The Hindu : Sport : Reward for consistent performance

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 17, 2007
ePaper

Sport

Sport

Reward for consistent performance

Indian cricket is all about the break a player gets at the right time, writes Makarand Waingankar

PHOTO: PTI

EXPERIENCE PAYS: Dilip Vengsarkar's stint as the Chairman of the Talent Resource Development Wing is standing him in good stead now.

Dilip Vengsarkar speaks the way he played his cricket. "Doors are open to him" or "He will be part of our scheme" have not been his style. Apart from Anil Kumble, others have either been dropped or selected. And when the Chairman of the national selection committee talks straight, his colleagues have to endorse the view.

He minced no words in his retort "Find one leg-spinner" when asked why there is no leg-spinner other than Kumble in the squad. He also said that Nehra may have done well in the 2003 World Cup but that had been four years back. Unlike his colleagues in the selection committee, Vengsarkar had the advantage of watching all the juniors as the Chairman of the Talent Resource Development Wing for five years and that has helped him assess the temperament of players.

The list of 30 probables for the World Cup and the team that has been chosen for the two one-day internationals against the West Indies shows that, with a few exceptions, all those who have been consistently performing in the domestic tournaments have been rewarded. Again, no such thing as "he has the potential but still has a long way to go."

Handling pressure

Mumbaikars were perhaps expecting the touch artist Rohit Sharma to be in the list of World Cup probables. But having been responsible for strongly recommending both Irfan Pathan and Parthiv Patel for international cricket though they had not played at all in the Ranji Trophy, Vengsarkar seems to have realised that not all youngsters are capable of handling pressure and failure at international level.

It's not the fault of a youngster when he fails, as he has no intention of failing. He fails to succeed because of not knowing how to succeed. This part has to be judged by the selectors.

To succeed at the international level, one has to have the experience of handling pressure situations in the first class level. Robin Uthappa and Cheteshwar Pujara have been impressive in doing that.

Robin Uthappa, India's highest run-getter this season in the Ranji Trophy, has to thank Nari Contractor and Vasu Paranjape for converting him into an opener during the CCI summer camp in 2003.

Some of the selectors in Karnataka's junior selection committee had always insisted on having him at number five or six. Had Brijesh Patel not intervened after the recommendation from Contractor and Paranjape in making Uthappa play as an opener, he would have continued to bat in the middle order and would have found it difficult to break into the Indian team.

Crucial break

Indian cricket is all about the break a player gets at the right time, and there is no better example than Vengsarkar himself. His club Dadar Union captain Vasu Paranjape asked him to open with Gavaskar. Watching Gavaskar from the other end, Vengsarkar understood what batsmanship was all about. Though Vengsarkar took 20 Test innings (3 seasons) to get his first half-century, the faith that the selectors and the seniors (captain Bedi and vice-captain Gavaskar) in the team reposed in him made him a world-class player.

Now that he and his colleagues have chosen youngsters on the basis of their performances and talent, one hopes they are given a fair chance to prove themselves at the international level. The irony of this selection is that left-arm spinner Rajesh Pawar, after being dropped by Mumbai, went over to Baroda and now finds himself in the list of the probables for the World Cup. Another case of performance being rewarded.

The next six weeks will decide the fate of many cricketers who will be playing against the West Indies and Sri Lanka, and Sachin Tendulkar is no exception to that.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport