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Lean
Teen Fighting
Machines !
Finally,
some good news from the cricketing pitch. The Under-19 team has
done what the seniors couldn't even come close to doing-brought
home the World Cup! And captain Mohammed Kaif has won a spot in
the national team! Great going, guys, while we try to figure why
the senior team falls short of the junior one...
By
Kalyani Prasher
 Pitch
sitch
Blame it on the pitch seems to be Indian cricket's
theme song. The moment the Indian team loses a match, cricket officials
suddenly remember how unsporting Indian wickets are, how batsmen
used to them cannot survive on seaming wickets, how the Pitch Inspection
Committee (whatever that is) should look into the matter immediately-to
cut a long story short, how the pitch is enemy no 1. Puhleez, don't
the young cricketers play on the same pitches and win? The fact
is that we have talent on our hands. What is strange and mystifying
is what becomes of this talent when (or should we say by the time)
it reaches the senior level?
 Selecting
the, uh... best
Thinking of the selection procedure of the
country's cricket board makes one's insides curl. Because of the
age-old quota system, players who are not that talented are selected
while players with talent practically running in their blood are
often ignored. "The quota system leads to five selectors bringing
in five players (one each from their respective zones) on 'special
request'," says ex-manager of the Indian team and present sports
secretary of the Delhi and District Cricket Association, Sunil Dev.
"If five out of eleven players are going to come in like this, can
you really blame the team for not doing well?" It's about time that
a change of the gigantic kind hits the selection process, if we
are interested in winning that is.
Taking
the word 'reserve' too seriously
If
by some stroke of luck a talented player is picked at an early stage,
the selectors, like an over-protective mother, then tend to keep
him rather hushed and protected from the international scene. Until
another player breaks his neck or something, the new fellow is not
picked in the playing eleven. For instance, Mohammed Kaif is included
in the Indian test team to play against the South Africans but nobody
really expects to see him in action.
Impatience
rules
Once a young talent fights his way to the
international scene, he is supposed to take Mark Waugh's wicket
with the first ball he bowls or hit a century against the South
African attack in his first test match abroad. We've seen numerous
cases where talented players are picked, eventually played in the
last match of a tour (so as to avoid all possibilities of a second
chance!) and if he can't do well, he is rarely, if ever picked again.
Come on now, if the player is picked for the Indian team, isn't
it kind of obvious that he is talented? Why then, one simply fails
to understand, is he not persisted with?
Over-hype
odds
The under-19 team comes after winning the
World Cup and not a person at the airport to receive them. If the
Indian team comes home, even after losing disastrously, the entire
city turns up. Can we then count out success going to the head and
complacency setting in? "It's our fault," says ace commentator and
cricket writer Harsha Bhogle. "We give them super-hero status because
they're all the heroes we have in our country. I mean, you can hardly
look up to our politicians. These cricketers are the only people
who stand up for our country and as a result we give them extraordinary
attention." Alternately, this hype can lead to extra pressure on
players to do well, as 900 million pairs of eyes are watching them.
The junior team, meanwhile, knows that not much is expected of them.
As a result they are in the enviable position of trying their best
and achieving what they can.
Too
many cooks...
The Indian team has too many 'greats'. Which
other team can boast of the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid,
Saurav Ganguly, Ajay Jadeja and Azhar all in the same line-up? So,
isn't this supposed to make us, like, invincible? Yup, but what
our team ends up doing is to pass the buck (or bat, one should say).
Harsha Bhogle has a point to make here, "If you have a hero in the
class of Sachin Tendulkar in your team, you will definitely tend
to depend on him. It's most natural." Maybe. But what it leads to
is each player relying on the next genius in line to take over from
him. In the end, yes, we run out of geniuses.
Cricket
overdose
The Indian cricket team's playing schedule
is so tight that they have time enough to breathe just about two
and a half times before the next match. "The need to win is no longer
that strong," says Sunil Dev. "The players tend to treat the game
more like a nine-to-five job. There is no emotional involvement
anymore." Competitiveness suffers, not to mention form, health and
fitness of the players. "The over-all fitness standard is so low
that we simply are not in a position to take the pressure of the
number of matches we play," explains Harsha Bhogle. "What is desperately
lacking is the desire to change, the desire to make things happen
and until we bring us up to want it badly enough, we're not gonna
get it." Sad looking situation, isn't it? The heart of the Indian
cricket lover is no doubt hanging by a loose thread, ready to take
the dip. In such depressing times, a victory, like the one by our
young team, comes as a lifesaver. It's generation next, now!
Mohammed
Kaif
Captain of the victorious Under-19 team and
a class middle- order batsman, he has been picked for the national
team to play against South Africa, after a string of good performances
on the domestic scene.
How
does it feel to be the world champions?
I feel very proud that our team has won this
great honour for our country.
What
do you think was the most important factor in your victory?
Consistency. We maintained good form throughout
the tournament. That, coupled with the fact that we had a lot of
allrounders in our team, helped us win.
What
or who has been your greatest inspiration?
My parents. They helped me immensely and
supported me throughout.
Who
is your cricketing hero?
Sachin Tendulkar.
Most memorable performance?
When I hit my first century at the first-class
level.
What
do you like to do in your off-time?
I
like to be with my friends and generally enjoy.
Favourites:
Bowler-Brett
Lee
Batsmen-Sachin
Tendulkar, Steve Waugh
Ground-Lords,
England
Food-Chicken
biryani
Singer-Bryan
Adams
Movie-DDLJ
Filmstars-Amitabh
Bachchan, Kajol
Inputs: Kamal Sharma
Reetinder
Singh Sodhi
One of the most promising young allrounders,
he has been knocking at the selectors' for some time now. Bagged
the Man Of The Final award for his match-winning performance in
the youth World Cup.
How
does it feel to be the world champions?
It
was a really great experience. I don't have words to express it.
What
do you think was the most important factor in your victory?
Everybody really played their part. And our
coach Roger Binny was a really important factor. He is the coolest
guy on earth.
What
or who has been your greatest inspiration?
My
dad and also my late uncle Mr H S Sodhi have helped me a lot.
Who is your cricketing hero?
Sachin Tendulkar.
Most
memorable performance?
Double
century against Delhi in the Ranji Trophy last year.
What do you like to do in your off-time?
I love listening to old Hindi songs.
Favourites:
Bowler-Javagal
Srinath
Batsman-Sachin
Tendulkar
Ground-Lords,
England
Food-Dal makhni
Singer-Kishore
Kumar
Movie-DDLJ
Filmstars-Nana
Patekar, Aishwarya Rai
Ravneet
Ricky
Right
up there with the young and the talented, he has shown great promise
as an opening batsman. Got the Best Batsman award in the Under-19
World Cup.
How
does it feel to be the world champions?
Just
like one would-I'm very, very happy!
What
do you think was the most important factor in your victory?
The team combination. We really clicked together.
Also, our coach Roger Binny had a really important role to play
in this victory.
What
or who has been your greatest inspiration?
My father. He has done everything he could
to help me achieve what I have.
Who
is your cricketing hero?
Sachin Tendulkar and Vikram Rathore.
Most
memorable performance?
My first hundred in Ranji Trophy.
What
do you like to do in your off-time?
I study! When I'm not doing that, I listen
to music.
Favourites:
Bowler-Jacques
Kallis
Batsman-Sachin
Tendulkar
Ground-Lords,
England and Gandhi ground, Amritsar
Food-Rajma-chawal
Singer-Ricky
Martin and Britney Spears
Movie-DDLJ
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