All You Need to Know About Cadbury's '#ThankYouFirstCoach' Campaign

Cadbury Dairy Milk’s #ThankYouFirstCoach campaign is a commendable effort at recognizing the unsung heroes of cricket.

The campaign, as the name clearly suggests, focuses on bringing into limelight the first coaches of some noted Indian cricketers - those who were the first to recognize the potential in the players when they young and nurtured their talent, which resulted in them achieving their ultimate dream of playing for the country.

In the commercials that are on air as part of Cadbury Dairy Milk's #ThankYouFirstCoach campaign, Mumbai Indians (MI) batter Suryakumar Yadav and Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul are seen paying tributes to their first coaches Ashok Aswalkar and Samuel Jayaraj respectively, acknowledging their contributions in making them what they are today.

Through the campaign, Cadbury Dairy Milk also encourages fans to express their gratitude towards their first coaches by gifting their mentors #ThankYouFirstCoach special packs, just like Suryakumar and Rahul.

If we talk about unsung heroes in cricket, there are many childhood coaches of famous Indian cricketers who have gone out of their way to help their wards climb the ladder of success. Apart from Aswalkar and Jayaraj, Sanjay Bhardwaj (Amit Mishra), Salam Bayash (Tilak Varma) and many others have played pivotal roles in the development of their respective students.

Unlike cricketers, who steal all the limelight once they achieve a certain status, childhood or first coaches of star players always remain in the background. They never crave for publicity or their moment in the spotlight. At the same time, it's important that sportspersons acknowledge the significant contribution made by these mentors behind the scenes.

Saying Thank You is a small but significant way of expressing gratitude. It's not only a much-needed gesture of appreciation but also serves as inspiration for such coaches and will also encourage those who are keen to take up coaching in the future.

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How KL Rahul and Tilak Varma expressed gratitude to their first coach

There are many examples of big names in cricket who believe in the power of gratitude.

In a social media post in April 2018, Rahul, who was then representing Punjab in the Indian Premier League, shared a picture of his in a technically correct batting pose and credited his first coach Jayaraj for the same:

“Coach, you proud of this? “Head Still and Elbows high!” Just like you taught me. Forever Grateful to my coach Samuel Jayaraj.”

Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians batter Varma made his childhood coach Bayash’s dream of meeting the legendary Sachin Tendulkar come true. After Varma got an IPL contract with MI, Bayash was able to meet his Tendulkar, who also happens to be the mentor of the Mumbai Indians franchise.

Speaking to News18 in August 2023, Varma’s childhood coach got emotional while opening up about the cricketer’s special gesture of making sure he gets to meet his idol Tendulkar.

“Tilak told him (Tendulkar) that my teacher is a very big fan of yours. So, Sachin sir replied, 'I know everything about you and your coach… When Sachin sir came to Hyderabad, I got to meet him and that was a big, big moment for me.

"I told him, '20 years se apse milne ki khawaish thi. Upar wala meri khawaish puri kardiye (It was my 20-year-long dream to meet you. The almighty has fulfilled it today)',” Bayash said about the special meeting.

That’s not all. Tendulkar even hugged Bayash and told him that he had prepared a very good player in Varma and should continue to do the same. Varma’s gesture is a wonderful example of how an expression of gratitude can result in memories of a lifetime for a mentor.

Inspired? What are you waiting for? Go and pick up Cadbury Dairy Milk’s #ThankYouFirstCoach special pack and gift your mentor the love and gratitude that they deserve.

#ThankYouFirstCoach | Let's discover the coaches who discovered our stars first. (youtube.com)