The Hindu Sports Editor Nirmal Shekar speaks to Arun Venugopal on Ravi Shastri and the BCCI rejig in Team India's coaching staff, Duncan Fletcher's future, India's women cricket stars and lots more.
Editing: Lavanya Prabhakaran. Reach out to us >@thehindusports and >#SaturdaysWithShekar .
Transcript:
Arun Venugopal: Hello and welcome to episode number six of Saturdays With Shekar. This is your host Arun Venugopal, and joining us, as always, is Nirmal Shekar, Sports Editor of The Hindu.
A very good afternoon to you, Shekar. Good to see you here.
Nirmal Shekar: Good afternoon. I’m glad to be here too.
AV: Now, here’s a little secret that I want to share with our listeners right away. Before we record every episode, we invariably sweat over what to speak about. It’s almost like getting ready for a first date, and hoping — desperately hoping — that things go all right.
But thankfully, the world of sport hardly ever lets us down. As the late Tony Greig would say, “It’s all happening.” And that’s the case today as well, as we “flash, and flash hard”, and speed away like “tracer bullets”. I guess you have an idea of who we are talking about.
From being a parody writer’s delight to hogging prime space in the media, it has been an eventful last few days for Ravi Shastri.
Shekar, what are your earliest memories of watching him play? What do you make of his equation with the BCCI over the years and now his appointment as the director of the Indian team for the ODI series in England?
NS: From the beginning I remember seeing him as a very young player, even before he played for India. Of course, his big moments came in 1983 and 1985 — when he was the champion of champions in Australia in the World Series.
I’ve always thought he was one of the most intelligent cricketers India has ever had. He’s certainly not the best all-rounder I’ve seen. That would be Kapil Dev, by leaps. But, Ravi Shastri is certainly one of the most intelligent sportspersons I’ve ever met or seen in India.
As for his appointment, I don’t know how much of difference he can in a short time, because his appointment runs only till the end of the England series. What’s coming up is a different ball-game altogether. We’re playing ODIs, a format in which India’s done better than it’s done in Tests overseas. England, for its part, has never taken one-day cricket seriously. I think things are going to work out well for both Ravi Shastri and India.
AV: Enough has been said about the Indian team’s on-field failures. As for the backroom staff, bowling coach Joe Dawes and fielding coach Trevor Penney are effectively on their way out, having been asked to go on leave. Coach Duncan Fletcher’s days too seem to be numbered.
Here’s Vignesh Anantha Subramanian Iyer on Facebook with this question.
“Does Duncan Fletcher deserve to be sacked with the World Cup just months away?”
NS: I don’t know about whether he deserves to be sacked. Nobody really deserves to be sacked in any position. You can take into account the person’s success or failure, and rate that person accordingly.
But, you can’t read too much of what has happened from the inputs that Fletcher might or might not have brought in. Ultimately, it all depends on how the players perform on a given day or in a given Test. Fletcher can’t take all the blame.
AV: Here’s a question from that probably divides opinion. C. Shyam Sundar on Facebook has this for you, Shekar.
“Is is time to look beyond Dhoni and appoint someone as captain? Or do we give him time till the World Cup?”
NS: I don’t think so. I don’t think the time is right to sack Dhoni. I don’t think that there’s anybody in there who can step in and take Dhoni’s place. The World Cup is too close — just a few months away.
The failure of the Indian team is not Dhoni’s failure at all. He’s done pretty well as a captain, if you ask me, especially in one-day cricket.
AV: There’s another listener question coming in, this time from Praveen Sudevan on Facebook.
“With respect to the Indian cricket team’s failure in England, I keep hearing a lot of critics blaming them for poor resolve and fight back. Among them, most vocal was Sunil Gavaskar, who compared our team’s resolve with Jelly, and said the players weren’t serious enough. Do you really think that players at the international level do not have enough commitment towards their team? Or should we just accept that our players aren’t capable yet to succeed in foreign tours?”
