CLT20 2009 : Stumped Stars

[Chandan]

Stumped stars The IPL has created flawed superstars. But the BCCI is too busy making money to notice the decline, says GULU EZEKIEL CAN YOU NAME ONE INDIAN CRICKETER IN THE LAST TWO SEASONS WHO HAS EXCELLED IN THE IPL AND THEN GONE ON TO MAKE A MARK IN INTERNATIONAL CRICKET? Does the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) care for Indian cricket? More pertinently, should it care for Indian cricket? Not according to its senior counsel and advocate K.K. Venugopal, who, five years ago in the Supreme Court, made a statement that shocked cricketers and cricket fans throughout the country when he said, "If India plays England, it is a match played by the official team of BCCI and not the official team of India...We do not even fly the national flag nor do we use any national emblem in the activities of the Board.'' Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and the rest play for the official team of the BCCI, Venugopal went on to add, and not the official team of India. A group of former `India' players expressed their sense of outrage and hurt in a joint letter to the BCCI president. They claimed they had always felt honoured to represent the country and were now distressed by the Board's stand. One is not aware if the Board bothered to respond to them. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has recently N introduced the playing of the national anthem before each match in their tournaments including the Champions Trophy in South Africa. The sight and sound of foreigners beautifully rendering `Jana Gana Mana' with the `Indian' attention team proudly standing to was one of the few highlights of another disappointing tournament for our cricket fans. Perhaps it is time for the BCCI to inform the ICC that India's national anthem should not be played before their matches and the BCCI could pay a handsome fee to A.R. Rahman for the use of `Jai Ho' instead of `Jana Gana Mana'. Or else the Indian government may be forced to intercede on this matter considering the BCCI's stated legal stand. The inaugural Champions League, to be played between the top 12 Twenty20 teams from around the world (excluding Pakistan, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe) is the latest bogus tournament that the BCCI has cooked up to fill its coffers. Last month it introduced the Corporate Cup -- more or less a 50-over version of the Indian Premier League (IPL) -- which had little or no impact on the public and the media. The BCCI/Indian team's performance in ICC tournaments after 2003 -- excluding the inaugural World T20 in South Africa in 2007 that it won -- has been abysmal. But is the BCCI really bothered as long as it rakes in the billions, and officials, agents, sponsors and select players line their pockets? IPL tsar Lalit Modi had recently said on a TV channel that the League had produced "the greatest cricket display in the history of the game". Yet both team coach Gary Kirsten and captain M.S. Dhoni have stated that the IPL is nothing but a low-grade domestic tournament and should not be the basis of selection for international cricket. Here is a question for the BCCI and cricket fans: can you name one Indian cricketer in the last two seasons who has excelled in the IPL and then gone on to make a mark in international cricket? The answer is plain and simple: not a single one. But the coach and captain whose opinion should count -- and not Modi's -- have promptly been gagged by the Board. The truth, after all, hurts. What the IPL has succeeded in doing is create a new generation of half-baked players with faulty techniques who strut around like superstars based on their dubious performances in the IPL. This year in South Africa, Manish Pandey became the first Indian player to score a century in the IPL. He is nowhere in the `national' reckoning. But in a recent interview he glibly explained how he has attained celebrity status due to that century -- and proudly stated how he now wears tight shirts with buttons open, low-waist jeans, and spikes his hair. Last year after the first IPL season, Dhoni skipped the Test series in Sri Lanka that immediately followed, citing fatigue. Would the BCCI or any of the IPL franchises allow such leeway to one of its star players if he wished to skip an IPL or Champions League tournament on the same grounds? For that matter, would any player dare risk such a move, considering the huge loss of earnings that would entail? Yet the `Indian' team now has to grapple with its top players missing out on international cricket due to injuries picked up in the IPL. And the Board, the IPL management -- and its band of embedded journalists -desperately initiate `Operation Cover-up' whenever this occurs. The Champions League begins today, two days after the Champions Trophy ended. Next year's World Twenty20 begins five days after the end of IPL Season III. This despite Kirsten's plea to give more time for rest and recuperation. The BCCI has not slotted a single Twenty20 international for `their' team between the last World Twenty20 held in June and the next in April-May 2010. They believe IPL III is preparation enough. The captain and coach disagree. But then, who cares for `Indian' cricket? Certainly not the BCCI. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A very good article and a timely question raised. India has done well in tests and bilateral ODI series but they have been terrible in the ICC events after 2003 barring that T20 WC in 2007. Why? What is IPL and CL serving to Indian cricket which makes the board drop even the premiere List A competition from the domestic caledar? Are Indian youth really getting spoiled and distracted by these T20 tamashas? If they are getting distracted so easily, would they have done well in tests anyway? Is this glamour+glitz tamasha not helping us weed out the real performers from a whole big bunch of pretenders? What have these T20 tournaments served in these 2 years and how are they going to serve Indian cricket in future? PS: This topic needs serious discussion, and people can keep away if they do not intend to discuss.

