Improve quality of local cricket

0-3 in Australia and 0-7 overseas... Indian cricket has hit a new low. For a team that was world No 1 not too long ago, it can’t get worse. So how can India regain past glory? Starting today, we bring you a series of articles projecting the views of eminent cricketers, coaches, administrators and observers on the way forward for Indian cricket.

I am not surprised that former cricketers, print and electronic media have reacted angrily to India’s pathetic performance Down Under. That’s expected as our nation is crazy about the game in which we achieved laurels not so long ago.

After every bad tour and series — whether it is versus Australia, England, South Africa or a World Cup debacle — the BCCI invites former captains of different eras to take suggestions on how to go about things in future. The former captains, with all sincerity, offer their inputs but they are shown the way to the dustbin. I feel this is not only insulting to the cricketers but also a mockery of the whole situation. We wait for India to play in a home series to restore normalcy.

By winning at home, India got to the No 1 ranking in Tests. They had not won either in England, Australia or South Africa in the recent past.

Now, how we go forward from here is the key. It’s a well known fact that Indians take a Test or two to get acclimatised to the conditions when on tour to the above mentioned countries.

However, things have changed of late. They are unable to recover from the blows they receive in the first two Tests. It happened in England and it is happening in Australia. It’s really a sad state of affairs. The sooner the team gets out of it, the better it is for the overall image of the game in the country.

I have always been harping on the tremendous job done by the TRDO  (Talent Research Development Officer) system introduced a decade ago. It was discontinued five years later for unknown reasons. I am saying this because I was the chairman of the committee in which there were former cricketers, who had passion for the game. The committee did a splendid job in spotting talent at the junior level. We groomed the spotted players at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore. It’s hardly a wonder that we got a lot of players who are either currently playing for India or knocking on the doors of the national selectors.

That is no longer the scene. Our bench strength has become extremely poor and vulnerable. Ideally, the NCA should act as a supply line to Test cricket. Unfortunately, it is reduced to a rehabilitation centre. The injured players go there to get well. Sad, but true!

Most Test playing countries have their under-19 and ‘A’ team programmes in place. It is not the case in India. Where on earth would you get players of international standard? From India’s first class cricket where the wickets are dead, docile or under-prepared?

I had suggested to the board that it should levy fine on the associations, which host first class matches on pitches that are not of international standard. The wickets need to improve and the BCCI must take it very seriously. Unless we improve the quality of our local cricket, like that of Australia’s grade cricket, we can’t think of competing abroad. Plain and simple!

Only last year, the cricket development committee of the BCCI, under my chairmanship, had suggested that there should be mass selection for the age-group boys all over the country and it should be watched by the representative of that zone along with the chairman and NCA coaches. For, a lot of players from remote areas of the country do not get either exposure or the opportunity to showcase their talent.

Nothing of the sort happened and the reason given was that the administrators were busy preparing for the World Cup. The committee was scrapped this year.

If the same sort of attitude of the people at the helm continues, we must not entertain thoughts of winning  Tests abroad.

If you have ideas on how to take Indian cricket forward, then don’t hesitate to speak out. Send in your suggestions and the best among them will be published in these columns. Put on your thinking cap and write to sports@dnaindia.net

The writer is a former India captain and former chairman of selectors