It feels great to write after a long hiatus. During this time life got busier but my passion for cricket was been alive. Only my close friends got to hear my thoughts.
This season has started off with a bang. The Irani trophy and the Challenger series are already over. And the few who performed well still remain on the sidelines. From that angle this season is no different from the previous ones! I am convinced that there is no one thing that can be changed to see the ever talented Indian team perform consistently well. In the past I have named the players, the captaincy, the selectors, and the administrators as the reason for the team's failures. All of these have changed except the team's inconsistent performance. I am convinced that the entire system needs to change including the press and the fans. But that is too far fetched. Although my optimistic self feels that if Obama can be the US President then any thing is possible. I will keep hoping!
Overall the selectors led by Srikanth have done a decent job. They have tried to bring every visible talent from the various parts of the country to the forefront. Even though these names don't become household names, the players now have an opportunity to get a small share of the pie. That I think is healthy. Cricketers (not just the 'men in blue') are now able to make a decent living playing their passion. This should encourage parents to send their kids without any reservations. The credit needs to go to BCCI.
Unfortunately many of these player's hopes and aspirations end there regardless of how talented they are. Only the extremely lucky ones get to play for the country. And the way things have been going, everyone seem to want to promote and project just these select few. For BCCI to increase revenue they need higher competition for telecasting rights and sponsorship from major firms who in-turn need these 'super stars' to advertise and sell their products. To create 'super stars', longevity is a must (regardless of a player's form). So for the business of Cricket to continue to make more money, a few select players have to continue playing for at least 5-10 years. Out of this need are born players like Yuvraj and Harbajan Singh. The rest have to be satisfied by playing the domestic circuit, making their decent living and being popular within their close circle of friends and family.
I will be watching the talented names from last domestic season: Dhuwal Kulkarni, Abhinav Mukund, Ajinkya Rahane, Harshad Khadiwale, KB Arun Karthik, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Added to the mix this year are some of the ICL players who are back after a taste of 'real life'. The few names to look out for are Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Rajamani Jesuraj, Ambati Rayudu, Stuart Binny, and TP Singh. The other names are the India hopefuls Rohit Sharma, Abhishek Nayar, Pragyan Ojha, Irfan Pathan, Piyush Chawla, and the ever green Subramaniam Badrinath. Thanks to the IPL we already hearing a few more names of which Manish Pandey stands out.
I hope this season is exciting and competitive as its been in the past. I also hope that the public learns to embrace domestic cricket as they have done with the IPL. This will increase the demand for having domestic cricket on TV and these talented players will then become household names instead of Warner, Pomersbach, Harris, Nannes, and van Wyk.
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Aravind I think you make some valuable points.
Talking about changes to the system here are my few additions:
1. Need talent scouts to spot & fast track budding talents, don't depend on the system alone
2. Fielding must become an elimination criteria for selection just like fitness. and form
3. Runs scored off misfielding tracked as a career statistic
4. Mandatory bench utilization, don't pick if you don't need, no money for site seeing please
5. On 2 consecutive failures utilize bench
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