Anil Kumble ended his lecture by cautioning
Indian cricket against repeating mistakes committed by teams that topped
the charts previously. © BCCI
Kumble charted the journey of Indian cricket over the last two decades even as he regaled the audience with stories of his own interactions with Pataudi. “He understood the Indian way and the importance of putting processes in place,” said Kumble. “He was a management guru, long before the term was put to place. He understood the value of symbolism, which in the Indian context is important.”
Kumble also reflected on his three-year stint as president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association, saying that his experience of having played at the various facilities on offer around the country – good and bad – had shaped his thinking. “Just as some areas of the game, like umpiring, were benefited by former players, administration too can benefit from having players who played at the highest level. For one, the focus will remain or should remain, at any rate, on the game and the player,” he said.
Kumble was of the opinion that other sports too could take a cue from cricket. “Infrastructure (in cricket) is now available outside the big cities and so too are the coaches and incentives. Such things can happen in other sports too. Tennis courts in Shimoga or swimming pools in Meerut can produce champions. We owe it to our youngsters to provide the facilities that will attract them to sport,” he said.
Indian cricket has tasted success in all formats in the last decade and expressing his pride at having been part of the core group that laid the foundation for it, Kumble said, “Power equations have shifted and India’s influence is substantial, but this is only natural and a result of the economics that drive sport. The region that generates significant sponsorship and patronage despite the tremendous and, at times, fanatical following for cricket, should certainly have a role in defining the path for the game’s future.”
Kumble went on to praise the “remarkable and unacknowledged” efforts of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in bringing international players together for the Indian Premier League (IPL). “Today the Shane Watsons and AB de Villiers of the world are as familiar with naans and curry,” he quipped.
“Players and fans are closer to BCCI’s way of thinking than is realised,” he said, while conceding that he too had reservations regarding the Decision Review System. “We have maintained that the system needs tweaking. We need additional input, not because we’re looking at 100% accuracy every time. In order to eliminate some obvious drawbacks in the system, an expert in technology is needed to certify the science behind it. Yet the perception in this case is that the BCCI is 100% wrong.”
Kumble suggested that cricket needed to adapt to the changing times, especially in connection with the cricket calendar, which, he felt, needed to be balanced according to the market. “We can carve out separate calendars for each format – three different seasons to accommodate three different formats is easily conceivable. India can lead the change here too as they have done with the IPL,” he suggested. “It will also provide clarity for the spectator and allow players to prepare for the different physical and mental demands of each format.”
Kumble also dwelt on another aspect of the IPL that had come into focus in recent times: the temptations – monetary and otherwise – that youngsters get lured by. “It’s not surprising that a fringe cricketer is lured by the riches that can transform his earning many times over. We must be proactive in our efforts to deal with challenges,” he said.
“Every cricketer should go through a mentoring programme that encompasses a wide range of issues that include understanding his role as a professional sportsperson, responsibility as an ambassador of the country, team, family and the cricket board, being a role model for aspiring youngsters, financial management and a clear concept of the effect of drugs, proper assessment of the paths that lead to the game’s disrepute, spot-fixing and similar ills. These preventive mechanisms, through mentoring interventions, can offer lasting solutions against the evils that threaten the gentleman’s game.”
During the lecture, delivered on the eve of Sachin Tendulkar’s 200th Test, Kumble recalled his long association with Tendulkar. “Sachin and I played 122 Test matches together. I never threatened his place in the team as a batsman but I can tell you, he sometimes threatened mine as a bowler. He was such a natural as a legspinner,” began Kumble, eliciting laughter from the audience. “That he has played for so long and with such great authority is testimony to both his passion for the game and his incredible capacity of hard work. Fans see only the final product, the exquisite straight drive or the smooth on-drive, but tend to tend to forget the hours of sweat that went into producing such strokes.
“Sachin is three generations of players in himself. He began when Kapil Dev was spearhead of the attack, he was the contemporary of Dravid, Laxman, Ganguly, Zaheer, Harbhajan, Dhoni and Sehwag, and has placed Indian cricket in the strong capable arms of Kohli and Pujara.”
Kumble said that no other sportsperson symbolised the essence and aspirations of the country as Tendulkar had: “For a great majority of our countrymen, he has been a fixture all their lives,” he said, adding that Tendulkar’s contribution in the dressing room in mentoring young cricketers was invaluable.
Kumble ended his lecture by cautioning Indian cricket against repeating mistakes committed by teams that topped the charts previously, such as West Indies and Australia. “The present belongs to India, there’s no reason why the future too can’t. We owe it to the coming generations to provide the wherewithal to become the best players they can be. And how we handle the present will define the future,” he said.
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