer every major scamster every major Mafia uh We've not made movies on entrepreneurs yet because they are imperfect stories and and it's there is nothing heroic about their journey and I think only when we truly understand this with the country will truly become entrepreneurial because we're still in that zone of uh like and like do something like secure and we are still in the let's financially secure let's financially secure Zone uh like like it's not gonna go away it will take one or two generations uh before it goes away that's really interesting man yeah okay I'm gonna let you go and just answer ask one question uh I can go all day long I have that many questions but I'm Gonna Let You Go uh um you go to uh you've been in the ground multiple times and you've seen India transform uh you talked about how Indira nagar has transformed all around us uh he was telling me a story that uh Indra nagar Club remember we had our party and and uh 12th main is where he stays uh he used to be scared walking from there to his home it was that much of a place like maybe 30 40 years ago that you were talking about right yeah absolutely I mean we would like you know they would be like hardly there were Street lamps and street lights in those days and just from the club to my home in 12 minutes selling canal and stuff at six o'clock in the winter especially you know in the winter months he was playing in the club and you're playing badminton in the club and it gets dark you don't kind of don't realize you walk out it's like 6 15 and it's pitch black and there'd be like two shops or thing and you're like walking back and you're like really scared my mum would be screaming what the hell's happening why are you getting on so yeah this place is this place has really changed like you know like I said it earlier just it's nostalgic but it's also depressing it's really depressing uh but but you're uh feeling about India like what are you feeling uh about the country and and everything that is happening around you like uh what are the good bad feelings that you're currently feeling about the country I just think that you know like like you said rightly you know and I think with one of the things with us is cricketers and as a cricket teams you just move from City to City to City you know you're playing in different cities and just in the month of November February we played in the three test matches three games we probably played in about 14 15 cities uh in in three months and you know been around and just to see the growth and just to see the development has been you know absolutely phenomenal I mean I like these are airports and and these are cities that I have been to since the late 80s and the early 90s right I've been playing cricket and traveling and so you're doing that same Journey from the airport to the hotel in in Calcutta for and I've just just to see the way the the countries evolved the way it's grown you know I think is absolutely you know phenomenal I mean it's just incredible to see the growth it's incredible to see um how things are changing just incredible to see the confidence of uh of young India you know uh like you said rightly and I mean you know like you said you know from a slightly more defensive conservative slightly mindset that we were growing up see what a lot of you as young people and as young generation is just so much more uh we see it's reflected in sport it's reflected in so many facets of life where the kind of risks people are willing to take the kind of chances people are willing to take the trusting in their own creativity and in their own ability and not being intimidated by anybody else you know I think for me has been absolutely phenomenal to see and it's just great to see the the way that's growing whether this infrastructure in our cities is coping with that I'm not really sure I mean you know when I see the amount of time I spent on when I see the spend the amount of time that I do on traffic signals or on traffic sometimes I wonder why did Bangalore have to become the tech capital or the startup Capital could we have been the old sleepy Cantonment town we were in the old days okay this is this is good uh Rahul thank you so much for doing this uh uh uh this has been one of the best things uh that has happened uh for the team and uh I'm sure everybody has benefited a lot uh Raul thank you so much thank you

Channel: CRED

Views: 161,077

Keywords: CRED, Finance, Payments, CRED App, Startups, Kunal Shah interview, Podcast, CRED Curious Podcast, Rahul Dravid Interview, Cricket Interview, Rahul Dravid Boss Moments, Rahul Dravid Motivation, Rahul Dravid Motivational Speech, Rahul Dravid CRED, Indiranagar ka Gunda, Rahul Dravid CRED ad, Rahul Dravid wall, Indian Cricket, BCCI, Test Match, Highlights, Cricket Highlights, Ashes, Match Highlights

Id: xjaXPq6vxBo

Length: 73min 51sec (4431 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 11 2023