Can professionals plead fatigue? Our bowling is the weakest link in the team. (The legendary off-spinner E.A.S. Prasana was manager of the victorious ’85 team.) It has been so since the late ’70s and early ’80s—only, we have taken 17 years to realize this. Even after the advent of one-day cricket, India showed the world the powers of spin bowling. In the 1985 Benson & Hedges tournament, L. Sivaramakrishnan and Ravi Shastri, supported by Kapil Dev and Chetan Sharma, bowled out every team except Pakistan in the finals. But once the losing run began, we didn’t know how to recover. The focus was always on our batting failures, never on our bowling.
Our batting lineup is the best we can have. But the bowlers still can’t bowl opponents out. Is this not a clear indication that our bowling is at its lowest ebb? We have ignored the white ants that have crept into our system for a long time. Now, it is time for some pest control. We need sturdy spinners to fight the pests. In a test match, any bowling attack that is effective after the 15th over and until the second new ball is taken can call the shots. This means we need an effective seamer who can cut the old ball or a spinner who can make the ball dance. It is time the BCCI woke up and used the services of Bedi and yours truly. We are still fit and deliver; we can talk, bowl, take stock of the team, and do some “spot analysis.”.
For instance, what’s the point in appointing Kapil Dev a pitch adviser? He must be asked to help bowlers think opponents out. Our fielding is exposed in the light of the poor bowling attack. I know that teams of my generation were labeled as lousy fielders. But how many teams scored 280 or 300+ against our attack? Fielders are becoming lethargic as they have to unnecessarily chase balls and indulge in acrobatics, though the result is the same. You can never set a field to a bad ball. I will never agree that the amount of cricket being played is excessive.
Do well-paid professionals or engineers who put in 10 to 12 hours daily complain of fatigue? When they are tired, they take some time off and get back. If our cricketers are indeed fatigued, they should have the guts to withdraw. Players should dictate terms through their ability, not just hold on to their positions in the side. If they are getting good money and if cricket has to be played for 365 days, they should be able to do so. Sure, their careers may be reduced but then they will have made their money. Moreover, the payment terms should be restructured and a slab system introduced.
There should be performance incentives for a 50/100 or a five-wicket haul. What is the difference between a senior and a junior cricketer if both get paid the same? The BCCI should also draw a clear line between generals and cricket administrators. Today, team managers have no expertise in strategies. Only players with 40 or 50 Test caps should be made cricket managers.
There are other occasions when the BCCI can send its officials and administrators on token foreign trips for having served the board. Sure, Sachin Tendulkar wants to do the right things as captain, but he needs a cricket manager who can think, talk, and feed him cricket. He should have perhaps been given a few more years before being made captain, but now that he is at the helm, there is no question of a reversal. He only needs a good team, an excellent manager and coach, and a bowler who can bowl in the nets.
