‘They back their players and …’ - WATCH: Yusuf Pathan reveals how Rajasthan Royals nurtures young talent

Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan hosted his elder brother Yusuf Pathan on his YouTube show called ‘Seedhi Baat with Irfan Pathan’. The conversation between the two brothers, which lasted for 12 minutes, covered Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s century and Rajasthan Royals' (RR) ability to nurture young talent. 

Watch the video here - (6:05 onwards)

Irfan Pathan asked his brother, “Rajasthan Royals, as a franchise, you have played for them, and also won the title with them (2008), there were other players too who were young and were backed. What makes RR so special that they invest so much in creating talents and nurturing young talents”

Replying to this, Yusuf Pathan said, “If you look at the biggest strength of Rajasthan Royals, be it an uncapped player or any upcoming talent, they a lot of support from the team. They (RR) back their players and give them a lot of freedom to not only express themselves on the field but also show their talents and abilities on the field”

India’s former World-Cup winner also said, “This freedom from the team (RR) also shows the player how much backing he is getting. Royals also give the much-needed stability and the long rope a player needs. The message is clear, ‘just go and play your shots and don’t worry about anything else’. Royals expect the approach from a player to be a big hitter and score runs at a quick pace”. 

‘Owners don’t get involved in dressing room or team meeting’ – Yusuf Pathan 

During the course of a chat between Irfan and Yusuf Pathan, the former recounted an incident which involved the late great Shane Warner. Irfan recalled an incident from IPL 2009, which was played in South Africa, and said, “When Shane Warne was the captain, the question of ownership, be it from the owners or the leaders, was focused on the youngsters. I remember in 2009 when Warne called me to have a word with you regarding few things despite me playing for a different franchise because he knew I could make you understand certain things”

Yusuf Pathan replied, “You are right, because if you see RR’s owners also play a huge role. Because they may own the team but from my personal experience, I haven’t seen them (Owners) get involved in the dressing room or in any team meetings in my three years with the side. They have given the coach the full authority and power to get the best out of the players"

The former India star also went onto add "Be it any coach or captain like you mentioned Shane Warne, when he was the captain, the owners had given him complete freedom in regards to decision making to the captain. To his credit, Shane Warne knew how to utilize a player’s full potential and how to approach a player which is key factor because if a player is down or not performing well, then the captain knew through which channel he could get his message across”