Two years after they got IPL off the blocks, BCCI hasn't been able to convince ICC members of a permanent slot within the FTP calendar ( even if ICC has adopted the perfected model with aplomb and made ICC T20 WCs an annual event henceforth - Pakistan deserved two years wih the cup, my sympathies). As a result, th tournament has looked a proverbial square peg within the round hole. The delay caused by IPL's flip-flopping ahead of India's general elections and its subsequent transplantation overseas exaggerated the misfit. The Indian team felt it most since their carefully devised programme did not have the stamina to accommodate delays and rescheduling.
Not only did the transplant result in IPL looking more of a misfit than ever, what with some countries going out of their way to ensure this aspect would remain arclighted for no reason other than envy, this transplant also gave wings to dangerous ideas.
Firstly, the domestic T20 event was scrapped for IPL and instead of that being the basis for identifying talent pool (as it was before the 2007 T20), IPL was accorded the status. In a sense, it was left to the whims and fancies of privateers and overseas coaches to examine local talent. BCCI gave up its task of sifting through the talent and selecting a team for T20 WC. Perhaps it never had any intention to look beyond the existing players...and we have seen the results of that. If you tell me there aren't better/as good T20 players in the country, I'll think you are past your date. By not examining the field or giving them opportunities, you, BCCI, avoided one of your key functions of selecting an Indian team from a list of probables.
Secondly, this transplant made megalomaniacs out of some BCCI functionaries. The focus was lost - from IPL being a domestic event of a player-maturing or player-unveiling kind, they sought to make it a travelling world circus.A Mistake Mr.Modi It is possible the boardroom atmospherics of the IPL parliament is strongly contributory to the impetus in this direction. BCCI has ceded control to those who used to once sit in the sponsors boxes. As a result, differences in focus have come firmly to the fore.
India has given up many crucial tasks to privateers without attendant accountability or checks. Cricket is gradually becoming another such field. Priorities of privateers are very different from established ones. Changes introduced will be with a view to generate more business than develop cricket. There are some tasks which must be measured by their social viability rather than just economic viability - selection of a team from a pool of probables is one of them. Just being on the roster of a franchisee does not mean that is the cream....the best T20 pool. Not till their scouting methods are well established and transparent and conducted by men with integrity. You had experimentalists without any real stake mesing around in IPL...for instance the KKR camp...and you make such a tournament the basis for selecting a national T20 WC team! You could but you sought the easier way...by letting the impression govern that only the best were actively playing in IPL, you played truant with your own role...for you felt it was tedious to watch all domestic matches and select from a larger pool of players.
Now the parliament of privateers which has gradually begun to dominate the structure of Indian cricket, instead of sitting in the passenger seat, has decided that being a travelling circus, a la bollywood stage shows and South African swimsuit calendar shoot trips, is more beneficial to their interests than Indian cricket's. They are gradually driving the game away from its home and their able ally is Lalit Modi. A man with a foot in BCCI but his entire soul hvering in that parliament of privateers
Now they tried to pull yet another fast one - IPL knocks Deodhar off BCCI calendar
IPL is consumed and is turning out to be all consuming. Then, the Southern League will get off the ground despite the current Kiwi reluctance. Indicaions to that are the bold public suggestions by Haroon Lorgat, the ICC biggie, to pare down test cricket to four days. I am all for that in the second or third divisions of a tiered test cricket structure, but not in the top tier. All this is to accomodate two leagues per year...IPL being one (in a metamorphosed form with strategic alliances such as England, different venues and all) and SPL being other, perhaps with South Africa being in the lead role.
Perhaps the death of 50-50 is officially much closer than we imagine - there are enough soundbytes and quotables from former and current cricketers to suggest that - but BCCI is doing a disservice to itself by jumping the gun at home.
It can bloody well disband itself and hand over cricket to the parliament of privateers if it wants no further role in the tedious business of nurturing the game in India.
What is worse is that BCCI listens to only goon language. Unfortunate...that we must now also see this not as the serious issue affecting Indian cricket but more as an issue of trophysizing Maratha pride for the pleasure of a well-muscled group! BCCI is now cheap...cricket in India has been sold.
Not that it has reversed its decision...it merely has promised to review to assuage the known local muscle of the protesting grouping.