[Sachinism]

Hopefully Kamran Khan could turn out to be one of those stars.

[Zap_Brannigan]

Only read this "CAN YOU NAME ONE INDIAN CRICKETER IN THE LAST TWO SEASONS WHO HAS EXCELLED IN THE IPL AND THEN GONE ON TO MAKE A MARK IN INTERNATIONAL CRICKET? " Can someone tell me how many T20's we played from the start of IPL ? Why would anyone expect a newbie who excelled in IPL to replace players from the World cup winning T20 squad? So far IPL has provided a stage for players who were discarded from International team or players on the edge of selection to get a call for the Indian team, which is a realistic expectation in only 2 years of IPL. Gony,Nayar etc are exceptions. Tyagi and that CSK spinner too earned spot in the International team but they probably had good domestic records even before IPL. Nehra,Balaji etc made their comebacks in IPL. Give IPL time to unearth fresh talent. Superstars are not made overnight. People seem to forget that playing domestic cricket before IPL was a low paying gig. Now a good 30,000 $ for a 1 month tournament for a lot of 3rd tier domestic players who will never receive an international cap.

[Chandan]

Only read this "CAN YOU NAME ONE INDIAN CRICKETER IN THE LAST TWO SEASONS WHO HAS EXCELLED IN THE IPL AND THEN GONE ON TO MAKE A MARK IN INTERNATIONAL CRICKET? " Can someone tell me how many T20's we played from the start of IPL ? Why would anyone expect a newbie who excelled in IPL to replace players from the World cup winning T20 squad? So far IPL has provided a stage for players who were discarded from International team or players on the edge of selection to get a call for the Indian team, which is a realistic expectation in only 2 years of IPL. Gony,Nayar etc are exceptions. Tyagi and that CSK spinner too earned spot in the International team but they probably had good domestic records even before IPL. Nehra,Balaji etc made their comebacks in IPL. Give IPL time to unearth fresh talent. Superstars are not made overnight. People seem to forget that playing domestic cricket before IPL was a low paying gig. Now a good 30,000 $ for a 1 month tournament for a lot of 3rd tier domestic players who will never receive an international cap.

Are we using IPL to unearth stars for T20s? No Zap. Selectors are using IPL as a selection criteria for ODIs too or else, just tell me how did Gony get a chance in ODIs? What on earth had he done in his List A career previously to earn that call? Just see where the attention and energy of BCCI is. Challengers used to be pretty important tournament where players of India A, and India B used to play the national players so that their true potential of those players could be gauged. Where are those national stars right now? Many of them are playing in CLT20 like Sehwag, Gambhir, Nehra, Dravid, Praveen Kumar, RP Singh, Rohit Sharma et al. So why are we having Challengers? Perhaps just for the sake of it. The question here is, how is IPL serving Indian cricket. It can't serve it till it throws players into limelight who might be India's future superstars like Sachin, Dravid, Sehwag are today. I don't think IPL is serving that purpose. So why are the domestic tournaments like Challengers and Deodhar trophy suffering because of it? If it is only for the income of domestic players, why are the international players forced to participate in it?

[Cricketics]

Ipl has never been a way of selecting test players anyway. Ipl has seen some regular Indian players getting just if anything. It's not that they have restricted the regular Ranji Trophy super league event into some miniature tournament. IPL is playing before the start of Ranji Season. More Indian youngsters who might be the future are getting to play in the IPL with some great names. It's not bcci's fault if the tournament hasn't introuduced any big name yet. All those players are atleast getting exposure. I simply don't understand whats the cry of this Author.

[cowboysfan]

IPL should never be the criterion for selecting indian cricketers(not even for international t20s).I think even dhoni realizes this and has mentioned this many times. this is a beating the dead horse topic though because haters will find something to criticize .pandey is a long way from international cricket if he even gets there.Even yusuf pathan was selected because of his domestic prowess,not just the ipl. i think chandan argument is flawed because she makes an assumption that excelling in IPL and international arena requires the same talent but it is not the case.even Modi acknoeldges this.the shedule will get better as we set some time in the calender for the ipl.

[Chandan]

Ipl has never been a way of selecting test players anyway. Ipl has seen some regular Indian players getting just if anything. It's not that they have restricted the regular Ranji Trophy super league event into some miniature tournament. IPL is playing before the start of Ranji Season. More Indian youngsters who might be the future are getting to play in the IPL with some great names. It's not bcci's fault if the tournament hasn't introuduced any big name yet. All those players are atleast getting exposure. I simply don't understand whats the cry of this Author.

So according to you Ranji is the only domestic tournament? No Tics. We play 50 overs tournaments at zonal levels in Vijay Hazare trophy and then 5 zones fight it out in Deodhar. That is where Kohli had done well, and we were making a case for him to be selected in place of non performing stars. This time there will be no Deodhar trophy! Why? Because IPL has to be played a month earlier than other years since WC T20 will take place from April. And Duleep trophy has been turned into a knock out tournament instead. So tell me if domestic arena is suffering or not.

