The National Football League begins with a lot of money and little promise, the Premier Hockey League debuts with a lot of expectation and little corporate support. Hopefully by the time the two get over we will have reinforced a couple of forgotten facts; that Indians can play against each other and make for interesting sport and that a strong domestic product is the only basis for a strong national team. People close their eyes sometimes and complain when all they need to do is to open them and spot the opportunity. Indian cricket, which thanks to Indian football, hockey and the Olympic association, grows stronger by the day, has a blow hot blow cold attitude towards the domestic league as well. A start has been made, some decent cricket produced but there are still too many teams and nobody can watch them play because they are not on television. For example, as a cricket lover I am very excited by the run of scores Niraj Patel of Gujarat has produced but I cannot make up my mind about him because I haven’t seen him play a ball. For India’s domestic cricket structure to throw up stars they first need to be seen and noticed, they need to feel important. Newspapers can do that to some extent, and they already have with Niraj Patel and Venugopal Rao. But television does more than just that. It raises local sentiment, it attracts local sponsors, it creates a local buzz. And it stokes debate. The Ranji Trophy this year has been badly let down by the absence of television. Funnily, I remember seeing some nondescript youngsters playing poor cricket! Some priorities are difficult to decipher! But the Ranji Trophy has other problems and a large number of those come from Delhi. Selectors have been threatened with knives, the association has been gheraoed by students of the University who forced the inclusion of players into the probables, selectors have seen a different team in the next day’s newspapers from the one they picked, sometimes they don’t know of meetings at all, people run away with tickets because they aren’t made managers, then two are appointed. Any self-respecting corporation would have sacked its franchise by now and there is little doubt that, even in a murky world, Delhi is now a terrible place to play cricket; which is a pity because there is so much talent coming from there. I am so bitterly disappointed that there hasn’t been a word from the BCCI about what has been happening in Delhi. Further proof that the vote is more important than the well-being of young cricketers. Elsewhere, Parthiv Patel could only have grown after a season of first class cricket behind the stumps, and in the top order, for Gujarat. VVS Laxman showed what a strong influence he is by taking Hyderabad to the semi-final. Railways continues to be the unsung star of Indian cricket. And Mumbai is still the best team in India though I would fancy Punjab to challenge them. Mumbai really show up the Ranji Trophy for what it is. They have been the dominant team in India for the last couple of years and yet nobody in that team is seriously knocking on the doors of national selection. There is one other item on my wish list this year. Much like my list of things-to-do, this only seems to have additions, hardly any items ticked off! I am convinced the time has come for the women’s cricket association to merge with the BCCI. It is happening in most parts of the world and it must happen now because India is a very competitive women’s team that is suffering because they need the infrastructure that is but a drop in the ocean for the men’s game. This is not about men and women, it is about India and I find it appalling that people should denigrate the women’s game. In tennis, in athletics, in swimming, even in golf, women have created their own identity and if we compare the level of power in the two versions, we advertise our shallowness. In Bangladesh, three weeks ago, I watched India’s girls take on Australia and found myself cheering. Anju Jain can bat, Nausheen-al Khader can bowl, we know Neetu David can as well and Mithali Raj is among the best in the world. She is very stylish, drives elegantly, flicks off her pads and looks confident. I felt good watching her and I am sure a lot of you can as well. Didn’t we feel proud watching PT Usha? And Anju George? And India’s 4x400 metre relay team? I think India’s women cricketers have it in them to be the best in the world. It is only our short-sightedness that is stopping them.
