Sadanand Vishwanath and the curse of talent

[Cricket Tragic]

Laxman Sivaramakrishnan was on and spin was the one form of bowling that held no terrors for a batsman who was a master of angles and a blur between wickets. The flighted, looping delivery on off was met by the characteristic two-step that took Miandad closer to the pitch, all twinkle toes and manipulative wrists. Only, this ball had been held back just that fraction; it landed ahead of the bat, it bit, it turned fractionally Cue magic. The baby-faced wicket-keeper let the ball settle in his right glove even as his right forefinger reached out to flick the off bail in disdain; the body torqued at the waist, head and torso turned to square leg, left arm outstretched in an imperious gesture that was not so much an appeal as a demand that the umpire applaud supreme skill. Then captain Sunil Gavaskar said one of the main reasons India improbably won the Benson and Hedges World Series in Australia in 1985 was the presence of Sadananad Vishwanath behind the stumps. The complement almost damned with faint praise; those of us who watched at the time often felt ôada was the real captain setting fields for the bowlers, geeing up the side, forging a partnership with Siva that was a jolt of pure adrenalin into a side manned by tiring veterans. BACK in 1985, Sadanand Vishwanath was 23, with limitless talent, ditto potential. And then it all disappeared, down a bottle and up his nose he would only play 14 more one-dayers and three Tests after that magical day. Now on the cusp of 50, Sada came visiting on the day earlier this week when Indonesia shook and India trembled; oblivious to it all, he looked back on his life with a certain calm resignation. ŧame is heady, he said. Ūt is so sudden, it catches you unprepared. It is intoxicating, it gets to your head and messes with it. Life is eked out in painful installments. Having lost his ability and his place in the side, he still wished to have something to do with cricket and so he passed all the tests and became an umpire. I get Rs 7,500 for each day I stand and a maximum of between 30-35 days in a playing year. It could be more but for that, he needs to be upped to the grade of international umpire passport to a year-round work, financial security, and an annual US $5000-a-day gig standing in the IPL. But for that, he needs the blessings of the S Venkatraghavan-helmed BCCI umpires committee, and he doesn't have that; he needs a benevolent godfather within the BCCI system, and he doesn't have that. I've been umpiring for 17 years I am the only international player currently umpiring in India. But others, some of them with less than half my experience, get promoted while I wait endlessly, hoping. Hope, his Rs 7500-a-day gigs, and the Rs 25,000 monthly pension the BCCI pays him as a former international that is the balance sheet of Sada's life today. And you know what? says Sada in parting, it is not sudden fame that is the real problem. It is when it all suddenly goes away. Nothing prepares you for that, nothing helps you cope with that sudden plunge into a dark world you know nothing about. It is like hell. WHATEVER else that hell is, it is not a lonely place -- confined to it are the many, many precocious talents that failed to negotiate that first encounter with the heady rush of instant fame. That thought prompted a search, and that search yielded a result: This story, circa February 2008, when NCA director and IPL board member (and commentator and columnist and but letÃÔ not count the many hats in his closet now) Ravi Shastri came up with one of those grand announcements BCCI honchos trot out from time to time. Quote: Several experts have voiced their concern over junior cricketers like Ishant Sharma being paid so much money but Shastri, who is on the IPL governing council, said there was a plan in place. 'These guys will be at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) before the IPL and and we plan to have some kind of a financial counselling for them there, Shastri, the chairman of the NCA, said while commentating for ESPN-Star. õhe NCA Director Dav Whatmore is on the same page, and is working on this. Maybe even the parents of these cricketers may be invited for the counseling. Nothing happened. Fast forward two years, to when Anil Kumble was moved to write, in a signed column, this: Someone's got to look at handling both them and the things that come with playing for India, responsibly. There's the pressure of performance, the pressure of expectations, pressure from a very intrusive media including former players. These pressures can be overwhelming for a young man, more so perhaps, for a suddenly rich and famous young man coming to terms with his newfound status. So I think it's equally important to prepare him to manage life during and beyond cricket. At the same time, without getting into which cricketer partied too much or drank too much or got into a brawl, or whether anyone did at all, there's a need to educate young cricketers about their responsibilities. Not that they don't know what these are but they need help on how to handle themselves with regard to these. Nothing happened. Anil, later that year, produced a blueprint, a vision if you will, of next steps for the NCA, and it included a detailed brief on man-management. This time, something happened: the BCCI shot it down, arguing that it was too expensive. Which is in keeping with that bodyÃÔ mindset: never spend a bent nickel for anything you cannot hang an advertisement on, and sell the rights for. http://cricket.yahoo.com/news/life-lived-pinsize.html

[Ultimate_Game]

It's the bane of Indian cricket and Indian cricket is littered with the stories of unfulfilled talents. A few of those are Sadanath Vishwanath, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, Maninder Singh, Hirwani, Ajay Sharma etc. In the last 10-12 years a bunch of promising pace bowlers have gone the same way and Sreesanth and Ishant are on the cusp of going the same route.

[Crookbond]

Sreesanth and Irfan in particular. Ishant probably has age on his side.

[Cricket Tragic]

2 cases here: 1) Off-field issues 2) Technical issues NCA can help with both. Atm, it's nothing more than a place for rehab.

[Ultimate_Game]

2 cases here: 1) Off-field issues 2) Technical issues NCA can help with both. Atm, it's nothing more than a place for rehab.

NCA has been as useful for Indian cricket as tits on a bull. Same is true for MRF pace academy.

[Cricket Tragic]

MRF pace foundation hasn't been that bad. Our few "fast" bowlers in recent years have trained there.

[Ultimate_Game]

MRF pace foundation hasn't been that bad. Our few "fast" bowlers in recent years have trained there.

Don't know man. The "pace" academy has neither helped us unearth a genuine quick which was supposed to be its primary function, and neither has it helped in managing our current crop of fast bowlers who break down or regress after a season or two at intl level.

[Crookbond]

After Dennis Lillee and TA Sekhar I don't think the MRF Pace academy is the same.

[Ultimate_Game]

After Dennis Lillee and TA Sekhar I don't think the MRF Pace academy is the same.

MRF pace academy is only there to help friends & hanger-ons easy money.

[Lurker]

Sadanand Vishwanath's failure to turn his talent into a long term assett for India has little, or nothing, to do with how Indias think tank manages talent. It had more to do with family issues and his being drawn towards avenue to handle the misfortunes of life. Does BCCI, NCA have a role to play? Yes. But its high time we stopped mollycoddling our so called talents. If folks like Ishant Sharma can not handle themselves after almost 100 plus International games, including 40 plus test matches they deserve to be in situation they are in..and frankly kicked out. I am with Ian Chappell and Azharuddin school of thought on this one - If you make it to your National side you should be good enough to take responsibility for your cricket.

[Ultimate_Game]

Sadanand Vishwanath's failure to turn his talent into a long term assett for India has little, or nothing, to do with how Indias think tank manages talent. It had more to do with family issues and his being drawn towards avenue to handle the misfortunes of life. Does BCCI, NCA have a role to play? Yes. But its high time we stopped mollycoddling our so called talents. If folks like Ishant Sharma can not handle themselves after almost 100 plus International games, including 40 plus test matches they deserve to be in situation they are in..and frankly kicked out. I am with Ian Chappell and Azharuddin school of thought on this one - If you make it to your National side you should be good enough to take responsibility for your cricket.

