Cricket free market: Singapore shops for young Indian talent

That’s why SCA secretary Anil Kalaver and Director of Coaching Brendon Kuruppu, a former Sri Lanka wicket-keeper, have been in Pune for the past two days conducting trials of cricketers from Maharashtra and beyond. The plan is simple: select four boys in the 18-22 age group and train them as coach-cum-players at Cricket Australia (CA)’s Adelaide Academy. The ‘coach’ label is important, it will get them the all-important visas.

For this, and for playing on weekends and coaching during the week, they will be paid 2,500 Singapore dollars a month ($1Rs 26) on a three-year contract with a ten-year ‘commitment’. Prompted by the ICC relaxing rules regarding eligibility of expatriates in Associate Members’ teams, the SCA officials have been selling the Singapore Dream on two planks: a better quality of life in the city-state, and the relative shortage of top-level cricketing opportunities in India.

And, in what should be a source of concern to the BCCI, the players are biting. One has already signed up: former India Under-19 off-spinner Mulewa Dharmichand, who played Ranji for Karnataka. Two will be recruited from the Pune lot, while the fourth will be from Sri Lanka.

The mood at the Cadence Cricket Academy here, where 15 of Maharashtra’s prospective Ranji cricketers and Delhi’s rising star Dhruv Mohan were put through their paces, was upbeat. While most have played a decent level of cricket — under-19, under-25, Ranji Trophy and Ranji one-dayers — few have qualms of switching allegiance to a new land, one where cricket lags way behind football.

‘‘The choice is simple’’, says Rajesh Mahurkar. ‘‘Life in Singapore may be much more secure, at least we will have a fixed salary for doing what we like most.’’

For off-spinning all-rounder Parag More, the reason is more related to ‘‘gaining knowledge and playing in a different atmosphere’’. Asked what idea they had of the ‘‘different atmosphere’’, the hopefuls laugh it off. ‘‘Please do not ask anything on that, if we do not get selected we have to play here only.’’

More then adds to his earlier answer: he will get to play a higher grade of cricket ‘‘without going through the system.’’

But what is the guarantee of Singapore playing one-day internationals let alone Tests in the next 50 years? ‘‘I am there I will make sure that Singapore qualifies for the 2007 World Cup, I will give it my best,’’says Sagar Kulkarni.

Not everyone, though, bought the dream. Just before the day’s trials were completed two — Delhi’s Mohan and Pune’s Chetan Thorat — opted out after being named in the Ranji probables list of their respective associations.

Says Mohan: ‘‘Playing for Delhi is any day better than for Singapore.’’ That doesn’t deter the SCA team. Says Kuruppu: ‘‘We are looking at the 2011 World Cup, not 2007. We are looking at the future.’’ The SCA secretary Kalaver is much more plain. ‘‘We have told them we are investing in you, so please give us a committment.’’