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Agent-sharks and youngsters with 'attitood' have queered the pitch for India's promising cricketers-

suraj

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suraj

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Agent-sharks and youngsters with 'attitood' have queered the pitch for India's promising cricketers Dileep Premachandran It was a mundane party in the middle of another nondescript one-day series, and the conversation was inanity itself. A young man who had played for India for a couple of seasons was part of our group, and speaking shyly about his chances of playing in the final that weekend. Out of nowhere, his agent stepped in and caught his eye. "I've got two girls arranged at an apartment," he said, oblivious of the fact that there were at least four others listening in. The player's face went pale, and he was quiet for a good few seconds. "Come on, let's go," said the agent. The player was hardly the picture of enthusiasm, and pointing to his India blazer, he said: "I can't come wearing this." The agent just laughed. "Don't worry, I've got a change of clothes for you in the car," he said. And that was that. Within five minutes, the two of them had left. The player did little of note in a final that India lost miserably, and it's fair to say that his on-off career has hardly scaled any great heights in the half-decade since he was whisked off into the night. Welcome to the murkier side of Indian cricket. I was reminded of that incident while reading about the Indian challenge at the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia. The Indian Express have sent one of their senior journalists to Malaysia, and he came up with a gem about gelled hair, ear-studs and shaved chests. All the narcissism was probably worth it too, because three or four agents were already sniffing around Kuala Lumpur, poised to sign up the cream of the country's talent. India have waltzed into the semi-finals, hammering the likes of South Africa, the West Indies and England along the way. And with the IPL auction having happened last Wednesday, the eight franchises are fighting among themselves for the young stars. Before the auction, the understanding was that the Under-22 players would get a minimum fee of $20,000 for the six weeks, while those with Ranji Trophy experience would command at least $50,000. But with the entry of agents, the pitch has been queered. Alerted by Ishant Sharma having been signed up for a trifling $950,000 and Robin Uthappa getting $800,000, some U-19 stars are now angling for $100,000. Few of them have more than a season of first-class experience, but it hasn't prevented them holding out for the big windfall. Sadly, this is a generation that has grown up believing that attitude - spelt attitood by the 'cooler' ones - is everything. The webpage of one of the players reveals him to be a semi-literate Rimbaud. "c i dont give a beep wat people think about me...i just know dat i give evrything for d people i knw n whu r close to mee..specially gurlz," it says, lapsing unapologetically into a rap-speak that sounds pathetic coming from one who certainly wasn't raised in a ghetto. His attitude to books is not dissimilar to that of most young Premiership footballers, except when they're torturing us with valuable insights in their autobiographies. "beep emm!!!" he says, certain that three exclamation marks will get the point across. It's enough to make you wonder how he'll deal with the fame and adulation if he does make it to the top. There are enough cautionary tales in Indian cricket. For every Irfan Pathan who lost his way briefly before making it back, there are 10 others like Vinod Kambli whose excesses cut them adrift from international cricket. For every Sachin Tendulkar, there are dozens of other prodigies like Maninder Singh - last in the news after a suicide attempt - who simply couldn't handle the pressures of top-level sport. Concerned by agent-sharks swimming in the shallows, the IPL has already announced a plan to counsel young players. "These guys will be at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) before the IPL and we plan to have some kind of a financial counselling for them there," said Ravi Shasti, who is chairman of the academy and part of the IPL board. His anxiety is shared by Steve Waugh. "I worry for the likes of Ishant Sharma, who went for a surprisingly high bid even though he is not even six months old in international cricket," he wrote in a newspaper column. "I might sound like an old-timer but I always worry when too much happens too soon in the life of a young, promising cricketer." Cricket's problem is the absence of benevolent dictators. Where would Wayne Rooney be now but for David Moyes and Sir Alex Ferguson? Where might Steven Gerrard have ended up without a guiding hand from Gerard Houllier when he was coming through the ranks? Even a cursory look at the history of sport reveals that mercurial talent only flowers in a disciplined environment. Bill Shankly plucked Kevin Keegan out of obscurity at Scunthorpe United and made him a legend. Around the same time, he was ready to sign Frank Worthington. He failed two medicals for reasons mentioned here and Shankly signed John Toshack instead. Toshack and Keegan went on to be cornerstones of one of the greatest sides in history, while Worthington went into the what-might-have-been section. There's lesson in there, especially for wannabe millionaires who don't "give a beep wat people think http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/02/27/indias_starlets_risk_being_swa.html

