Jagdale's focus on bench strength : What should be India A squad for tests?

[Cricket Tragic]

New cricket board secretary Sanjay Jagdale is quite clear about his priorities. One of his top priorities is to push for organising "good tours" for India 'A' and India under-19 teams so as to build a strong bench for the senior national side. Jagdale, who is aware of the available young talent as he looked after junior cricket as joint secretary and convened the selection committee meetings till recently, wants matches on these tours to be played on different kinds of pitches to help players improve their skills. The Indore-based Jagdale has taken over the reins of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) at a crucial stage vis- a- vis the imminent transition in the national team. Soon senior pros like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Zaheer Khan would be on their way out and the selectors will have to find competent youngsters to step in. That's why Jagdale wants to organise meaningful junior tours that would throw up youngsters who could slip comfortably into those big shoes. "The BCCI is a well organised and well structured body. Whatever scope of improvement is there, I would like to organise tours for India 'A' and India under-19 teams with an eye on the future," Jagdale, who turns 61 on Thursday, told Mail Today in an interview. "I want these to be good tours, which are given more weightage, as preparation is a long- term process." "These tours will help build the bench strength for the senior team and also take care of the fitness-related issues. I'll try and see that the unfortunate England tour is not repeated." A former Madhya Pradesh captain, Jagdale, however, felt that tours like England, where the Indian team failed to win a Test or a One-day International or the lone Twenty20 International, happen rarely. He said that players are the best judges of their injuries and illnesses, and that they will have to be honest about it. "Ultimately, it comes down to the individual, even if you have physiotherapists accompanying the team. In tennis, if Novak Djokovic gets spasms, he will have to decide if he can play the next tournament or rest," he said. "I feel most of the players are honest. But still situations like the recent one can be avoided." "There's no foolproof formula to avoid injuries." A former national selector, Jagdale said that the recent accomplishments of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team were the maximum that a side could achieve. "The team was No. 1 in Test cricket and it won the World Cup. You can't go higher than where we were two months ago." "Most of the credit for that should go to the players," he averred. Despite that Jagdale is keen to unearth players that would add muscle to the bench. "I want to focus on India 'A' tours, which have produced players like Virat Kohli. I believe we are at a crucial stage (of transition) and we have to keep an eye on the future," he stressed. "There's talent, but talent alone is not enough. What you do with the talent is important, like how you apply yourself to the game, how much hard work you can put in, and how much can you sacrifice." Jagdale feels the Vizzy Trophy all-India inter-varsity tournament has been a source of throwing up talented youngsters. But sadly the tournament was not played last season. The BCCI promised to organise it this season before backing out. Now, the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) says it will revive it. "BCCI tried our best to help the AIU financially. The University Sports Board will have to come up with some strong ideas." "We are open to it. If they come up with something constructive we'll think about it again," said Jagdale, himself a product of university cricket. Jagdale pointed out that Sunil Gavaskar too was spotted while in school. He made his Ranji Trophy debut largely on the basis of his heavy scores during the Indian schools team's tour of Sri Lanka in 1970. "Immediately after Sunil scored a double century there he was called midway to Mumbai and made his Ranji Trophy debut," recalled Jagdale, a member of that team.

[akshayxyz]

"The team was No. 1 in Test cricket and it won the World Cup. You can't go higher than where we were two months ago."

Except for this part I liked his interview. We need to learn not to rest on past laurels and develop ruthless attitude, at every level..especially at leadership positions. I hope he puts his words into action.

[saneindian]

Why not start with the Aus tour and send an India A team along with the national side to Australia in Dec-Jan? And then making sure every year an India A or India-19 team visits England? And these tours should include 2, 3 or 4 day matches only. No point playing t20s or one dayers.

[Cricket Tragic]

Why not start with the Aus tour and send an India A team along with the national side to Australia in Dec-Jan? And then making sure every year an India A or India-19 team visits England? And these tours should include 2' date= 3 or 4 day matches only. No point playing t20s or one dayers.

I've been saying this for a long time. The A team should tour with the national side and practice/play games so that everyone is match fit like what they do in England with the Lions team.

[kabira]

well Action speaks lounder than words. BCCI can make money even with A tours, thats how popular our team is.

[yoda]

Except for this part I liked his interview. We need to learn not to rest on past laurels and develop ruthless attitude, at every level..especially at leadership positions. I hope he puts his words into action.

