Play it straight

These are celebration times in the Indian cricket, or so we are told. After ensuring creditable series victories in both formats of the game, the selection committee apparently faced a problem of riches while picking the squad to the West Indies. There is nothing to worry about the future of Indian cricket because the youngsters have taken charge. The series win over Zimbabwe, achieved in absence of four key players, mainly by youngsters, is hyped as an indication of things to come in the future.

And I can't stop wondering how easily things change in a nation perpetually starved for cricket action. Just a few months ago, when the team returned from South Africa, there were people who called for the sacking of non-performing players, demanded a change in captaincy and talked about preparing livelier tracks at the domestic level. Now, after series victories over two relatively weaker teams, we are again talking about a bright future for Indian cricket.

It may not be the right time to say this but the fact remains that there will be more heartbreaks than joy for the Indian cricket in the near future. Since we are travelling to the West Indies, England and New Zealand in the coming months, many aspects of our cricket will be cruelly exposed once more. It does not matter how many talented players we have in the team. Unless the BCCI lays down clear-cut standards in selection and grooms the players properly, we will continue to make weak opposition stronger at home and lose series abroad.

To be able to perform consistently at the highest level, a player should know on what criteria was he selected and what is expected from him in the team. If ability is not the criteria to be selected, it hurts the game in two ways. First, it stops really good players who are not influential or financially well from making it to the national team and second, even the players who are in the national team are concerned more with being in the good books of the selectors than winning matches for the country. When there are no real standards set, you get players playing for their place in the team rather than trying to win matches for their country. Players will know that if there are no prescribed standards for selection, there are no set standards to remain in the team either. This partly contributes to the inconsistent performance of our team.

A few months ago, there were reports in the media indicating rampant corruption at the junior levels in Mumbai, the nerve center of Indian cricket. It was reported that many selectors openly demanded bribes from the young aspirants to pick them for the under-14 and under-19 teams. Unfortunately, it didn't evoke the same kind of response as the Mike Denness issue although the issue was potentially much more dangerous and damaging. BCCI, recognizing that the issue was not hot with the general public, limited itself to issuing some statements and sweeping the matter under the carpet. I don't remember BCCI taking any action in that regard till now and I'll be delighted if I am proved wrong.

Many a times, the future of a sport in a country is decided based on how its guardians conduct themselves off the field. Australia is a world champion not only because they play great cricket, but also because the administrative body for cricket in that country makes its best efforts to maintain transparency in everything they do. So, when Steve Waugh is stripped off his captaincy, people argue only about the exactitude of the decision and not the intention of selectors. But in India, when a Deep Dasgupta continues to enjoy the backing of selectors despite his poor run, the integrity of selectors is questioned and rightly so. What separates both these seemingly identical actions of the selectors is a single attribute: transparency.

Steve Waugh may be a dejected man, but he knows exactly why he is out of the team and exactly what it takes to get back into the team. He knows that the standards are same for other players also and there are no reasons other than pure cricketing ability that makes or breaks the career of a player, including himself. But in India, an Ajay Ratra or a Gautam Gambhir may wonder what in heaven they need to do to get into the Test team. Ajay Ratra does not find a place in the team even if he is the best option available and Gautam Gambhir cannot make it to the team even when he is in form and the team desperately needs a steady opening pair.

Time and again, the BCCI has given indications that performance is not the sole criteria to pick the players for the national squad. Ganguly, who is in poor form, continues to be a captain when Sehwag sits out; it's national news if Dasgupta catches anything but Ajay Ratra and M S K Prasad continue to be mere spectators. You don't have to be a genius to figure out there is something wrong.

And the consequences are there to be seen at the highest level. In the past few years, we have witnessed the meteoric rise of many players to stardom and their subsequent failures in maintaining the standards expected from them. Sunil Joshi, Vijay Bharadwaj, Ashish Nehra, Laxmiratan Shukla, the list is endless. Of course, many of these players were unable to perform and withstand the pressure of playing at the highest level. But the question still remains, did the BCCI make any effort to talk to the players and try to find out what ails them? I seriously doubt that.

Preparing fast tracks may be the need of the hour, but spotting the talent and grooming it is equally important. Jagmohan Dalmiya and his friends, who have nothing but the interest of the game at their heart, would do Indian cricket a huge favour if they start setting things straight at the grass root level. Try to curb corruption, lay down standards for selection and adhere to those standards. When you spot a good player, groom him properly and, for cricket's sake, maintain transparency in your actions. You may not notice the results when we are winning at home against weak oppositions. But you will definitely notice it when winning consistently becomes a habit with Indian team.

Especially winning abroad.

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Mail Raju Shanbhag