The Lost World

Rajeev Nayyar has been around on the domestic treadmill for more than 16 seasons; he’s been as far as the India A side, never made it b...

Rajeev Nayyar has been around on the domestic treadmill for more than 16 seasons; he’s been as far as the India A side, never made it beyond that. He never gave it a second thought till a few years ago, when the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association attached a physio with the state side.

That’s when Nayyar realised how he’d lost out all those years. ‘‘We had a week’s camp which was an eye-opener for all of us’’, he says. ‘‘I was completely depressed. If only the physio had been recruited earlier, I would have benefited more.’’

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What Nayyar experienced plays out all over the country: the wide gulf separating first-class and international cricket, where you have the services of John Wright, Adrian le Roux and Andrew Leipus. Domestic cricketers may crave for the money and facilities and crib about the pitches and umpiring, but what does them most harm is the lack of specialised training.

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That gap is partly bridged by the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, whose alumni include Harbhajan, Yuvraj and Mohammad Kaif.

‘‘The NCA made all the difference to my attitude’’, Yuvraj acknowledges today. The NCA’s net has been widened with inception of zonal academies and appointment of Talent Search and Development Officers in each state.

However, today’s cricket is aimed more at those in the 16-19 age group than, say, someone who’s 22-23 and languishing in first-class circuit. ‘‘We need to re-introduce the Under-22s because that will be a stage where a cricketer can be brushed up’’, says for India coach Anshuman Gaekwad. ‘‘The A tours are equally important and if each tour can give us at least one name, we will have a good bank of players.’’

Gaekwad also stresses the importance of the pitches. Not much, he feels, will be gained by playing on typical Indian pitches. ‘‘If Australia or South Africa is the yardstick, where do these pitches stand?’’

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Echoing his views is Dilip Vengsarkar, heading the BCCI’s Talent Search and Development committee. ‘‘These pitches can kill off many a talented player.’’ Though some players will come through the barrier because of the NCA, he believes it shouldn’t be left only to the camps held there.

‘‘The standard of coaching isn’t very high in India, though there are some good coaches available. The problem occurs when a player goes to the NCA and learns something; however, when he returns to his state, his coach often tells him to do exactly the opposite. There should be uniformity in coaching and if we can have more and more seminars for coaches and physios, NCA’s purpose will not be lost.’’

Ashok Malhotra, one of India’s five Level III coaches, believes that, more than John Wright reaching out to the first-class cricketers, fitness trainer Adrian le Roux’s role should be expanded. ‘‘He needs to identify good trainers in the country and widen the net’’, Malhotra said.