Is the BCCIs “catch ‘em when they are young” policy working?
Posted on Aug 19, 2008 by Scorpicity |Oh no! I would not want to believe so in such a meaningless system. I was deeply disappointed to know about the selection of Kohli and Ojha into the national team for the Sri Lankan series. It is not that I have something against them… these two are fine players who should in some time given their talent hopefully make it into the team. However where in this world today are their places being earned. A U19 player with a few fine performances under his belt automatically means a direct fast-track passport to the national team. That’s the Indian selection policy for you, grinning to the brim on the queries of their western counterparts on how can they unearth such young talent! The problem with this is that these talents are half-done cookies no way ready to do the full-monty, last the long mile.
Taking some examples of a few players who have surfaced for India under this policy, isn’t it obvious to look and see where this system stands today.
Mohammed Kaif came, dazzled, prodded for long and got dropped… no where in the scene today.
Raina, Pathan, Parthiv all came under the bandwagon… all initially dazzled and fell flat. Raina took the grind of the domestic circuit, excelled and was rightfully rewarded for a comeback. Pathan looks pale for quite sometime and Parthiv is still terrible with his glove work. Yuvraj Singh may be the biggest glimmer of that policy and yet after so many years, he is not an established player… in comparison look at Sangakarra. Gautam Gambhir went through the grind and established his supremacy in the domestic system followed by Badrinath. It took Gautam years to get back in and the other still the third choice bench warmer watching some u19 guy get a fast track ticket. The point is some of the ones who have made a better comeback distinctly are the ones who have gone through the grind and improved their game and temperament.
These fast-tracked guys may do well but recent history has shown them to get blunt quickly due to their lack of roundness and finesse in every aspect of the game and mental ability. More than this, the important question is why then have a system at all! Why have a domestic circuit… a larger and more competitive pool of cricketers battling it out! To start with, first of all, the domestic circuit has to be considerably trimmed down, with far lesser teams involved, rather than being politically correct and offer a zillion teams of states, smaller than the colonies I have lived in. The second aspect is if the domestic circuit be defined as the next level of the system, ensure the policy is in line with no by-pass surgeries unless a talent really oozes to the likes of being a sheer genius.
Surely, the reports on some members of the recent u19 world cup winning team, forging their age, don’t look false to me. Looking at the system offering them a fair better chance, it looks believable! And that would be sad for all parties involved in the game especially some deserving hard working cricketers.
At end of the day, after so many years, the selection committee has to introspect on this policy and see how well it has worked, as it stands today. And for importantly, what we are loosing in the process, a breakdown of a system, which is never being given a chance to show us what it has got.
by Ottayan, on August 19 2008 @ 8:07 am
A fast - track to failure.
by Straight Point, on August 19 2008 @ 11:17 am
i would have loved this post say after 3/4th match of current series to see pattern…
cant believe that this is said about team who was finalist in last two tournaments and won CB series in oz…before you say that cb finals were won by riding on sachin centuries only…check again gg was highest scorer of the series and bowlers won it for us as 250 something for oz at their own den is like peanuts…
anyway…
when collective experience of more than 100 centuries and 50K runs failed against mendis how can you expect them to come straight away and whack him…
only batsman which played in tests too was gg…who did not faced mendis in this odi…
give them some time mate and i am sure they will make their own way out of mendis…as i have been saying even if two players out of raina, kohli, badri and ys make their presence felt at middle irrespective of result of this series i will take it…
by scorpicity, on August 19 2008 @ 11:53 am
Otts… its not about the failures which is worrying… it is about featuring people who have not deserved a place by competing in a larger talent pool.
by scorpicity, on August 19 2008 @ 12:09 pm
Pan my friend… you got this post totally wrong… It is not remotely a reflection of the current series or the CB series. I have no problem in featuring a fresh young blood Indian team and welcome it irrespective of the failures. Am commenting specifically on India’s policy of featuring people straight out of the u19 pool which they have done for the last 8-10 years. The case of Kohli or ojha is a fast-track and history has shown that fast-track has not done well for us in the long term.
The case of gautam gambhir is in fact my strong case of an example of someone who was featured very early before he had developed all the skills and mental strength to go through the grind and failed and looked frail with many chinks in his armour.
Why is gautam successful now years down the line? He went through the grind of the domestic circuit… competed against a larger talent pool, improved his cricket and came up on top and hence deserves his place! The same can be said about Raina, who has gone through the grind and is making a comeback. Both of them have come up as better cricketers.
So when this system obviously works, my question is what is the need or compulsion to take a Kohli or an ohja who have not gone through the grind of domestic cricket? My call is to review this system of fast track and see where it stands today… the results are not too pleasing.
There is no problem in featuring a young Indian team but it makes sense to pick young cricketers who have excelled in the tougher domestic circuit. Kohli and Ohja are good players and may well come good in this series or in the future but then it is missing the point… the case of learning the ropes at the international level is disastrous… Raina’s meteoric debut and fall is a classic and his comeback through the domestic cricketing system sets things straight.
by scorpicity, on August 19 2008 @ 12:13 pm
Pan… to continue… even if a kohli scores a double hundred and ojha picks a tenner… i wouldn’t agree with their selections. Coz… we have seen this pattern. For the sake of a proper system, they should prove that they are among the best in the domestic circuit where the talent pool and competition is tougher… young they can be… but fundamentally are they the best?
by Straight Point, on August 19 2008 @ 1:04 pm
sorry for not getting the point…my mistake…
by Naked Cricket, on August 19 2008 @ 1:05 pm
Good stuff scorpi, needs to be said, and then said some more.
