CIC an eyewash, feels Dilip Vengsarkar

MUMBAI: On a day which saw Mumbai suffer its first innings defeat in the Ranji Trophy in 64 years, Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) president Sharad Pawar claimed in the AGM that he had reacted to the domestic champs' poor performance across all age groups for the past couple of seasons 'seriously' by reviving the Cricket improvement Committee (CIC).
The CIC, which will include eminent former cricketers like Ajit Wadekar, Madhav Apte, Ajit Agarkar, Milind Rege, Abey Kuruvilla and Vinod Kambli, will be responsible for all the cricketing decisions of the association.Unlike its earlier version, which was scrapped back in 2012, this committee will be 'independent,' which means none of its decisions (to appoint coaches and selectors) will need approval from the managing committee.
While many have hailed Pawar's move, the idea hasn't cut much ice with former India skipper and chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar. "It is an eyewash, a cosmetic exercise. It's not going to help anything," he told TOI on Friday. "There is no point in appointing the CIC at the fag end of the season. As we proposed in the AGM today, the MCA must hold elections before June 30, in fact, in April ideally. This will give the new committee time to prepare for the season. Last time, the elections were held in October, which left the new committee with no time to plan, since the new season had almost begun," he said.
Having never seen such a massive defeat for Mumbai has naturally left Vengsarkar deeply hurt. "Mumbai have lost before, but the way they have lost this game is concerning. The MCA will have to take corrective measures.They need to work at the grassroots level," he felt.
The 116-Test veteran squarely blamed the MCA administrators for the current on-field mess. "There is no question about it. In the last three years, they have taken Mumbai cricket back by about 10 years. It will now take time to bring Mumbai cricket back on track," he said.
To prevent the entry of politicians in the MCA who have little experience of cricket administration, Vengsarkar had seconded a proposal floated by Mahim Juvenile Club in the AGM on Friday that only those who have attended at least four AGMs, will be allowed to file a nomination for the posts of an office-bearer (president, vice-president, joint secretary and treasurer) of the association. Similarly, one will have to attend at least two AGMs to be eligible for membership of the managing committee. Pawar, however, felt that since the proposal amounted to a 'constitutional amendment,' it will have to be discussed in the MC, which can then call a special general meeting (SGM) to discuss its implementation.