After the dismal showing of the Indian Cricket Team in the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Newspaper, Blogs, Magazines and all the other mediums are currently carrying a surfeit of articles from former cricketers, current cricketers, experts, commentators and media men who have laid threadbare the problems afflicting the Indian Cricket. My article in just another drop in the ocean coming from a fan who has no worthwhile experience of playing cricket other than being a regular follower of the game. Therefore, armed with the little knowledge I have in cricket and using the the methods of process improvement and methods, I have tried to analyze what has gone wrong with Indian cricket.
But first, lets be honest to ourselves. Has something really gone wrong? I beg to differ. We have always been an average cricketing side with sporadic moments of glory . As far as I look into the past, I realize one thing. Our cricket team has always been composed of 3 or 4 naturally talented players with average cricketers completing the line up. Isn't this true even today? Why do we struggle to find even 20 extraordinary cricketers in a nation that accounts for more than 1/6th of the humanity of the world and which is cricket crazy. Why are our cricketers so inconsistent? Why do our dropped cricketers lament their exclusion inspite of their poor performances? The answer lies in the fact that our system produces very average cricketers.I have no qualms in admitting that our players lack in ability compared to stronger teams such as Australia or even Sri Lanka. Is there any use, therefore, in brickbating the players? They are doing what they can do best. We are expecting more than what they can accomplish.
Today we are not in a position to drop some of our most inconsistent performers simply because we don't have a bench strength to replace them.
The real problem lies in our infrastructure. We produce some of the worst fielders in the world, we have the most insipid bowling attack in the world (even Bangladesh has more sting in its attack), not even one fast bowler with express pace, not one fast bowler who can reverse swing at some pace and the less we talk we talk about the spinners the better. Our batsmen struggle on hard, bouncy, seaming, slow, spinning and all possible kinds of tracks that are known to exist. The only pitches where I have seen our batsmen flowering are the flat tailor made pitches for one day cricket in the subcontinent. Why? Who is to blame?
The administration ofcourse. Despite not wining outside the subcontinent in last 15-20 years, we still have not made any efforts to change the nature of pitches. Does the grassroot infrastructure make sure that good talent is spotted, supported, given the best of cricketing knowledge and relief from the other necessities of life so that he can concentrated fully on the game? Does our system ensure that he gets exposed to a competitive brand of cricket at the domestic level so that he is mentally strong and prepared to face the intricacies of International cricket. International Cricket is more about having the right attitude and mental strength. The NewZeland Cricket Team is the best example of this. Their team have some of the most average but mentally tough cricketers and they play their cricket the hard way. While our cricketers though more talented often fail to perform at that level. I can take numerous names who though extremely successful at the domestic level failed miserably at the International level.
I think we all now what is wrong with Indian cricket but the lackadaisical attitude of our administrators, who are more interested in making money and internal bickerings than in finding out and implementing a set up that acts as a long term solution and a panacea for the cricketing ills afflicting our country, will ensure that we continue to mantain our position in the bottom rungs of the cricketing ladder.