I was a supporter of the concept of T20 and leagues being the future engines of cricket. I supported the drivers in the past. I still believe T20 eventually will be the engine running all forms of the game. But I belive it must be done in a structured and consensual manner. I stop here...this is where my line is drawn...my support does not extend beyond this. It is time Modi is driven out of BCCI if he continues on this esoteric POA and the real BCCI steps forward to take over the reins of cricket again from the pirating hands of the parliament of privateers. IPL can be run without Modi...and there will be a slew of other privateers lining up if these must go. Fund providers get their share of publicity...that's what they pay for...they should not be made to sit on the throne of decision making for the nation. That's asking for more than they are collectively worth!
Sunday, 5 July 2009
Unfortunate all around
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26 comments:
Excellent post!
Modi has grown too big for his own undies. The powers that govern need to quickly regain control of the situation and identify the key goals :
1. Nurture and develop current talent at domestic levels
2. Improve internal facilities, infrastructure.
3. Put a system in place for grass-roots development
etc
Excessive needless marketing, uncontrolled endorsements etc is completely bastardizing the game.
Have blogrolled you sir. I hope that's ok!
Fantastic post SB... I read this a few hours back but didn't comment. I started digging all the related news in line with your thoughts, as it was a true horror story.
It didn't help when the budget was being announced.
And everywhere including the budget, there were too many disgusting things which one wonders if it is worth loosing sleep about.
I am going to pick up on your thread in 3 weeks. I am certainly sick of the politics in India, the board and laughably even in the MSD led Indian team.
Firstly,
The World T20 is not an annual event... the one in April 2010 was supposed to be a champions trophy but was converted to a World T20 because the 2008 Champs trophy was pushed ahead to 2009...
From 2010 onwards, the World T20 will remain a biennial event..
Secondly,
I believe the IPL is a wonderful platform for a lot of talented cricketers. If u say there r more talented T20 cricketers in India, then they need to be a part of the IPL.. why are they not?
Wow.That's a strong and excellent post SB. I share your concern. Is IPL getting bigger than BCCI? I can't imagine Deodhar being cancelled out? That would be a nonsense if ever happens. What next? Duleep Trophy? IPL would try to do everything to milk the cow and go for 2 or 3 events a year. But then the soul of Indian cricket will die.
what is so sacred about cricket that it cannot be run by private corporations. And what is so sinister about private organizations that they cannot take the game of cricket forward?
I think you keep expecting things from IPL that it has never promised.
BCCI will never ask for a window for the IPL. If they do they will have to share the spoils. By keeping it a domestic event delivered globally, they control it. At the same time don't underestimate the BCCI. They will create enough of a window each year for global participation. They are having their cake and eating it too.
I think you have missed the point.
A lot of good points, SB.
On the topic of national team selection, in soccer the national teams have to rely on performance in leagues with a life of their own and/or overseas. Are you suggesting that this isn't ideal, that the IPL is even less tame that the big European leagues, or simply that the BCCI still needs to take more responsibility for T20 from the roots up?
Thank you Fark.
Excessive needless marketing
I understand the philosophy of current and ambitious business whizzes (and also in many other fields) is to "corner the market" so to speak. I am also certain there is politics involved in this. However, I am of the opinion that the politics and business of sustaining cricket must be guided with sagacity.
And, I'm honoured Sir, I've blogrolled you to.
Scorpi, thanks man. I agree things aren't all that great right now in India!
We need men of stature and ability all around.
I stand corrected Q...my bad.
Yes, the most glaring of the talent is Cheteshwar Pujara.
The fact that all the good talent isn't represented in IPL shows that market forces are not the best form of evaluating talent.
We see it almost daily in our workplaces as well, is it not?
SB, if I am not mistaken Pujara is more of a first-class level player rather than a T20 crash bang one - is that right?
Bala, my worry is over the silence from those quarters which should have been more concerned than blogsters like us, or the goons who bring in unnecessary issues as an excuse to preserve the game.
BCCI appears to lacks stature (or will) to manage this private-enterprise bull whipped up by Modi. I think everybody presumed it was Modi's job to keep them in line and not go beyond an unwritten brief, but it appears Lalit M is redesigning as he goes along and BCCI is playing along.
Former cricketers appear to be powerless to influence or bought over completely.
It is possible that there may be a move to end the 50-50 side of things rather soon worldwide. This could be an early weathervane of goings-on in ICC meetings.
Thanks Jonathan. BCCI needs to assume responsibility. Unfortunately, it is appears influenced by the direction Modi L has given envisioned in euphoria. Looks like it is willing to allow Modiisim to be the fountainhead of ideology as far as cricket admisntration is concerned. I do not think Modi is in this alone or solely behind it...it is those influenced by the concepts the new avatar of IPL appears to have drawn up. That is an expanded offshoot of Modiism.
