When Rahul Dravid talks, the cricket world listens.
Since his retirement, The Wall has lost none of his grace and composure. But there has been one notable difference – one of India's greatest batsmen is now more vocal about the game he loves. He speaks with the same earnestness that was a hallmark of his playing days, and at the Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi Lecture on Tuesday, delved into a topic not discussed often enough in the corridors of the Board of Control for Cricket in India: the state of junior cricket in the country.
Here are five important points that he made during the lecture. The full speech can be found here.
Keeping up with the times
Any Indian teenager will wholeheartedly agree with this statement. Unlike the previous generation where tales of sporting superstars were only heard and seen in grainy footage, the current crop of youth have a wide variety of choices. There’s footballers like Lionel Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo beaming in high definition to television screens week after week. And there’s the mastery of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic on the tennis court.
Dravid hits upon an important point: for many years, we have just taken it for granted that India will keep on producing cricketers. But sooner or later, as other sports become popular, there will come a time when the steady supply comes to a halt. And the custodians of cricket in this country had better acknowledge this trend before it is too late.
The youngest are the most neglected
Any parent who has sent their child to a coaching centre will surely agree with Dravid. When you are five years old, you play cricket (or any sport) for the sheer love of it and nothing else. All this technique, skill, footwork – it can and should mean nothing. The youngest need the best care, but as Dravid points out in his lecture, very often it is the juniormost coach who gets saddled with them.
Helping those outside the system
Cricket is an expensive game. The equipment used is specialised and specific, unlike football, where all you need is a ball to kick around. Spending on such expensive equipment in addition to the cost of training a child at cricket academies is an expensive proposition for many parents. Dravid’s suggestion of state associations organising camps at government schools is a timely one, which should be seriously considered by the country's cricket administrators.
Counselling sessions
Sport is risky business, especially in India. Rahul Dravid realised that and ensured that he got himself a degree in commerce, just in case his cricket career did not work out. Thankfully, he never had to fall back on his backup option, but it is imperative that young, aspiring sportsmen complete their education. Not only does it give them an alternative, but as Dravid so correctly points out, it allows them to remain in contact with a life outside the sports world.
Age-fudging and cheating
Age-fudging is blatant cheating and it takes a brave man to speak about one of the biggest ills of junior cricket in the country. Unfortunately, as Dravid points out, while players fudge their ages, it is more often than not the coaches behind these cricketers who actively allow this to happen. It is the player’s career that is subsequently put in danger while those who let this happen get away scot-free.
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Since his retirement, The Wall has lost none of his grace and composure. But there has been one notable difference – one of India's greatest batsmen is now more vocal about the game he loves. He speaks with the same earnestness that was a hallmark of his playing days, and at the Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi Lecture on Tuesday, delved into a topic not discussed often enough in the corridors of the Board of Control for Cricket in India: the state of junior cricket in the country.
Here are five important points that he made during the lecture. The full speech can be found here.
Keeping up with the times
What I am trying to say here is that our world, particularly in the big cities, has changed dramatically. It means cricket's own appeal to both children and parents has changed considerably. The generation when you could say that "every Indian baby is born with a cricket bat in the hand" is well behind us.
Any Indian teenager will wholeheartedly agree with this statement. Unlike the previous generation where tales of sporting superstars were only heard and seen in grainy footage, the current crop of youth have a wide variety of choices. There’s footballers like Lionel Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo beaming in high definition to television screens week after week. And there’s the mastery of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic on the tennis court.
Dravid hits upon an important point: for many years, we have just taken it for granted that India will keep on producing cricketers. But sooner or later, as other sports become popular, there will come a time when the steady supply comes to a halt. And the custodians of cricket in this country had better acknowledge this trend before it is too late.
The youngest are the most neglected
The age group that gives academies its biggest revenues is the youngest - the beginners, age five upwards. Yet they are paid the least attention. Usually, it is the junior-most coach who works with the hardest-to-handle youngest kids. Kids that age can't be stuck into the nets and expected to obediently do drills. Five-year-olds need to be entertained for the entire duration of their training and be taught skills as part of that enjoyment.
Any parent who has sent their child to a coaching centre will surely agree with Dravid. When you are five years old, you play cricket (or any sport) for the sheer love of it and nothing else. All this technique, skill, footwork – it can and should mean nothing. The youngest need the best care, but as Dravid points out in his lecture, very often it is the juniormost coach who gets saddled with them.
Helping those outside the system
A decent academy that runs from June to January with weekends-only sessions costs parents anything between Rs 14,000-15,000 a year. Summer camps are about Rs 6,000, this only for practice, nets. If you want to play matches, you need more to cover ground fees, umpire fees, transportation. Then there is the kit, which is pretty expensive.
What happens to those boys who cannot afford it? How do we get them into the system? How do we ensure we have given them a fair chance and are watched at least once by scouts and coaches? There are ways: the state associations could use a portion of their funds to run free camps at government schools for their children.
Cricket is an expensive game. The equipment used is specialised and specific, unlike football, where all you need is a ball to kick around. Spending on such expensive equipment in addition to the cost of training a child at cricket academies is an expensive proposition for many parents. Dravid’s suggestion of state associations organising camps at government schools is a timely one, which should be seriously considered by the country's cricket administrators.
Counselling sessions
Just like all teams now have anti-corruption briefings, I think every Under-16 state cricketer should go through a proper counselling session, organised by his state association, with educators who understand the situation that the young cricketer is in. It is important for our young cricketers to continue with their education - even if all the time away from schools makes it hard for them to finish their graduation. It will be something they can go back to in case the cricket dream doesn't come true for some reason. But aside from all that, it is important to stay connected to school and college because it will mean they have friends outside cricket, conversations outside cricket and life experiences that are not connected to cricket.
Sport is risky business, especially in India. Rahul Dravid realised that and ensured that he got himself a degree in commerce, just in case his cricket career did not work out. Thankfully, he never had to fall back on his backup option, but it is imperative that young, aspiring sportsmen complete their education. Not only does it give them an alternative, but as Dravid so correctly points out, it allows them to remain in contact with a life outside the sports world.
Age-fudging and cheating
At 14 it may be in the matter of the age criteria, at 25 it may be fixing and corruption. How are the two different in any way? In both cases, is it not blatant cheating?
Age-fudging is blatant cheating and it takes a brave man to speak about one of the biggest ills of junior cricket in the country. Unfortunately, as Dravid points out, while players fudge their ages, it is more often than not the coaches behind these cricketers who actively allow this to happen. It is the player’s career that is subsequently put in danger while those who let this happen get away scot-free.