Some time it's too much to ask youngsters when they strike it big. This is exactly where NCA and MRF academy should help out. Let me take the case of Irfan Patha as an example. Irfan was one of the young Indian bowlers with plenty of talent. His performance on his debut tour of Aus and in the series against Pakistan were proof of the same. His in-swing was deadly and he literally had everything going for him. But as soon as he hit a road-block, which is to be expected at intl level he didn't know where to turn to. He was seeking Chappells for advice one day and listening to Wasim the next day. In fact turning to so many folks did more harm than good. This is exactly where I want to see NCA & MRF pace academy to play a bigger role. Irfan should have been asked to spend some time at NCA or the pace academy and a consultant or team of consultants appointed by BCCI should have worked with him to sort his issues. But he never got such an assistance and look where he's now after fending for himself. Case 2 is Zaheer khan. In mid 2000s (2005-06) his form dropped to such an alarming level that he was dropped from India and Zak had to look towards county cricket to rejuvenate his career. Once again, where was NCA and the pace academy? If they can't help players of the caliber of Zaheer what exactly is their role? Zak was lucky he got the right advice/assistance in England else he would have been lost as well. Case 3 are Nehra & Balaji. Both were promising bowlers in early to mid 2000s before injuries impacted their career. Balaji, along with Irfan, was the man instrumental in us winning our maiden series in Pakistan and he was afflicted with stress fracture of lower back in 2005. Nehra sustained a shin injury around the same time. Both were left to their own devices with hardly any help from BCCI, NCA or the MRF pace academy. Nehra spent 2 years in widerness before making a comeback in IPL and Balaji is a shadow of his former self. There are other stories as well and I can very well add RP Singh and Ishant to the same group. It's not that any of these players were lazy and didn't put in the hard yards. It's just that they never got the help/advice/assistance they should have got from BCCI/NCA/MRF academy and had to fend for themselves. If they had been Australian players they would have got the right kind of assistance in the national academy which I think is run by Marsh or other top Australian players. Out here NCA and MRF pace academy serve no purpose. In fact they are so useless I would rather sign a contract with Australian academy or one of the counties in England to manage 10 of our players ever year so that they get access to right people and don't have to hunt for people to get advice from.

[rkt.india]

MRF pace foundation hasn't been that bad. Our few "fast" bowlers in recent years have trained there.

MRF is useless too. They cannot refine the fast bowlers flaws that are coming there likes of Rituraj, PK Dharma have such flawed actions and to an extent Aaron as well.

[Cricket Tragic]

How often do players go to MRF these days after playing for India? Isn't most of the time spent at the NCA? I'm not sure so that's why I'm asking.

[Lurker]

Some time it's too much to ask youngsters when they strike it big. This is exactly where NCA and MRF academy should help out. Let me take the case of Irfan Patha as an example. Irfan was one of the young Indian bowlers with plenty of talent. His performance on his debut tour of Aus and in the series against Pakistan were proof of the same. His in-swing was deadly and he literally had everything going for him. But as soon as he hit a road-block, which is to be expected at intl level he didn't know where to turn to.

Thats a well written, and well meaning, post UG. Oddly enough although with time, history often gets rose-tinted, in this case it is actually the opposite. Of the people that you gave example of - Irfan, Zaheer, Ishant, Munaf, Balaji, RP Singh etc - how many of them could be considered seriously talented? Barring Zaheer I would say rest of them were run of the mill really. Did they have their moments under the sun? Hell yeah. Irfan in Australia & Pakistan, Balaji in Pakistan, RP singh in England etc....but if any of these bowlers had popped up in Australia and South Africa say, with great facilities and experts, would the result have been any different? Perhaps no. I dont see how Irfan Pathan would have performed any better playing for South Africa say, or Balaji for Australia. These were all decent players at best who, to me, came very close to achieving what they possibly could. Maybe we, Indian fans, made them world beaters when they were clearly not. The only exception is Zaheer Khan, and like you mentioned, his turnaround came about after he got kicked out of the team, took that as an insult literally and worked his behind in England. Sure the English system helped him but it was he who ran in everyday and learned new tricks. Quite unlike Pathan whose modus operandi has always been a rather defensive - Oh dont ask me about my speed, I was never a 150 kph bowler anyway. xxx

[Cricket Tragic]

Agree with Lurks to an extent. How many of those bowlers were really world class?

[Ultimate_Game]

Thats a well written, and well meaning, post UG. Oddly enough although with time, history often gets rose-tinted, in this case it is actually the opposite. Of the people that you gave example of - Irfan, Zaheer, Ishant, Munaf, Balaji, RP Singh etc - how many of them could be considered seriously talented? Barring Zaheer I would say rest of them were run of the mill really. Did they have their moments under the sun? Hell yeah. Irfan in Australia & Pakistan, Balaji in Pakistan, RP singh in England etc....but if any of these bowlers had popped up in Australia and South Africa say, with great facilities and experts, would the result have been any different? Perhaps no. I dont see how Irfan Pathan would have performed any better playing for South Africa say, or Balaji for Australia. These were all decent players at best who, to me, came very close to achieving what they possibly could. Maybe we, Indian fans, made them world beaters when they were clearly not. The only exception is Zaheer Khan, and like you mentioned, his turnaround came about after he got kicked out of the team, took that as an insult literally and worked his behind in England. Sure the English system helped him but it was he who ran in everyday and learned new tricks. Quite unlike Pathan whose modus operandi has always been a rather defensive - Oh dont ask me about my speed, I was never a 150 kph bowler anyway. xxx

