Meet R. Sridhar and Vikram Rathour, the two former India coaches who helped send Australia crashing out of the ICC T20 World Cup

Australia’s ICC T20 World Cup campaign has ended in disappointment after a disastrous group-stage performance saw the former champions crash out of the tournament.

The Kangaroos’ qualification hopes were hanging by a thread, as they needed both Sri Lanka and Ireland to defeat Zimbabwe to keep their slim chances of reaching the Super 8 stage alive.

However, Australia’s fate was sealed when the Ireland-Zimbabwe match on February 17 was washed out due to rain. The abandoned match earned Zimbabwe one point, taking their tally to five. Australia, meanwhile, has just one match left against Oman, and even if they win it, their total will reach only four points—still short of Zimbabwe’s five.


Australia suffered two crucial defeats in the group stage—first against Sri Lanka and then in a shocking upset against Zimbabwe—results that ultimately cost them a place in the next round.

Interestingly, Sri Lanka’s coaching setup includes two former Team India coaches—batting coach Vikram Rathour and fielding coach R. Sridhar—both of whom have played key roles in strengthening the team.

Highlighting their contribution, Sri Lanka coach Sanath Jayasuriya praised the duo, saying: "R Sridhar is our fielding coach, he’s from India, and also Vikram Rathour is our batting coach. Both are really good gentlemen. They do whatever we want to do at practice, which is really good for fielding. With his IPL experience, he’s working with the players really well and gelling well. We have given a lot of confidence to the batters. Sometimes, as coaches, we may get desperate with the batting unit, but we still gave confidence to the players. Vikram and Sridhar were really good."

Who is Vikram Rathour?

Vikram Rathour was appointed India’s batting coach in 2019. The Punjab-born cricketer represented India in six Tests and seven ODIs between 1996 and 1997. While his international career was brief, Rathour enjoyed an impressive domestic career, scoring 1473 runs in first-class cricket at an average of 49.66.

In Tests, he averaged 13.10, with his highest score of 44 coming at The Wanderers in South Africa. In ODIs, he averaged 27.57 and scored two half-centuries.

A right-handed opening batter, Rathour retired from cricket in 2003. He later spent several years in England before returning to India to coach Punjab. He also served as a national selector from 2012 to 2016 and has coached Himachal Pradesh in domestic cricket.

All about R. Sridhar

Ramakrishnan Sridhar is a former India fielding coach who served with the national team from 2014 to 2021 under head coach Ravi Shastri.

He previously worked at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and also gained coaching experience in the Indian Premier League (IPL), helping him develop strong expertise in player development and modern fielding techniques.

During his seven-year tenure, India made significant strides in fielding standards across all formats, with Sridhar widely credited for transforming the team into one of the best fielding units in world cricket.

He later joined Afghanistan’s national team as an assistant coach, continuing his international coaching career.