Q, I am surprised so many consider Pujara to be a one-dimensional player. So much so that this belief has become the stumbling block of his career.
What people have failed to realize is that he has always played according to the situation, the needs of his team, and the format of the game.
Coming from a weak Ranji team, he has had to be thoughtful n carefully constructing totals for his team to be competitive in Ranji - they have been for so long now is a tribute to the man - and when the format is different, he has exhibited exhilirating strokeplay which is more scintillating and correct in comparison to some who are currently in the team bus.
Pujara suffered due to intra-West Zonal rivalry initially...where somehow Dilip Vengasarkar promoted his pet project - Rohit Sharma - over and above proven performers of class and encouraged such impressions about Pujara.
Now Cheeka will natuarlly look closer home for TN generally feels it has been ignored sufficiently in the national stakes...Bala may want to step in here with his more knowledgeable views...
Pujara could end up being one of the biggest tragedies of Indian cricket alongside Padmakar Shivalkar, Rakinder Goel and the like.
Maybe he needs to find a county contract and impress from outside!
Maybe he should migrate to West Indies...he's still young.
SB,
Thanx for the detailed info on Pujara.. I am obviously not as aware of Indian domestic cricket as you are and my judgement from Pujara was from the little I had read abt him here and there...
It's true SB that TN has a feeling that it's cricketers are generally dealt out a raw deal by selectors. To some extent I do share that feeling. I think Badani performed good enough to be in the ODI squad, when he was dropped. He always came down in pressure situations and despite that he performed well enough. Sriram is another cricketer who deserved a good run of say at least one full series. DK would have become a permanent fixture but for Dhoni. But then he is fighting hard to earn his place and things couldn't get any tougher than when your captain is not acknowledging your performance. I wish him success.
Old timers speak about Srinivasan, who supposedly spotted a flaw in Sunny, while on tour in Kiwiland, and incurred the wrath of the great man. I have seen him play when he was past 40. Even then he was a class act. But then TN is not alone, in fact is in a crowd.
There are many other states and zones that feel the same way or even worse. Surely Saurashtra cricket supporters must be feeling terrible now. Except for few Ranji teams like Mumbai, Delhi and Karnataka other teams have their own share of complaints. Even these three teams complain a lot. To some extent Karnataka was lucky to produce 4 top notch cricketers in 90's. After Dravid they will also start complaining. Blame it all on BCCI and the way it functions.
One thing SB, if Pujara doesn't get reasonable opportunities to prove his case, especially when the quartet are leaving the scene, then that's nothing but a mockery of Indian cricket team selection.
One more thing that I would like to highlight here is crikceting infrastructure and opportunities. Not many states and cities in India, that may carry a wealth of talent, gets enough cricketing opportunities or for that the infrstructure. Coimbatore, for example, is toiling hard for the past 2 decades to get a stadium of its own. TNCA has at last inclined and even announced about a stadium for Coimbatore. But then it's almost a year since that announcement and nothing has happened on the ground.
Does BCCI have a vision for developing cricket in India? Does it have a strategy and method to unearth talent? NCA is there but how will talent come to NCA, especially when it has no money to travel to Bangalore?
Badani...yeah, I was upset with the way he was handled.
And is that TE Srinivasan you speak of?
If yes, I must say one winter South Zone was playing North Zone at Kotla when I was a very young. TE Srinivasan was pointed out to me by my father as he practiced before play. I was more interested in Vishy, Sudhakar Reddy and the like...TE Srinivasan played such a blazing innings that he left an impression upon me. It was something like 60 odd I think...just a brief but exciting innings...and he could field!
Srinivasan should have been given a chance. If Yajuvindra Singh could play...he too could.
Brijesh Patel of Karnataka was of similar attacking instincts.
Bala...just a thought...have you professionally considered analyzing IPL/BCCI as a case study for your pro blog? And maybe WICB-WIPA could be an interesting study for how to do/not do business and such.
Hope you don't mind my suggestions...I thought the possibilities are exciting.
Yes It's TE Srinivasan, SB. An excellent batsman SB. The brief innings I saw in a league match was full of class. He did tour NZ with the Indian team and that is when he supposedly incurred the wrath of Sunny. But one thing for sure. Madras boys have a bigggg mouth. That often lets them down. If your head starts weighing heavy you will lose your focus. They are not known to be humble students of the game. TE is now in Mumbai, fighting cancer.