[vvvslaxman]

These IPL cowlashers are no good. I think guys like Rohit should not waste his talent by playing too many hit and giggle games. That temperament spills over to other formats.

[Cricketics]

Chandan, I am saying Ranji is the main format for atlesat people to pick for test matches. BCCI has done actuallly well to get rid off Zonal 50 over formats, which was a very useless tournament knowning that team like Delhi of super league or Mumbai are usually playing against a very poor odi outfit from plate league. I remember Delhi winning few games by 10 wkts or 9 wkts where bowlers couldn't even get the first wicket. The tracks offcourse couldn't help the bowlers but atleast the format didn't suit the plate league teams where they had to face formidable sides of super league. Coporate tournament, if organised better can surely be a good success. It's bcci's initiative only. Not that some other comapny has organised it. So I am sure they will do their best to gain proper wealth of talent plus money from that tournament

[Chandan]

Chandan, I am saying Ranji is the main format for atlesat people to pick for test matches. BCCI has done actuallly well to get rid off Zonal 50 over formats, which was a very useless tournament knowning that team like Delhi of super league or Mumbai are usually playing against a very poor odi outfit from plate league. I remember Delhi winning few games by 10 wkts or 9 wkts where bowlers couldn't even get the first wicket. The tracks offcourse couldn't help the bowlers but atleast the format didn't suit the plate league teams where they had to face formidable sides of super league. Coporate tournament, if organised better can surely be a good success. It's bcci's initiative only. Not that some other comapny has organised it. So I am sure they will do their best to gain proper wealth of talent plus money from that tournament

They have not removed zonal 50 overs tournaments which is Vijay Hazare trophy. They have removed Deodhar trophy where east, west, north, south and centrals zones used to fight with each other. That was the only decent List A tournament. Corporate tournament is equally bad and has no importance in letting a player learn and progress. Did you see the level of effort put in there? It was too low and intensity was absent as well. This is not how you prepare a young player for top level.

[Cricketics]

They have not removed zonal 50 overs tournaments which is Vijay Hazare trophy. They have removed Deodhar trophy where east, west, north, south and centrals zones used to fight with each other. That was the only decent List A tournament. Corporate tournament is equally bad and has no importance in letting a player learn and progress. Did you see the level of effort put in there? It was too low and intensity was absent as well. This is not how you prepare a young player for top level.

It was being played the first time. I am not sure whats the future of it. But ya i was sad to see Vijay Hazare trophy go. Also One thing I would like to point out was that the Vijay Hazare trophy quota system never used to help lot of players. We would see lot players from Mumbai not able to be part of the squad because the According to the laws, few players have to be picked from some region of the zone. Same thing i remember happening for North Zone where players from few region had to be picked over some good players from certain region.

[Chandan]

It was being played the first time. I am not sure whats the future of it. But ya i was sad to see Vijay Hazare trophy go. Also One thing I would like to point out was that the Vijay Hazare trophy quota system never used to help lot of players. We would see lot players from Mumbai not able to be part of the squad because the According to the laws, few players have to be picked from some region of the zone. Same thing i remember happening for North Zone where players from few region had to be picked over some good players from certain region.

Cricketics, Vijay Hazare trophy is there. It is a tournament where various states on one zone play amongst each other. Deodhar trophy has been removed. It was a tournament of 50 overs played among the 5 zones like Duleep trophy is being played in a 4 day format. It was the most competent 50 over format for us in India because only 55 best players from the entire country played among each other. But the question is not that. You are simply sidestepping it. How are IPL and CL helping the Indian cricket? Deodhar trophy helped it a lot. If they aren't helping it much, is BCCI paying enough attention at developing Indian cricket at domestic level by concentrating completely on these tamasha tournaments and ignoring important tournaments like Challenger and Deodhar?

IPL should never be the criterion for selecting indian cricketers(not even for international t20s).

But it is, nowadays.

I think even dhoni realizes this and has mentioned this many times. this is a beating the dead horse topic though because haters will find something to criticize .pandey is a long way from international cricket if he even gets there.Even yusuf pathan was selected because of his domestic prowess,not just the ipl.

But Dhoni is not a selector, nor does he have any voice whatsoever in the selection of players. And that is what the author is saying.

i think chandan argument is flawed because she makes an assumption that excelling in IPL and international arena requires the same talent but it is not the case.even Modi acknoeldges this.the shedule will get better as we set some time in the calender for the ipl.

Nah! That is not the assumption. My argument is simply how are IPL and CL serving Indian cricket when they make the authority ignore important tournaments like Challengers ( a number of Indian national players can't participate in it despite being in the country and having no international assignment) and Deodhar (it has been dropped from the domestic calender). Just tell me how is it helping?