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The panacea for Indian cricket

Rediff is the best theoretical gymnasium for anyone interested in Indian cricket. I have been a passive spectator at this gymnasium for a couple of years and have loved every moment of it. For a change I have ventured to try my hand (or should it be my 'body') and be an active participant. I am impressed with the columnists on parade here. Starting with the numero ono cricket editor Prem, who calls a spade a spade and spends late hours providing live commentary through Harsha, who has a limitless passion for things Indian cricket, and 'Armchair Expert' with his/her inimitable style and decisive analytical skills, to a range of guest commentators who occasionally come up with new insights, we have a healthy and intellectual debate on what ails Indian cricket, and what the possible solutions are. Here is my two cents worth to be thrown into the pot.

I have been living in New Zealand for the last 15 years and have been a witness to the resurgence of New Zealand cricket. Let me outline NZ cricket and just give you a brief account of cricket development from a very young age. This is based on first hand experience of having two sons go through this system. You can be part of a local cricket club when you turn five and there is no distinction made between boys and girls. You spend an hour a weekend, mainly on Saturdays; it does not involve any matches; just have fun with a bit of exercise and some cricket and play within your own team. They learn how to hold the bat, what is the ideal bowling action, etc. from that age.

Parents take up the coaching role, but the local cricket association provides balls and wickets. Then after a couple of years, you move on to the next grade that involves one match a weekend with other teams on a rotation basis. An evening a week for an hour or so is set aside for coaching and practice. People with coaching credentials take care of individual teams and practice involves running, fielding followed by batting and bowling. This ensures that there is sufficient attention paid for warm up, catching and throwing before actually playing.

The weekend match consists of 24 overs a side; every one gets to bowl at least 2 overs; and every pair gets to bat for a maximum of four overs. Weekend fixtures are published in the local newspaper on Thursdays and the cricket association covers the newspaper costs. Every match has man of the match awards (provided by sponsors say Pizza Hut with pizza vouchers) and a debriefing session.

Also, once a season they get to meet with the provincial team members who provide specialised coaching, special prizes (e.g. provincial jerseys, caps, etc.) and get free tickets to international matches (for the kids, not for parents). Then you move to 40 overs a side matches and boys only teams, etc. By the time you hit secondary school, you have played the game for six to seven years, learnt the basics, understood the importance of fitness and correct posture and have a feel for what provincial and international cricket is all about and most important of all what it means to don the national colours.

The reason for my detailed description above of NZ cricket development (or for that matter Australia as it follows the same model) is to bring to your attention that India is nowhere near a similar infrastructure nor is there any plan to move towards a scheme like that. Now we know after the disastrous season - where we not only lost five Tests in a row, we couldn't even win more than two ODIs out of eight - that we have problems in batting, bowling and fielding. What else is left?

We are now just ahead of England and Zimbabwe in ranking. We have always lived on 'raw talent', 'hope' and some 'luck' unlike the Kiwis or Aussies who go through the hard grind. It is therefore no wonder that a Darren Lehman or Mike Bevan can't find a place in the Test eleven; or that a Brett Lee comes into his first Test captures five wickets and bowls like he has been playing Test cricket for donkey's years. In Tamil we say "einthil vilayathathu eimbadhil vilayuma" meaning 'when you are fifty, it is not easy to change your habits picked up when you were five'.

If you are still scratching your head thinking, "When will this guy actually say something relating to the title of this piece? Why is he wasting my time?", I ask for your patience. You will have your answers soon. I am a management consultant by profession. I have read lots and lots of articles - Ponting vs Dravid; Steve Waugh vs Sachin Tendulkar; zonal representation in the selection panel; why should player A be in the team; why should player B not in the team; designer pitches vs sporting pitches; captain/coach being part of the selection committee; etc., etc.). They are all valid comments and recommendations, but I, wearing my consultant hat, strongly believe that they do not address the deep-rooted malaise of Indian cricket but they rather touch up the periphery. If you perform a careful diagnostic study of Indian cricket, you will realise that the root cause of all ills is the BCCI, the supreme governing body vested with the responsibility of the running of the game in the country.

So what does the consultant in me say?

Business outsourcing is the panacea - outsource everything - national, regional, lock stock and barrel to an overseas group say consisting of Aussies and Kiwis. Why go for piecemeal arrangements - a coach here, a physio there, a turf specialist here, orthopaedic surgeons there? Abolish the existing BCCI and its associate state level bodies. No more of this regional bias; no more of 'only 1% is pumped into coaching'; no more of 'I'm the honorary secretary and I'll show the coach where he belongs', etc.

Even taking into account all the currency conversion factors, it will be a worthwhile investment if we have the good of Indian cricket at heart. Whoever gets the contract will have no axe to grind, they will rather focus on accountability, development of the game from grassroots level, performance and results and above all customer satisfaction. Money will be channelled where there is a business case and where there is a strong linkage to punter's happiness. You and I will have better stadia and better facilities; team selection will be based on merit; people with relevant competencies will hold positions of responsibility; overall it will be a professional show with minimum politics. Like any outsourcing venture, I guess there will be a transition period from the current scenario. I reckon it will take at least two years before this proposal is accepted and the outsourcing contract winner sets up their shop. So what do we do in the mean time - simply do nothing. India should stop playing all cricket in the interim.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have just completed the strategy development phase and now it is up to you all to ensure that a successful implementation phase kicks in ASAP.