March 22, 1999
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PAVILION END Welcome Breather It's time for seniors to recuperate, the juniors to learn.
It's a blessing in disguise that we're not in the Asian Championships final. No, this is not defeatist talk. Of course, we should have played better and Pakistan shouldn't have blatantly allowed Sri Lanka to reach the finals, but at least we get a valuable opportunity to rest. In my time there was a specific cricket season. Nowadays the entire year is a cricket season. If it's off season in India it's on season somewhere else. This means the boys are constantly living out of suitcases. It's disorienting, waking up in the morning wondering which hotel (or country) you're in. In 1976 we were on the twin tour of New Zealand and West Indies. The tour was for four months but by the end of the third month Vishy (Gundappa Vishwanath) and I didn't want to see each other's face though we got along the best in the team. So it's hard for our boys. And more than the physical, it's the mental factor that's very important. Therefore this is an opportune time for weary players to take a deserved break, and for promising youngsters like Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Virender Sehwag, Amay Khurasia, Jacob Martin and Devang Gandhi to be blooded. Playing the one-dayers against Pakistan and Sri Lanka will not only give them the exposure but may help to unearth talent like Sadagopan Ramesh. These games are vital for they identify which youngster can stand the pressures of international cricket. Docile Indian pitches often exaggerate talent and gifted domestic cricketers find they can't carry that form into the international arena. On the flip side, if such opportunities are given to the youngsters, especially when they are in form, it will enhance their confidence as well as put pressure on others to work hard. At present, though our team is well balanced I would welcome the odd allrounder who can perform at the international level. If any of these players developed fast, it would strengthen our lower batting order, making it similar to the 1983 squad. Except that the allrounders on that team -- Kapil, Madan Lal, Roger Binny, Jimmy Amarnath -- were experienced in playing in English conditions. Nevertheless these youngsters have the will to learn and adapt quickly. For a team it's also beneficial to have young blood. While they gain from the experience of the more seasoned players, it is the seniors who benefit from the raw, unrestrained enthusiasm of the debutants. It makes for a more lively dressing room. I remember when I first played for India, when I stopped a really well-struck shot I would gesture that it hurt. Till Eknath Solkar came along and told me, "We're playing with a cricket ball here not a rubber ball. You're not supposed to show any reaction." I learnt fast. (Anshuman Gaekwad, coach of the Indian
cricket team, will be writing a weekly column |
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