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Journalism of Courage
NEW DELHI, MARCH 4: Robin Singh Jr, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Ashish Nehra, Gyanendra Pandey, Virender Sehwag, Sujith Somasundar, David Johnson, Atul Bedade, Devang Gandhi ….. the list of such cricketers who have either represented the country in big-time cricket in the recent past or are on the verge of wearing India caps in the near future seems to be unending. And some of them are only in their first or second season in Ranji Trophy.
How many of the above-mentioned players would have played for the country or even for their respective states in the 1960s or ’70s? Or even as late as in the 1980s? One or two might have just sneaked into the national squad. But that can be ascribed to the pulls and strings that come into operation in the selection of teams, whether they be school teams or state squads or even National sides.
Rajinder Goel (Southern Punjab, Delhi, Haryana) toiled season-after-season for almost three decades to capture a record number of 640 wickets in Ranji Trophy. Padmakar Shivalkar (Bombay)captured as many as 361 wickets playing for over two decades. Sarkar Talwar (Haryana, 345 wickets), Hyder Ali (Railways, 317), Rajinder Singh Hans (UP, 281), Hari Gidwani (Delhi, Bihar, 5451 runs) all worked wonders in domestic scene for a long period. But they were not destined to field in India colours.
It was a pity that Goel, Shivalkar, Hyder Ali and Hans (all left-arm spinners) played at a time when Bishan Singh Bedi was at his best. Then, fewer international matches were being played and it was very difficult to edge out established players. Now, things are different with more matches and more players.
Compared to those feats in domestic tournaments, the present-day cricketers who have made it to the national team rather easily have done little in comparison in the season or two they have played for respective states.The national selectors may be right in their perception of giving break to youngsters at the right time and especially when the player is in form, either with the bat or the ball.Hence, a Nehra gets his chance to play for the country in only his second first-class season, or a Sehwag finds a place in the list of 19 for the World Cup. In fact, the selectors need to be complimented for their foresight if the youngsters prove them right in the long run. Nehra, who claimed just one wicket against Sri Lanka, however, earned praise from none other than Sunil Gavaskar for his hard work on a batting wicket.
So far, so good. But will it be the same for others whose talent is no less than that of those who have been picked in recent months. One hopes the selectors do not give false hopes to the youngsters by playing them in one or two matches and discarding them. The cases of David Johnson and Robin Singh Jr are too recent to be forgotten.
Sarkar Talwar, who served as player and manager of the Haryana Ranji team for over three decades, feels that a cricketer should go through the grind at the domestic level before being selected at the national level. “There have been numerous examples ofplayers cracking at international level owing to the pressure and high expectations because of early induction into the national squad,” Talwar says.
“In our days, even a five-wicket haul against a strong Bombay was not enough to get into the India team. Now things have changed. Domestic performances are getting due weightage, at least partially. The selectors should persist with the boys for a few matches to allow them to prove their potential,” he adds.
Even a Gavaskar, a Kapil Dev and a Tendulkar proved their worth at school, college or Ranji Trophy level before getting the national selectors’ nod. Another former cricketer, had once warned against “giving India caps to all and sundry.” He had then cried: “Don’t make India colours cheap.”One only hopes the current trend of awarding India caps after one or two performances’ inspires the young ones to prove themselves worth of the trust reposed in them by the selectors.
