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Kirmani frowns on commercialism
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"That chap, Rahul, is not a wicket keeper. The Board should think seriously about this."
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"The crisis man" Syed Kirmani --Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam
The cricketing fraternity during his playing days termed him by different names, the media called him 'the crisis man', opposition team members called him 'specialist night watchman' and for his team members he was simply 'Kiri' - the safest hands behind the stumps.
You got it right, he is Syed Mujtaba Hussein Kirmani, the eagle-headed wicket-keeper of the Indian team that won the 1983 World Cup.
Kirmani was in this metro recently to inaugurate a hi-tech sports shop in Dabagardens. In a tete-a-tete with THE HINDU Metro Plus he journeyed down those nostalgic moments of 1983 when he held the Prudential Cup aloft with the other members of Kapil's Devils.
"We were underdogs before the start of the tournament. But as it progressed we started to shape into a side that could throw a challenge to the best. In the finals we were up against Clive Lloyd's XI of world-beaters, comprising the fearsome Andy Roberts, big bird Goel Garner, the 'silent assassin' Michael Holding, the gritty Larry Gomes and the invincible Viv Richards. The side had an awesome line-up capable of scaring any cricketing side on paper itself. But the miracle did happen for us, we won the cup comfortably with 43 runs. That day everything went our way, right from that knee bending square cut of Andy Roberts by Siri (Srikanth) to that awesome delivery from Balwinder Sandhu that got rid of Greenidge. I am proud to be part of the team that is called Kapil's Devils."
On his personal contribution he said, "I have played quite a few good innings, especially when the team was in crisis but that 190 runs partnership with Kapil Dev against Zimbabwe in that World Cup is most memorable for me. We were down five chips with the score reading 17 runs on the board when I walked in to join my skipper. Kapil's 175 not out is by far the best innings played by any cricketer so far. Though I scored only 29 in that match the partnership saw us through to the final."
The 'crisis man' lived up to the sobriquet till the last match he had played. But on the present crisis in the Indian team he commented: "There is no crisis as such. Individually the players are extraordinary by their own merit. What is lacking is commitment and positive thinking. And I don't blame them for this. It is the commercialisation of the game that is taking its toll. Today, cricketers are not born but made. Where do we see natural cricketers like Kapil Dev, Sandeep Patil, G.R. Vishwanath and Tiger Pataudi these days. Present day parents insist that their children take up the game irrespective of whether they have any natural ability or not or whether they like the game or not. They simply say 'beta tumhe Sachin uncle jaisa banna hai' (son you got to be like Sachin uncle) keeping in mind the bank account of Sachin, the BMWs he possesses and the media glare he attracts. I come from the era where cricketers were born and not made. These days commercial interests overshadow the honour and pride of playing for the country."
Being the former chairman of the selection committee he was very critical about the composition of the present team. According to him the main difference between the present team and the winning combination of the 1983 World Cup team was the lack of quality all-rounders in the side. "Our side was packed with all-rounders. With Kapil leading from the front we had Jimmy Amarnath, Madanlal, Yashpal Sharma and Roger Binny who could all contribute to the total and as well as bowl a few good overs. The standards of all-rounders have dropped so badly that Ajit Agarkar is branded as an all-rounder. We need to groom quality all-rounders. May be, we could try with Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan, both of them can bat a bit."
Why he didn't try to groom all-rounders when he was the chairman of the selection committee?
"There is something called the think-tank, an informal coterie, in the board. The fate of cricket and cricketers in this country depends on the hands of its members. I was vehemently opposed."
As chairman of the selection committee supervising the performance of rookie fast bowler Munaf Patel. --Photo: Vivek Bendre
Coming to the most controversial decision of allowing vice-captain Rahul Dravid to keep wickets, he bluntly said: "That chap, Rahul, is not a wicket-keeper and he should not be allowed to do so." With the typical Kiri smile he added, "You can make this your headline."
According to him the BCCI was messing up the wicket-keeping issue. "A good wicket-keeper is the one who takes up the gloves by instinct and not by choice. A wicket-keeper is the nucleus of any team. He is the navigator. He is best positioned to guide his bowlers and the captain. I sincerely believe that the Indian cricket team should have two specialist wicket-keepers on any tour."
Why the country had not been able fill the gap after Nayan Mongia?
"Grooming is the problem. Today the board wants somebody like Adam Gilchrist behind the stumps. Mind you, Gilchrist was not born overnight. He was groomed by Steve Waugh over a period of time. He came in as a specialist wicket-keeper and later blossomed to a flamboyant batsman and today he is the best in the business. Even I was groomed. I joined the team when Faroukh Engineer was still playing. In most of the tours he (Faroukh) played the major matches while I was allowed to play the minor ones, and that was how I was slowly groomed for the big event. Where is the grooming today? Another problem with our board is that they are looking for batsman-cum-wicket-keeper and not for specialist wicket-keepers. Batting should be a bonus but it should not be the other way round. Remember catches win matches.
"We have academies for bowlers and batsmen but there is no academy for wicket-keepers. I intend starting one if I can muster the required suuport."
SUMIT BHATTACHARJEE
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
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