Yes, our bowlers were not ATGs but they weren't totally useless either. Not all your bowlers are Wasims, McGraths and Marsshalls. You need to supplement 1 or 2 world class with good ones. Look at Australia. Even in their heyday they just had McGrath & Warne. Rest of the support cast was Kasprowicz, Gillespie, Lee, Bichel, Nathan Bracken etc. Even now look at the Aussie bowlers in Hilfenhaus and Siddle. Are they really that talented? The difference between Aussie and their Indian counterparts has been the support and assistance afforded by Cricket Australia and national academy of Aus to their players. Look at how Hilfenhaus has come back from his injury and actually has added a yard or two to his bowling speed. To me guys like Sreesanth, Ishant, Irfan, Munaf etc. are not that different from bowlers like Bichel, Kapsprowicz, Bracken, Gillespie etc. It's just that we haven't managed to look after our bowlers and bring them along as well as the Aussies have.

[Lurker]

Yes, our bowlers were not ATGs but they weren't totally useless either. Not all your bowlers are Wasims, McGraths and Marsshalls. You need to supplement 1 or 2 world class with good ones. Look at Australia. Even in their heyday they just had McGrath & Warne. Rest of the support cast was Kasprowicz, Gillespie, Lee, Bichel, Nathan Bracken etc. Even now look at the Aussie bowlers in Hilfenhaus and Siddle. Are they really that talented? The difference between Aussie and their Indian counterparts has been the support and assistance afforded by Cricket Australia and national academy of Aus to their players. Look at how Hilfenhaus has come back from his injury and actually has added a yard or two to his bowling speed. To me guys like Sreesanth, Ishant, Irfan, Munaf etc. are not that different from bowlers like Bichel, Kapsprowicz, Bracken, Gillespie etc. It's just that we haven't managed to look after our bowlers and bring them along as well as the Aussies have.

Arent you arguing against your own case here UG. Lets compare Irfan with Hilfenhous. Ever since Irfan lost his mojo and got kicked out of the National side, rightfully so too, his atitude has been - Please dont expect me to be a 150 kph bowler, I was always a 130 kph. That whole argument is weird on so many levels - a) No Indian fan expected Irfan to be a 150 kph bowler. Ever! But what we did expect Irfan was to be in 138-142 kph range. This was not a huge expectation since Irfan started his career in that range anyway. If anything Indian fans could have expected, rightfully so, that he would up his speed to around 140 kph consistently, which clearly did not happen. b) Much as Irfan didnt up his speed, his speed actually went down. Now even this could have been acceptable had he gone McGrath or Akram route and added tool to his arsenal. Instead he lost pace, lost whatever skills he had and no wonder batsmen sorted him out rather easily. If after all that you have that kind of atitude I doubt MRF or NCA would have made any difference. When Dravid retired almost every player mentioned how he was the first one at practice, last to leave. Much as I have been critical of Sachin, he also went to Australia before the trip to get some practice. Didnt work in the end but you give props for taking the initiative. Ever heard Pathan bowling his heart out in Ranji getting his mojo back? Or Munaf bending his back? Or Sreesanth working on ironing out his chink? You think they could have been nurtured, I think their atitude ensured they eventually achieved what they were capable of. xxx

[Marut]

Agree with Lurks to an extent. How many of those bowlers were really world class?

Very few, it at all any. Which bowlers of ours can we imagine to be giving sleepless nights to batsmen? That is the definition of real talent.

[maniac]

I sympathise with all those players who couldn't make it into the Indian team especially back in the day due to regional and other dirty politics. Someone Like S.Vishwanath bought about his own spiral from drug and alcohol abuse much like L.Siva and Maninder from what I heard.good for him that he got his life back on track but talent in sports is as much of a mental skill as physical.

[Crookbond]

L. Siva was an alcoholic and drug abuse? :headshake: