Why is Indian cupboard bare in spin bowling department?

[Chandan]

Spin Academy in disarray Spin academy in dead ball situation G.S. Vivek Posted online: Wednesday, April 25, 2007 at 0000 hrs IST New Delhi, April 24 With the likes of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh now on their last legs, suddenly the great Indian spin tradition seems to be missing. In May 2004 at a glittering ceremony in a five-star hotel, the BCCI launched a new project that fed on expectations. The Spin Wing of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore was aimed at creating a bench-strength of spinners for the national team. But a change of guard at the BCCI, and subsequent shuffle in the NCA has put the much-vaunted project under suspended animation for two years now. The last specialised camp was held in 2005. Now, even as the selectors look for fresh young faces, there aren?t many names to mention. Hence the immediate need to revive the system. The spin academy had coaches of the calibre of Bishan Singh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna and VV Kumar, along with Ravi Shastri and Anil Kumble as visiting faculties. They were initially instrumental in creating a second-line of spinners like Piyush Chawla, who has been selected for the Bangladesh tour, Pragyan Ojha, called up as ?extras? for the Indian camp, India under-19 bowler Shahbaz Nadim among others. ?Frankly, I have no idea why the academy came to an abrupt end,? says Bedi. ?I think we were doing a good job with that, but I have not heard from them in the past one year or so. Players like Daniel Vettori, Monty Panesar, Michael Clarke have come up to us in the past for tips, but strangely our own board thinks we, or a special spin clinic is not worth the effort. Strange.? Prasanna says: ?Our project of creating a bench-strength of spinners has unfortunately gone into oblivion. Our entire team was very sincere in our effort and it?s now up to the board to take a decision. Spin bowling is a specialised art, as is coaching spinners. It?s high time the board gives us the task of grooming spinners. We had players in the age group 15-17, and they are now playing Ranji Trophy for their respective states. That?s a big jump, and we all need to appreciate that. ?All I can say now is that the focus of the board is perhaps now on something else. I still feel there is still an immediate need for grooming spinners and have quantity and quality at the bench.? VV Kumar, former India leg-spinner, explains further: ?Last year I was asked to attend various Zonal Cricket Academies to look for talent and coach them there. Earlier, at the spin academy, there was a batch of 15, which was reduced to 12 in 2005, of best spin talents who used to come together at one place ? the NCA ?- for specialised training. So in a way, talent scouting is still going on, but definitely not in actual wheel of motion. Kapil Dev has taken over as new chairman of NCA, now he has to come out with a decision with what is good.? BCCI joint secretary MP Pandove admits: ?There has been no specialised camps since the last two years. Not just spin camps, we haven?t had pace bowling or keeping clinics either. But that is because the board felt the need to first streamline the coaching process throughout the country. The focus is on training Level 1 and 2 coaches and physical trainers.? Board officials maintain that Zonal Cricket Academies are doing a fine job, but experts believe otherwise. It?s more logical to have the best 12-15 boys to come under one roof and learn the finer techniques of the art, rather than coaches spreading out and not being able to zoom in on the best among the large numbers. Also the spin academy, among others, focused on how to bowl to a set field, to different types of batsmen, on different wickets and also show video-clippings of actual match situations. All these details are very difficult to squeeze into a general camp that is already loaded with other programmes and focuses on other priorities. Also, then Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly insisted that the selected bunch travel with the team for all training and net sessions within the country and also attach them with India A and B touring teams. However, as things have panned out now, out of the 12 in the spin academy there is little follow-up on seven of the boys or their progress. Through the last one year, under Greg Chappell, the board focused entirely on developing a crop of fast bowlers and the need for preparing fast bouncy wickets. With the supply line of new spinners steadily declining, the land of spinners is suddenly faced with a strange problem of paucity. And most of which is their own creation.

[Chandan]

Re: Why is Indian cupboard bare in spin bowling department? So this is another area which was going in right direction but was messed up by the current regime of BCCI, Greg Chappell and Rahul Dravid??? Wonder how many more things we'd discover!!!

