The former India batter then described how monitoring of the “targeted” players was done at the CoE.

“When Rahul was the head coach of the Indian team, he used to take care of the contracted players and we at NCA used to take care of the targeted players, emerging players and the under-19 players.

“We know what are the areas they are required to work on. And through the year, we make sure that the player is working on them.”

For this purpose, Laxman said he and the other support staff have created a wonderful synergy with various state associations to ensure continuity and similarity in coaching.

“So, we collaborate with the state coaches because ultimately the state association coaches spend a lot more time with a player than what we do. We also have an athlete management system.

A profile is created for all the players who come and attend the ZCA and the NCA camps…right from their reports of skills to the fitness to the musculoskeletal screening report.

“Now, we are going to even request the state association to follow that process. So, at least 50 players of each state association – 25 men and 25 women — should be there on the watch list. So, the whole idea is, if a player comes to NCA or is part of any ZCA camp, 5 or even 10 years from now, his file should be there.

“We will know how the player has progressed and it will become very easy for anyone who is taking care of that player to know what the player has gone through every year,” he elaborated on the process.

Along with the skill enhancement, Laxman said keeping the players in a right mental state is important for their growth.

“The players themselves are so professional. They understand what is needed for them to be in the best mindset when they are competing at the highest level. As far as the junior cricketers are concerned, we have got mental conditioners who spend 8 to 10 days with the players.”

Importance of ‘A’ tours

Laxman described the significance of ‘A’ tours in preparing a player to tackle all kind of conditions that he may encounter in future.

“Every year we make sure that we have at least two A Series. Sometimes it can be challenging because we want to have an A Series whereas the other boards will be busy with their own domestic cricket.

Or they may not be ready to accommodate us.

“But at least we try to have two A Series. The A programme allows us to go to different parts of the world and get experience. So that when they graduate to the national team, it is not a surprise to them,” added Laxman.