While i was reading yr comments it struck me that in a way, Kohli and Ohja (both clearly undercooked) make some of the others look a lot better than they really are. In a way, an Ohja pales in front of a Bhajji, and a Kohli in front of the other batsmen. Sounds warped, but then, so is the selection.
by scorpicity, on August 19 2008 @ 8:59 pm
NC..ohja is not the first choice… mishra is obviously way better than him… perhaps mishra may be of harby’s standard. Kohli comes with a a’team century that so-called earned his place… they may be good… but this isn’t the way a system should be run.
BTW whatever happenned to ramesh powar… outcast now I suppose LOL… looking forward to your cracking posts dude.
by UTP, on August 19 2008 @ 10:57 pm
I dont agree with that policy either. Such decisions have only wasted players. So what if Tendulkar and some other greats made it. Those were the exceptions.
I always give examples of the Aussies. You have to graduate into the First Lineup and it takes years and years of hard work, maturity and after so much hard work and toil you work hard to keep the spot.
Thats how champion teams are made.
by Wasim, on August 20 2008 @ 3:01 am
In my opinion the policy of inducting youth was right and inevitable but the implementation of this policy has been wrong, if the selection is not done on merit then obviously the system won’t work and the policy will lose its objective, Indian team is going through transition and unfortunately this transition has not been as smooth as it was anticipated given the success in Australia and T20 cup,but the transition is due and inevitable I think the youngsters should be given time to adjust and most of them will get settled when they play for both the test and the Odi team.
by Soulberry, on August 20 2008 @ 3:03 pm
Completely agree with the article Scorpi.
In many ways, IMO, at a comparable stage of their careers, I rate Virat Kohli as a talent who will end up with a more fruitful career overall than either Yuvi or Kaif. That said, this method of fast-tracking is certain to limit him to their kind of results.
Earn your way through must be the mantra. How many points you earn at different stages must also be ratiionalize…an U19 WC victory (or T20) must not be given more points than it really is worth. At best, it helps earmark talent for closer monitoring and directing valuable resources towards developing identified talent.
One could easily make the mistakes as India did with Yuvi, Kaif and Sodhi, and Pakistan did with Hasan Raza and Faisal Iqbal.
One from the archives of Cricinfo….the title of the article is so apt - Lost in Transit.
by Soulberry, on August 20 2008 @ 3:14 pm
The advantage Kohli hasover other previous young stars is having played a season and a half of useful Ranji before his U19 win! Kohli was instrumental in Delhi’s victory.
And most importantly, Kohli’s game is rooted in traditional style. Yet, he has some way to go…better for him and India.
There is only so much help playing out of your league can provide…the damage potential of it is far more dangerous.
by scorpicity, on August 21 2008 @ 9:03 am
UTP… quite right… Sachin was of genius material. Even he took an awful lot of time to start being productive for India.
by scorpicity, on August 21 2008 @ 9:09 am
Wasim… by and large am quite happy generally on the selections and the direction the selectors have gone with picking a younger team. What has stood out here is that all these players selected come with big performances for over a couple of seasons in the domestic circuit. While this is a good system and policy, I was disappointed seeing them go back to their obsession of picking people straight from the u19 pool. These 2 in question are no doubt good players but they need to prove they are better than many available. It is absolutely sad to see India’s second best batsman Badrinath not feature in the scheme of things… He ought to be the logical first choice.
by scorpicity, on August 21 2008 @ 10:16 am
Soulberry… like you said he looks quite good and is definitely a potential. But there are also many glaring chinks that can be worked on.
But Kohli being the first choice and Badri being ignored is a huge let down. It is shocking to see badri being featured as the third choice. I personally would like to give him a constant run of 40 matches… even if he fails badly. When I see India invest in rohit sharma playing him close to 25 matches now and still finding his feet with an average of about 25 odd, I cannot comprehend why this is not being offered to Badri. On an another note, I would like to see Badri play way up the order.
by scorpicity, on August 21 2008 @ 10:19 am
And soulberry… in the case of Pakistan and Faisal Iqbal, it is a clear case of nepotism pressure put by their now mafia don BIL Javed Miandad.
by vmminerva, on August 21 2008 @ 10:13 pm
Scorpy, well said, man. Interesting that we both wrote more or less the same thing on the same day! Btw, I though Badri did fairly well. There were a few crappy shots, but there were also some solid backfoot ones which foretell a good future. He should bat at #3.
by Wasim, on August 22 2008 @ 12:48 am
I also agree that the direction was right but you would agree that the selection has not been done on merit, Misra, Venugopal Rao and Badrinath deserved a chance way ahead of some of the players who have already been selected and playing for India.
by scorpicity, on August 23 2008 @ 8:59 am
VM… I hope he grabs this opportunity… contrary to what many believe, I don’t think he is very technical but he ought to be given a decent run. If rohit can get 25+ games to prove his worth and is being allowed to find his feet, why can’t this guy.
by scorpicity, on August 23 2008 @ 8:59 am
Absolutely Wasim… couldn’t agree more… there has been some bypasses.
by Soulberry, on August 31 2008 @ 12:07 pm
If vengy’s glee at MSD’s success is anything to go by, we could have the young catches sooner than expected.
by scorpicity, on September 2 2008 @ 5:12 pm
Soulberry… sorry for the delay in reply…was traveling again.
Yup… I saw that interview by vengy and his glee sure suggested that the noose will be tightened on a few. I still feel it is a bit early for them.
by Soulberry, on September 5 2008 @ 6:54 pm
And Gary K’s comments. Will it be after the three series or sooner. Maybe after the Pakistan series, or during that series…
by scorpicity, on September 6 2008 @ 3:09 pm
Soulberry… the series against England would feature new faces and change of guard. The question is are they going to dust kumble. If Kumble is to continue as a bowler, then they may not change the captaincy anyway.