[chanakya]

Re: Why is Indian cupboard bare in spin bowling department? We need quality spiners there is no doubt about it. We need quality seamers as well. To win a test you have to bowl out the other team twice. A quality team may gift you wickets once in an innings but never twice. (Unless it is Pakistan/ India of course). We have a few seamers now time for some spinners as well. I think the focus under Dravid and Chappell then was to win matches abroad. For that you do need more seamers.

[Chandan]

Re: Why is Indian cupboard bare in spin bowling department? And how many series you won abroad?? Chanakya, to acheive one think you do not need to shun another. Both can be achieved simultaneously!!

[sandtest]

Re: Why is Indian cupboard bare in spin bowling department? I can neither see any future quality spinner nor seamer, even a quality batsman is not visible on horizon.....all I can see is some confused/mediocres touted as future prospects We have a bright future in this game?? :huh:

[Chaos]

Re: Why is Indian cupboard bare in spin bowling department?

I can neither see any future quality spinner nor seamer, even a quality batsman is not visible on horizon.....all I can see is some confused/mediocres touted as future prospects We have a bright future in this game?? :huh:

not until politicians are out of fcking bcci

[The Outsider]

Re: Why is Indian cupboard bare in spin bowling department? Chappell and Dravid? :shrug: :shrug: How were they involved in running of the spin academy?

[Chandan]

Re: Why is Indian cupboard bare in spin bowling department?

Chappell and Dravid? :shrug: :shrug: How were they involved in running of the spin academy?

Read the article and you'll know!

[Chandan]

Re: Why is Indian cupboard bare in spin bowling department?

Also, then Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly insisted that the selected bunch travel with the team for all training and net sessions within the country and also attach them with India A and B touring teams. However, as things have panned out now, out of the 12 in the spin academy there is little follow-up on seven of the boys or their progress. Through the last one year, under Greg Chappell, the board focused entirely on developing a crop of fast bowlers and the need for preparing fast bouncy wickets. With the supply line of new spinners steadily declining, the land of spinners is suddenly faced with a strange problem of paucity. And most of which is their own creation.

So we'll be developing 5 more bowlers into the camp which is not at NCA but is held at Kolkatta. Let us see what comes out of it!!

[yoda]

Re: Why is Indian cupboard bare in spin bowling department?

Chappell and Dravid? :shrug: :shrug: How were they involved in running of the spin academy?

Read the article and you'll know!

Yea, it is rather obvious. :wtg:

[Chandan]

Re: Why is Indian cupboard bare in spin bowling department? Pragyan Ojha is another name which is cropping up these days apart from Piyush Chawla, when one talks of young spinners. He is a SLA bowler from Hyderabad with a rather ordinary domestic stats (I know that they should be taken with a grain of salt). Another names which Vengsarkar took were: Besides Rajesh Pawar and Ramesh Powar, there is UP's Piyush Chawla, Haryana's Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha of Hyderabad and Murali Kartik. Now Rajesh Pawar is a huge chucker and Kartik is too old. So we can see how bare the cupboard is!

[yoda]

Re: Why is Indian cupboard bare in spin bowling department? Just try them one after another. We only need 2 spinners. And Kumble is there in tests for a few more years.

[Chandan]

Re: Why is Indian cupboard bare in spin bowling department? Oh. So a 37 years old Kumble is there for few more years but 34 years old batters are over the hill??? Anyway, this is Ojha's stats in FC cricket: Bowling averages Mat Balls Runs Wkts BBI Ave Econ SR 4 5 10 First-class 16 3518 1737 66 7/114 26.31 2.96 53.30 3 5 0

[yoda]

Re: Why is Indian cupboard bare in spin bowling department?

Oh. So a 37 years old Kumble is there for few more years but 34 years old batters are over the hill???

