There have been a lot of news items floating around on Indian cricket over the last few days. Mostly, these have been gossip. Some, however, are relevant and raise a few eyebrows. For example, we have all made stories out of senior players joining practice with their state teams and agreeing to play Ranji Trophy. Yet, it is only natural that they’d do so, isn’t it? The Ranji Trophy is India’s premier domestic competition and it is only natural that everyone would play if there is no schedule clash.
In fact, if someone doesn’t, that is news and not the other way round. The sad truth is that the culture had become such that national team players playing the Ranji trophy was like them doing the domestic tournament a favour. The reality is that they are not. It is obligatory that they play, and they ought to and should. Things need to change and better late than never. If someone doesn’t play and has no real reason for skipping it, the selectors and the BCCI should make note and take adequate action.
The other news item doing the rounds is that the BCCI could impose curbs on the number of days wives or girlfriends can be on tour. Also, players would be instructed to travel together and not separately. The first could be a two-edged sword. The presence of wives or families is not necessarily counter-productive. There is enough research on the subject to prove this point. It could well be that players with young families feel better mentally with them around. The Board would do well to consider this reality.
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The travelling together part is, however, non-negotiable. One wonders when and how this even happened that some players started traveling separately and not necessarily with the team. Such a thing reeks of a very different culture and should be done away with immediate effect. Wives or family members should be capable of handling travel on their own, and there are enough examples in the past of them doing so.
Sample this from Sachin Tendulkar’s Playing It May Way: “Just before the tournament (the 1999 World Cup) started Anjali decided to go back to London, leaving me to focus solely on my cricket. In the second trimester of her pregnancy and with one-and-a-half-year-old Sara with her, it must have been immensely difficult for her to negotiate things on her own. While I missed her badly and desperately wanted to be with her to help out, there was little I could do but appreciate what she was doing for me and the family.”
Going forward, Indian cricket needs to get back to the basics and not overdo things. India did not lose because of the presence of wives or girlfriends on tour. India lost because the team did not play well. So, while team bonding is essential, steps which aren’t really warranted should be avoided. As far as domestic cricket is concerned, we have grown up hearing of legends like Sunil Gavaskar honing their skills in the Ranji Trophy. To not see current stalwarts playing the domestic tournament was a bit difficult for old-school scribes like us to digest. Glad to know things are changing again.
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