The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Defeating the very own purpose

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Tuesday, Jun 26, 2007
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Defeating the very own purpose

It’s not going to be easy to find replacements for the veterans, writes Makarand Waingankar

The Future Tour Programme Committee of the International Cricket Council (ICC) has been planning the schedules meticulously for all the international teams, taking into account the load a cricketer will be taking.

The Cricket Committee of the ICC too has a role to play in promoting the game, but never have we heard of the ICC planning a junior programme. The planning of the junior programme is essential for the development of talented cricketers.

No other country promotes junior cricket as much as the BCCI does (325 matches in a season), but sending the India ‘A’ team to Kenya is no exposure-development unless the BCCI is keen to develop cricket in Kenya.

There was a period in the nineties when the ‘A’ tours were stopped and Indian cricket struggled. In fact, the selectors made too many blunders.

Player older than coach

When Srikkanth was the coach of the India ‘A’ team, there was a player in the team who was four years older than him. The national selectors had no choice but to pick the same players again as there were no replacements. The revival of India ‘A’ tours changed the scenario, with NCA-trained boys getting the opportunity to make an impact.

The talent identified by the Talent Resource Development Wing was developed at the NCA and was chosen for the ‘A’ team. Rohit Sharma is a product of that system. Identified by the TRDO, he scored when it mattered. Dhoni too was identified by TRDO through former Bengal and East Zone captain Raju Mukherjee.

What the BCCI should do is send the India ‘A’ team on a regular basis to Australia and South Africa where the conditions are different. Selectors should give only one full season to a player to be with the India ‘A’ team.

In 1994, Sairaj Bahutule was named the vice-captain of the India ‘A’ team, and in 2005 he was the captain of the ‘A’ team. For 11 years, he played more than 50 matches for India ‘A’. During that period, he played only two Tests.

Two teams

The BCCI should in fact have two teams — India ‘A’ and India Colts. With 25 associations taking part in the junior tournaments, performers look for opportunities. Why pick 30-year-olds for the India ‘A’ team when the purpose is to try youngsters?

Unfortunately, the players from the 27-30 age group get picked all the time when it is the players between 20-25 age group who should be getting chances.

India Colts could be in the 19-23 age group and India ‘A’ of 23-26 age group. If a player in the India Colts does well consistently, he will be in a position to push a non-performer out of the India ‘A’ team. With nobody there to push players in the India ‘A’ team, the players not ambitious enough to play for the country get complacent.

The BCCI must plan its junior tours properly. It’s not going to be easy to find replacements for the veterans in the Indian team. By 2009, the Indian team will have a different look.

The point is whether the younger lot then will make us forget or hanker for the veterans and their performances.

We got to have permanent coaches for the India ‘A’ and India Colts for a minimum of three years. These coaches can then coordinate with the coach of the senior team when the replacements are discussed.

Though playing Under-19 matches of four days is a good move, removing the inter-zonal one-dayers of Under-19 from the calendar is baffling. How then can the India Under-19 team be selected for the Under-19 World Cup?

Inter-zonal was the tournament that the selectors watched for selecting that team. Inter-state one-day performances could be misleading with too many mediocre teams playing.

The technical committee has to rethink the decision to do away with the inter-zonal one-dayers of Under-19. Under-22, on the other hand, is a waste of time and can be dispensed with.

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