Chasing the IPL chimera

In the post-IPL era,however,donning India colours is hardly the sole motivation for parents to push their kids to sacrifice their summer vacations. Getting an entry into one of the IPL franchises is. It’s a common request that cricket coaches around the city have had to deal with ever since the IPL with all its money and glamour captured the imagination of both children and parents alike.

“Can you guarantee that my kid will play in the IPL one day?”

The harried coaches are often forced to provide false promises just to fuel these over-enthused hopes. That the IPL is an uber-competitive league with some of the best players around the world involved in it doesn’t faze these ambitious parents from fantasizing about their kids one day becoming the cynosure of the nation.

“Please have some patience is the only advice I can give to parents these days. In today’s world,they end up being more worried than their pupils,” says Gopal Koli,coach of IES Sule Guruji,on the sidelines of a function organised by Sanjeevini Cricket Academy in suburban Mumbai.

Unfortunately,Test cricket,insist the coaches,has taken a back seat in most parents’ wish-list. It’s no longer the main course. The traditional format has almost been reduced to being a dessert option,something which can be avoided. It’s only the IPL it seems that can satisfy their insatiable hopes. Playing for India can wait.

Apart from being a slam-bang format,the IPL also promises rapid fame and the opportunity to make some quick money—a lot of it in fact. It’s these potential attractions that push parents to gamble on their kids’ futures.

Kids need their space

Every year nearly 5000 budding cricketers take part in various camps across Mumbai. The charges at these camps depend generally on the clubs themselves,and the number of star names that they have produced in the past. Shivaji Park for obvious reasons is a favourite haunt for parents to send their kids. That’s been the case ever since Sachin Tendulkar graced television sets around the world more than two decades ago. But now there are other luminaries that these doting parents want their kids to grow into. Whether it is a Chris Gayle,Lasith Malinga or even someone like a Ajinkya Rahane. And the future cricket stars are more often than not accompanied by their folks,who also try to play an active role in getting their wards some exclusive attention from the coaches.

“Give them some space and don’t put too much pressure on them,” explains renowned coach Vidhyadhar Padkar,“Let them perform and sweat harder. Parents these days are happy with scores of 50-60,but these runs will not take them anywhere,not even the IPL. If they want to make it big,they will have to score more runs.”

Sadly,in a way cricket has turned into an investment plan where parents have started expecting quick returns. The coaches,however,insist that there are no short-cuts in any sport. And the path to success is one filled with lots of hardships and sacrifices.

Veteran coach Vilas Godbole for one never fails to narrate a story about Tendulkar during his Mumbai U-15 days. Godbole still remembers the incident like it happened just yesterday.

Despite having scored plenty of runs in the match,Tendulkar had expressed his displeasure at being given out. It was more a case of him being cross with himself rather than indulging in unsportsmanlike conduct. Back then,Godbole had been the manager of the city’s U-15 team.

“I always keep telling these young boys that particular incident. He was just 13 then. Sachin was included in the Mumbai U-15 side and he had scored three back to back hundreds. But he was upset with the way he got out in his fourth innings. Tendulkar is a live example in today’s time of how your approach should be as a young cricketer,” says Godbole,who is Mumbai’s U-22 coach now.

But legends like Tendulkar aren’t born everyday. And the short-term superstars that the IPL produces on an annual basis,meanwhile,don’t repeat their heroics or enjoy the same amount of fame for any prolonged period.

Mumbai’s senior coach Sulakshan Kulkarni gives the example of Ajinkya Rahane and Saurashtra’s run machine Cheteshwar Pujara. He insists that every youngster should yearn to be successful across all formats.

“Just see Rahane,nobody before this IPL thought he will be so successful. He is not a swashbuckling batsman but he proved that even sticking to the basics of batting can help you to do well in all formats. I told these youngsters that the key is in developing a hunger for playing big innings like a Pujara,” Kulkarni says.

Despite the pressure from the parents to produce future IPL prospects,the coaches are intent on teaching their wards the basics of the game to start with. The perfect swing of the bat and the focus on hitting the ball along the floor and keep fancy elements like the switch-hit for a later period. There is no dearth of wannabe Kevin Pietersens in these camps though. Not every child from here will make it to the next grade either. Very few will in fact. But the trend of wanting to produce IPL stars is a dangerous one,believe the coaches. There is,however,little that they can do about it.