NS: It’s a mix of things. I don’t think it’s completely to do with commitment. You can blame their levels of commitment to a certain extent, as Sunil Gavaskar said. But I also think what they lack is the will to fight.
Teams led by Gavaskar and Kapil Dev displayed in great measure in the old days, and so did the teams led by Ganguly and Dravid. This team definitely seems to lack the will to fight.
AV: There’s also been news doing the rounds that the BCCI will no longer permit girlfriends to travel alongside Indian cricketers on tours. Wives might get to stay for a duration of time.
And also, Sunil Dev, India’s manager for the England tour, has reportedly said, “Our culture doesn’t allow girlfriends on tour like this.”
Shekar, how do you respond to such remarks? Do you think they are retrograde?
NS: Frankly speaking, I don’t see a big difference between a wife and a girlfriend, in this day and age. That would be my personal response to this question.
I think too much is being made of this issue. This hardly has any bearing on the quality of cricket that’s being played in England.
AV: Speaking of quality of cricket played in England, in sharp contrast to the Indian men’s fortunes has been that of the women’s team. A historic Test win over Ashes winners England at Wormsley with a contingent that has only three players with prior Test experience.
If you were to put that in perspective, how would you do that, Shekar?
NS: It’s a great achievement by the Indian women’s cricket team. They deserve a lot more space, in the context of the BCCI’s attitude towards them and media’s coverage of women’s cricket. It’s been a splendid achievement. This will be a big boost to younger women cricketers who are aspiring to play Test cricket for India.
AV: There was an article in The Hindu a few days ago on women cricketers in other countries benefitting from proactive measures being put forth in terms of their retainership.
But, the BCCI has probably been off the ball when it comes to introducing contract systems for its cricketers. And that’s something a lot of former women cricketers in India have been pretty vocal about. What’s your own take on that?
And, as far a robust school and university system is concerned, India still seems to lag behind. That also seems to hinder a lot of women cricketers getting job opportunities. What do you think needs to be done?
NS: This is a problem that’s to do with the women in sport in India, and cricket in particular. Now, cricket is in focus. But this is true for almost any other sport in India.
Our attitude towards women and sport in India is still backward. We need to encourage them a lot more at the school and college level. The BCCI can come in and play a big role here. So can the media, the general public, and even the corporate sector.
AV: Enough and more cricket for one episode. Time to move on to the last Grand Slam of the year — the U.S. Open.
Shekar, Rafael Nadal pulling out must obviously be a huge disappointment to both organisers and fans.
Sattwick Barman on Facebook wants to know if “this is Federer’s best opportunity to capture another Grand Slam?’
NS: It would be an insult to Federer to say that Rafa pulling out of the U.S. Open has presented him with the best opportunity to win another Grand Slam.
To me, Federer will always be a challenger, a contender. As long as he plays tennis at the professional level, he will be a contender at every Slam he enters. That’s the kind of respect that I have for Federer.
AV: Shekar, as someone who has covered the U.S. Open, how different is it as a spectacle as opposed to, say, the Wimbledon, or other Grand Slam events?
Many players have spoken about the jazzy nature of the competition and the loud crowds at the Flushing Meadows. Tell us something about your own experiences of it.
NS: I first covered the U.S. Open in the early and mid 80s, when people like John McEnroe were there. It was great fun. There was a lot of noise there. There still is, I suppose.
A lot of players thrive in that atmosphere. People like Jimmy Connors, McEnroe, and Djokovic thrive in this kind of an atmosphere.
But there are some who don’t play well in this kind of an atmosphere. Björn Borg always complained about the noise. He never won the U.S. Open, and never did well there.
Today, I think most players are used to the noise. Most players enjoy that kind of an atmosphere and use it to their advantage as professionals.
AV: And that’s about all that we’ve got on this episode.
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Until next time, this is Arun Venugopal, signing off. Take care and have a wonderful weekend…