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fineleg Rookie

fineleg

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Agent-sharks and youngsters with 'attitood' have queered the pitch for India's promising cricketers Dileep Premachandran It was a mundane party in the middle of another nondescript one-day series, and the conversation was inanity itself. A young man who had played for India for a couple of seasons was part of our group, and speaking shyly about his chances of playing in the final that weekend. Out of nowhere, his agent stepped in and caught his eye. "I've got two girls arranged at an apartment," he said, oblivious of the fact that there were at least four others listening in. The player's face went pale, and he was quiet for a good few seconds. "Come on, let's go," said the agent. The player was hardly the picture of enthusiasm, and pointing to his India blazer, he said: "I can't come wearing this." The agent just laughed. "Don't worry, I've got a change of clothes for you in the car," he said. And that was that. Within five minutes, the two of them had left. The player did little of note in a final that India lost miserably, and it's fair to say that his on-off career has hardly scaled any great heights in the half-decade since he was whisked off into the night.
Who's the above player who "did little of note in a final that India lost miserably"???
Sadly, this is a generation that has grown up believing that attitude - spelt attitood by the 'cooler' ones - is everything. The webpage of one of the players reveals him to be a semi-literate Rimbaud. "c i dont give a beep wat people think about me...i just know dat i give evrything for d people i knw n whu r close to mee..specially gurlz," it says, lapsing unapologetically into a rap-speak that sounds pathetic coming from one who certainly wasn't raised in a ghetto. His attitude to books is not dissimilar to that of most young Premiership footballers, except when they're torturing us with valuable insights in their autobiographies. "beep emm!!!" he says, certain that three exclamation marks will get the point across. It's enough to make you wonder how he'll deal with the fame and adulation if he does make it to the top. There's lesson in there, especially for wannabe millionaires who don't "give a beep wat people think http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/02/27/indias_starlets_risk_being_swa.html
And who's this now!
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suraj Newbie

suraj

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We can easily find out who that player was by going through finals India played over weekends in the past 5 years and then identifying players who fizzled out and haven't been in the team for a while. But who really cares?
It can be an interesting exercise but DP might just be sensationalizing the whole thing
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Tapioca Newbie

Tapioca

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The player did little of note in a final that India lost miserably' date= and it's fair to say that his on-off career has hardly scaled any great heights in the half-decade since he was whisked off into the night.
India lost eight finals between Jan 1, 2001 and Jan 1, 2005 - respectively in Harare, Colombo, Durban, Jo'burg, Kolkata, Melbourne, Sydney, Colombo. Kolkota is the obvious suspect - it was in late 2003 and was a TVS Cup three nations. http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/66373.html is the scorecard. There are three people in the team who can be called unsuccessful - Salvi, Badani and Murali Karthik. Salvi's debut was in early 2003. If the comment that he had already played for two seasons is taken literally, Karthik is a little senior, but Badani fits perfectly - debut 2001, last match in 2004
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suraj Newbie

suraj

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India lost eight finals between Jan 1, 2001 and Jan 1, 2005 - respectively in Harare, Colombo, Durban, Jo'burg, Kolkata, Melbourne, Sydney, Colombo. Kolkota is the obvious suspect - it was in late 2003 and was a TVS Cup three nations. http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/66373.html is the scorecard. There are three people in the team who can be called unsuccessful - Salvi, Badani and Murali Karthik. Salvi's debut was in early 2003. If the comment that he had already played for two seasons is taken literally, Karthik is a little senior, but Badani fits perfectly - debut 2001, last match in 2004
Wow great investigation!! Tapioca is the Sherlock holmes of the forum So Badani ended up having a threesome!!!! Lucky Bastard- I will never sympathise again with him not getting enuff matches
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Guest HariSampath

Guest HariSampath

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We can easily find out who that player was by going through finals India played over weekends in the past 5 years and then identifying players who fizzled out and haven't been in the team for a while. But who really cares?
why ? apart from that player, most of the layers who fizzle out and others who hang on, are still like that. Most of them have a feeding frenzy of girls in the first 2-3 seasons of international cricket.
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