I think they keep reminding people this, so that the past achievements are so easily forgotten. Winning the WC or getting to #1 in tests and staying there for 2 years are not small achievements and we all need to remember that. If we are always worried about the future, when exactly are we going to celebrate success?

[ganeshran]

A -team tours are very useful in developing a solid bench - a facet which has long been ignored by the BCCI - I hope this is started and sustained regularly

[Crookbond]

I've been saying this for a long time. The A team should tour with the national side and practice/play games so that everyone is match fit like what they do in England with the Lions team.

It's a very good model. You could also play this A-teams against lower ranked Test teams like West Indies, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in their own backyard to instill mental toughness.

[Chandan]

And mark my words here: These are just lip service. There will be no A tournaments or even if there will be they will be as useless as what we had when our team had visited England and played a one off FC match with WI A as Eng Lions team was not free to play with us in the longer format.

[ShebbySB]

What should be the India-A team for test matches? We need to groom a very strong India-A team & tour Eng,SA & Aus regularly.Pls suggest a pool of young players who can represent the test team in 2/3 years time.This is my India-A team:- Murli Vijay(opener) Abhinab Mukund(opener) Ajnkya Rahane(Middle-order batman) Cheteshwar Pujara(" ") Virat Kohli(" ") Rohit Sharma(" ") Ambati Rayudu(" ") Manish Pandey(" ") M Gautam(Wk & Bat) Parthiv Patel(Wk & Bat) R Ashwin(off spinner) P Ojha(slow left arm) Bhargav Bhatt(slow left arm) Varun Aaron(Right arm fast) Umesh Yadav(Right arm fast) Supeep Tyagi(Right arm fast-medium) Pankaj Singh(Right arm fast-medium) Any good young fast bowler can join this squad too like Abu Nechim,Rahul Shukla, Shami Ahmed if they perform in Ranji & Duleep trophy.But the criteria should be that any young pacer have to be atleast 85Mph+ to be in the team.Seam,Swing,line & length can be taught later but u can't teach how to bowl fast.

[saneindian]

I normally don't look for conspiracy theories in team selection. But Jalaj Saxena's selection in the ROI squad has got something to do with Jagdale's elevation as BCCI secretary.

[Cricket Tragic]

Jagdale's focus on bench strength : What should be India A squad for tests?

I normally don't look for conspiracy theories in team selection. But Jalaj Saxena's selection in the ROI squad has got something to do with Jagdale's elevation as BCCI secretary.

I just posted about it in the other thread.

[Feed]

India's bench strength not tested, says Sandeep Patil More... India's bench strength not tested, says Sandeep Patil The disastrous tour of England has brought the rot, the wrinkles and problems in Indian cricket to the fore. The spate of injuries which saw the Indian team lose nine players has raised many questions. Can't we find eleven fit players? What will happen when stars like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag leave the stage? Don't we have a strong bench? Isn't the BCCI grooming youngsters properly? What's happening at the National Cricket Academy? But talking to Sandeep Patil, the Director of the NCA, one gets the feeling that the BCCI is not using its bench strength properly. Ÿe have a terrific bench strength. Unfortunately, players are sitting on the bench. You know, the bench is not tested, said Patil, one of the heroes of India's 1983 World Cup triumph, at the Tripunithura Palace Oval here on Sunday. Ūt's not our job, it's not our responsibility, he said when asked why the bench strength is not being tried out efficiently. Å°ur responsibility at the NCA is to help, have camps, support them, look after the injury management. The selection part is done by the selectors and the BCCI. We don't interfere in that department. People who are pointing fingers at the NCA are being unfair, he said. Ÿhen India won the World Cup (its second in the one-dayers recently), nobody even thought of the NCA, said the 55-year-old who was a tower of strength in the middle-order for many years. ůow, once, when India has done badly, everybody is pointing fingers at it. As the Director, I am very happy with the way the NCA is functioning. We are in touch with the BCCI on a day-to-day basis. We are in touch with all our 35 academies which come under the NCA. Ÿe have a big pool of players©Önfortunately, only 11 represent the country, there are another 30 lined up. When they are given a chance, when they are given their due, it's for the selectors to decide. Patil, however, declined to comment on the injury problems in Indian cricket. Ū can't speak ©Õhat's confidential I can't speak about Indian cricket and injuries, he said. .