I haven't thought about it SB. So far I have concentrated only on concepts and ideas. Just compiling few case studies from my experience for a post (it's long time since I made post there). I can surely attempt IPL / BCCI but then the problem is I have to be bit speculative. But it surely good idea that I can work at. First I have to define a framework for the approach as this is a different case study, where I have no first hand information. But surely exciting as I think of it.
SB, I am always happy to have your suggestions. Feel free to convey them to me.
Bala...are you sure? I am not about they not being humble students of the game.
VV Kumar, another example of a man who missed out like Shivalkar of Bombay and the names we speak about, was a very humble man generally.
I have spent some time in the Kotla dressing room as a kid, observing the things around me in some awe, and Venkat was always a thorough gentleman with just the right selection of words.
But one cannot take guarantees for the younger generation of players. It is possible that they are more aggressive and less diplomatic.
I am sure TE Srinivasan wouldn't have meant it demeaningly...and I'll belive that Sunny might have disliked it for I have also seen the sour side of him at Kotla (under provocation of course), but could that be the reason why TN is omitted? I think not...I think it has more to do with TN, and SZ in general, not having say in selection matters.
Karnataka has become the centre of SZ cricket and will remain that way for people like Kumble, Javagal, Venky, Dravid will have some say in matters for the next thirty years at least. Talent also needs promotion in a large country like India.
I have come across lot of Chennai players during my playing days SB. The cricket culture in Chennai is not a humble one. They definitely have big mouth and are known to let people know what they think. Badri's outburst sometime back is an example. Venkat is a wise man no doubt but then he was also arrogant. Once I accompanied my team mate who was also playing for the side Venkat was coaching in late 80's. The way he spoke and the way he acted said nothing but this. Respect for others is not something that comes easy for them. Our CoS is no angel. People who played against him in Chennai first division say, he never used to field. He will be there only to bat and bowl. And he would bat only to enjoy himself and the small crowd gathering. In fact I was present during a Ranji in Coimbatore between TN and Karnataka when he was sitting and chatting in the pavilion mostly than in the field.
I agree with you on TE. I came across this blog and comments. Just check.
http://hawkeyeview.blogspot.com/2009/02/te-srinivasan.html
The poster sourced information about TE's omission from Michael Atherton's Autobiography 'Opening up'.
Interesting twist to TE's omission. Some comments, especially at the top, are very bad but then we are used to 606. ;)
You have opened to me a world of interesting cricket blogs I wasn't aware of!
Thanks Bala :)
Karnataka, especially GRV when he was CoS, also played a role in keeping TN down. But then the same can be said about Srikkanth. Vijay's selection was out of the blue and surely Akash deserved one final chance after scoring loads of runs in the domestic season.
BCCI and its ways do not encourage professional selection. States that support winning candidate get preference over other states. TNCA is Bindra group while Karnataka is in Dalmia group. 'Make hay while the sun shines' is the selectorial mantra and no one is exception to it.
Regarding Chennai boys and their cricket culture, they may behave well when in the Indian team or among bigger players. You may find a comment about Srikkanth in the above linked blog post that match with this. But in Chennai and inside TN they are different and that's hurting their cricket.
Bangalore boys are humble and see where they went. Srikkanth for all his talent, managed to last only because of his approach to batting. L Siva, we know the talent and how it was wasted. Venkat was probably different when it comes to work ethic and this is something that was lacking in generations that followed him. What sets Dravid or Azhar or Kumble different from equally good talents from Chennai is probably their work ethic and attention to the game and not the color of it. DK and Balaji sound different and that's one reason I like them. I am not sure how will Badri fare if and when he gets the chance. I just wish these cricketers have learnt from the last generation of Chennai cricketers.
Bala that's wonderful insight.
Things are as bad here as well. Cocksure players and no-holds barred. But there is an element of survival instincts....players know whom and when and how much to butter up. Sometimes if things don't work that way, send a truckload of goons to the concerned person's house. Yeah, there have been players like that.
I understand what you are saying...it is curious that Delhi had many players selected recently despite being in the opposition camp. That is so unlike the way we are!
SB You can't keep a Sehwag or Gambhir out even if they are from your opposition group. In fact Sehwag had his share of selectorial politics. Gambhir kept scoring and used up the opportunities that came his way. That's the hallmark of a champion cricketer. That's something lacking in TN cricketers. They seem to lose heart sooner or do not adjust fast enough to higher level cricket.
For all the complaints TN may have I am sure there wasn't a great talent from TN that got hit by politics. Most of the players who were affected by politics were very promising cricketers who may have made it if reasonable opportunities were given. The one great talent from TN that I know is L.Siva. He dug his own hole and you can't blame politics for that.
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