Malahide [Ireland], September 10 : Dublin Guardians head coach Vikram Rathour said coaching in the European T20 Premier League (ETPL) has been an exciting learning experience, as he gets the opportunity to work with overseas players and understand a different cricketing environment.
Speaking during a select group media interaction organised by the ETPL, Rathour said adapting to a new league and working with foreign players has provided him with a valuable opportunity to grow as a coach.
"There haven't been any challenges, I would say. I find it really exciting, and I've been really happy. See, my idea of coaching is to keep improving and learning as a coach," Rathour said while responding to an ANI question.
"In any new environment, working with a foreign league and foreign players—because my experience in the past has been working in Indian cricket mostly—this is an opportunity to work with all foreign players, except for Ashwin and Vijay Shankar in this team," he added.
The former India batting coach said he has been fortunate with the support system at Dublin Guardians and believes the experience will help him become a better coach.
"That makes it really exciting for me because that's something I haven't done before. As I said earlier, I've been extremely fortunate with the kind of team and the support staff that we have around us. It has been really good so far; I'm learning a great deal, and I'm sure this experience will also make me a better coach in times to come," Rathour said.
The ETPL aims to provide a platform for local European cricketers, and Rathour praised the attitude and willingness of emerging players to learn from experienced international names.
"The first good sign is that they want to learn and work hard. This is a great opportunity for them, with big-name players from all over the world playing in this league now. I'm sure they'll learn from all of them as they share dressing rooms and knowledge with them," he said while responding to an ANI question.
Rathour added that the presence of international players and coaches can help local talent understand different approaches to T20 cricket.
"Coaches from outside have come in too. All this is eventually going to help them become better players and learn a lot more about how T20 cricket is played in different parts of the world, because all of us bring in knowledge of different leagues," he said.
"The talent is there. The numbers are fewer, but we are hoping that as this league does well, those numbers will also improve in times to come. We can already see the signs of them improving because there is a lot of potential, and with all this experience, I think they'll do really well in the times to come," Rathour added.
In the ongoing ETPL, Guardians are currently placed fifth in the European T20 Premier League standings. The team has played 6 matches, with 1 win and 5 losses, earning 2 points with a net run rate of -0.960.