[code:1:3b33e7ed27] Mat Runs HS BatAv 100 50 W BB BowlAv 5w Ct St unfiltered 113 2049 88 17.21 0 4 547 10/74 28.65 33 50 0 filtered 10 285 58 19.00 0 1 53 6/78 27.77 2 4 0 Mat Runs HS BatAv 100 50 W BB BowlAv 5w Ct St unfiltered 135 10668 248* 54.70 35 43 38 3/10 50.68 0 85 0 filtered 10 387 64 25.80 0 2 1 1/30 113.00 0 8 0 [/code:1:3b33e7ed27] DUH!

[The Outsider]

Re: Why is Indian cupboard bare in spin bowling department?

Chappell and Dravid? :shrug: :shrug: How were they involved in running of the spin academy?

Read the article and you'll know!

I did read the article and couldn't figure out. Maybe its just me, but I thought the BCCI is in charge of the spin academy and Dravid and Chappell saying they need a few quality pacers means we junk the spin academy? :shrug:

[Chandan]

Re: Why is Indian cupboard bare in spin bowling department? Thats what they did. They junked the spin clinic as they asked the board that the team needed pace bowlers instead. And the board, as shortsighted it is, dumped the clinic with no thought whatsoever that both pace bowling clinic and spin clinic could have been run run simultaneously!

[Chandan]

Re: Why is Indian cupboard bare in spin bowling department?

Oh. So a 37 years old Kumble is there for few more years but 34 years old batters are over the hill???

[code:1:758d387794] Mat Runs HS BatAv 100 50 W BB BowlAv 5w Ct St unfiltered 113 2049 88 17.21 0 4 547 10/74 28.65 33 50 0 filtered 10 285 58 19.00 0 1 53 6/78 27.77 2 4 0 Mat Runs HS BatAv 100 50 W BB BowlAv 5w Ct St unfiltered 135 10668 248* 54.70 35 43 38 3/10 50.68 0 85 0 filtered 10 387 64 25.80 0 2 1 1/30 113.00 0 8 0 [/code:1:758d387794] DUH!

What is that Yoda? Can you make it clear?

[The Outsider]

Re: Why is Indian cupboard bare in spin bowling department?

Thats what they did. They junked the spin clinic as they asked the board that the team needed pace bowlers instead. And the board, as shortsighted it is, dumped the clinic with no thought whatsoever that both pace bowling clinic and spin clinic could have been run run simultaneously!

So you're saying its an "either" "or" choice between spin and pace? Just because Dravid and Chappell asked the board to place emphasis on pace, how is that a cue for the BCCI to junk the spin academy. BTW, the emphasis on pace is justified because thats what one needs to wn abroad.

[Predator_05]

Re: Why is Indian cupboard bare in spin bowling department?

BTW' date=' the emphasis on pace is justified because thats what one needs to wn abroad.[/quote'] ...and also because of the fact that it's far more difficult for India to produce a spinner of international quality than it is for them to produce a fast bowler. Spinners need much more time to develop their craft, as they rely on guile to take wickets. The spin academy was a waste of resources, and the results are there for everyone to see.

[yoda]

Re: Why is Indian cupboard bare in spin bowling department?

Oh. So a 37 years old Kumble is there for few more years but 34 years old batters are over the hill???

[code:1:6243f92caf] Mat Runs HS BatAv 100 50 W BB BowlAv 5w Ct St unfiltered 113 2049 88 17.21 0 4 547 10/74 28.65 33 50 0 filtered 10 285 58 19.00 0 1 53 6/78 27.77 2 4 0 Mat Runs HS BatAv 100 50 W BB BowlAv 5w Ct St unfiltered 135 10668 248* 54.70 35 43 38 3/10 50.68 0 85 0 filtered 10 387 64 25.80 0 2 1 1/30 113.00 0 8 0 [/code:1:6243f92caf] DUH!

What is that Yoda? Can you make it clear?

Performance of Kumble and a over-the-hill player over the last 10 tests.