Who is Zubin Barucha? IPL mastermind who helped Sri Lanka snap their winless streak versus India

Sri Lankan coach Sanath Jayasuriya made a huge statement when he praised Zubin Barucha after Sri Lanka’s ODI series win against India. The former Lankan skipper said how Zubin Barucha helped the Sri Lankan team train ahead of the huge series versus India. 

Sanath Jayasuriya had said “I got Zubin from Rajasthan Royals and he came and did a seven-day coaching programme. We learnt a lot, the players learnt a lot on how to bat long innings, and one batsman was batting for 2-3 hours. That gave the batters a lot of confidence. The players only need confidence”

Ever since this news has come to light many fans have been wondering who Zubin Barucha is. What role did he play with the inaugural Indian Premier League title winners Rajasthan Royals?

Zubin Barucha: former cricketer turned coach 

The name Zubin Barucha may not be known to fans in today’s cricketing times. Born on the 8th of January 1970, Zubin Minoo Barucha was a player for Mumbai (then Bombay) where he played 17 first-class matches. 

Playing for Mumbai, Zubin Barucha was an opening batter and scored a total of 1021 runs from his 17 matches. His best of 164 was one of the three First-Class tons he scored and it came during the 1993 Irani Cup game between Bombay and Rest of India. 

Zubin Barucha also played 11 List A matches and scored 189 runs with two fifties. During his short career, Barucha also played for Surrey with his final match coming in 1995 against a young Australian side. 

The visiting Australian side included names such as Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, and Adam Gilchrist and was led by Stuart Law who scored 163. Zubin Barucha was out for a first-ball duck when he was cleaned up by future Aussie pacer Michael Kasprowicz. 

It is said that Zubin Barucha also played a key role in the rise of Yashasvi Jaiswal as a batter. One of the main aspects of coaching dealt with by Zubin Barucha is his no compromise towards hard work. 

This paid rich dividends as Jaiswal smashed two double centuries during the Test series against England earlier this year. During a chat with India Today, Yashasvi Jaiswal’s father said “Along with Yashasvi, his coach Zubin Barucha has worked a lot. He used to go himself and personally train him. Barucha used to keep on grinding Yashasvi till he fell on the ground. It is because of him that Yashasvi has reached these heights”

In the Indian Premier League, Zubin Barucha worked as the team director of Rajasthan Royals since 2008 and helped them win the title. He has been working behind the scenes relentlessly for RR since 2018 and has seen their rise as one of the IPL powerhouses. 

It is also to be noted that it was Zubin Barucha who played a key role in Yuvraj Singh becoming a better batter. The 54-year-old has also enjoyed a stint with the England cricket board working as one of the advisors for a short period.