It is a very deceptive notion that certain regions or countries produce talent naturally on a consistent basis. The truth is that, there are systems which nurture talents in their formative years. It is these systems that help turn talent into performances on the international stage.
Notwithstanding some administrative problems the BCCI has been churning out trained players. In India, around 800 matches are played per season and this is unparalleled in the cricketing world.
However, even with such a schedule there are issues.
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Why are we struggling to win Test matches abroad? Why should it take India 28 years to win the World Cup for a second time? Why do we not produce good fast bowlers? Why are we preparing docile pitches even though the Pitch & Grounds committee is holding courses and examinations? These questions remain unanswered.
All the tournaments that are conducted do not ensure the quality of players taking part in them. Apart from that, there hasn’t been any system to groom talent. Training the best talent for only a month or two at the State academies does not help achieve the long-term goals.
As the former Australian player Rodney Marsh, who was a consultant to the NCA in its first year had said, “The job of the NCA is to fine-tune the second string and get them ready to play for the country. That’s the role Cricket Australia Academy plays.”
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Fourteen years have passed since and it seems that only recently have the NCA operations been moulded in the manner Marsh had recommended in his inaugural speech.
SelectionThe second part of this process in achieving long-term goals is selection. It is undoubtedly a thankless job and any cricketer who is not part of the national team is unhappy. However, there needs to be a certain degree of consistency and transparency in the process.
The list of criteria for selection has many times appeared to be a mystery. Mohinder Amarnath’s 60 matches in a 20-year career with ‘comebacks’ in every season is a glaring example of this.
As if to demonstrate the perennial nature of the problem, we have now the case of Robin Uthappa who must be wondering what else he must do to earn a place in the national team. Apart from his rich vein of form, his 120 out of a team score of 236 against East Zone on a seaming track hopefully may have convinced the selectors that he is a cricketer for all the formats of the game.
Why is the list of players playing a solitary or a couple of Tests long? It’s because selections in Indian cricket have been illogical. On the 1968 tour of Australia a spinner was replaced by a middle-order batsman and later in 1997 a fast bowler was replaced by a spinner on the tour of West Indies! A teenage Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav was picked for three ODIs against the West Indies. Now he finds himself out of the team without playing a game!
The first quarter of the coming year will test not only the players but also the systems as well when India takes on Australia down under, in a long away series with four Test matches followed by one-dayers. This is prior to the World Cup.
The tour undoubtedly will produce many challenges, not the least being the conditions of the pitches and the size of the grounds.
Ravi Shastri is shrewd enough to know that a run saved is a run scored. Fielding standards have to be high if the team is to stay competitive. The bouncy conditions demand particular preparation.