Dilip Vengsarkar, the Director of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) took over the cricket operations last week after a brief hiatus. Vengsarkar is passionate about junior cricket but in order to set good bench strength in Indian cricket, restructuring of the system is required. He will have to study and analyse the current system.
The efficiency with which the BCCI organises the tournaments has to be appreciated albeit the opinion of the Lodha Commission. The factors that go into organising these matches such as the ground management, umpiring, ground-cameras, video analysts, match referees, etc. is done for a total of 900 domestic matches.
To fulfil this task efficiently is a herculean task — to say the least! To make this process more result oriented, Vengsarkar will have to discuss with everyone involved in junior cricket. In fact better idea would be to organise a conclave of state junior coaches.
There are around 500 junior matches played in a span of four months. With players studying in schools and colleges, the academic pressure is a bit too much. They tend to neglect their studies due to their urge to get selected for their State team and the monetary package that comes with it. The cricket schedule makes it impossible for those who want to focus on their studies and game equally.
All the junior tournaments, since 2004 was played on ‘one State four centres’ basis for three years. The 27 teams playing in the tournament were divided into four groups: seven teams played at one State for three weeks on four different grounds. This system ensured the completion of all the junior tournaments within a month and a half, allowing the players to concentrate on their academics after December. The advantage was that it enabled maximum interaction between all the selectors and TRDOs as it was held in the same State.
The Talent Resource Development Officers system which I presented to the BCCI in August 2002 was for picking players based on their talent instead of performance. Vengsarkar was the Chairman of the system then and it was through this system that Dhoni and several other young players were spotted and groomed. There were quite a few like Parthiv Patel who were picked for the country first and State much later.
Natural ability factor Vengsarkar recently stated that he would like to see the players blossom with their natural abilities. Too much of technical inputs kill natural ability. His coach, Vasu Paranjpe encouraged him to play his natural game.
Vengsarkar was 17 when the Dadar Union captain, Paranjpe asked him to open against Pandurang Salgaonkar (the fastest bowler in the country at that time) in an inter-club final. The faster he bowled, the quicker the ball raced to the boundary. A few years later another fast bowler Michael Holding experienced the similar counter attack.
A man of his calibre who understands the need to spot players with natural talent should urge the TRDOs to do the same. He has seen too many ‘laptop-video coaches’ confuse teenagers with their technical theories. These players eventually fade away doubting their ability.
When Tendulkar first made the mark in junior cricket in Mumbai, there were quite a few former Indian Test batsmen who were sceptical about his technique. They felt his low grip could expose him in higher class of cricket. Later, however, the same people realised his true potential.
The coaching theories never worked for many other players like Viv Richards, Javed Miandad and Virender Sehwag. They rewrote their technical theories. Never allowed themselves to become slaves of technique.
If one assesses the technical ability of the players spotted by the TRDOs more than a decade ago, not all of them were technically sound. But, they could read the game well and execute the plan meticulously to perform consistently under pressure situations. This is what impressed the TRDOs.
Dhoni was a 24-year-old playing at Jamshedpur in Ranji One-dayers when TRDOs Raju Mukherjee and P.C. Podar spotted his talent. If the system had been introduced earlier, perhaps Dhoni would have had more impact on international cricket.
In the 2011 World Cup, eight players who were on the team were spotted by the TRDOs in 2004. This, in itself, proves the efficiency of this system to spot quality players. If the players who were picked a decade ago are still playing for the country, why tinker with a proven system?
The main challenge before Vengsarkar is to stop these teenagers from playing in the Twenty20 tournaments. Nurturing the seed in its dormant period for its root structure is very important for the plant to support itself in the future. Doesn’t this apply to cricket too?
