Current infrastructure not enough, says Vengsarkar
SHILLONG: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is serious about developing cricket in the New Area Development Project (NADP) states and the same is apparent from the fact that the likes of Shiv Sunder Das, Ajay Ratra, both former international players, and former India A player Javed Zaman have come down to Shillong to train the U-19 players of the region.
Stating this during a felicitation programme held in his honour at the Shillong Club here on Monday evening, former India captain and Chairman of the National Cricket Academy, Bangalore, Dilip Vengsarkar added that there was a lot of potential in the North East and it should not take long for a player from the region to play Tests or ODIs for the country.
It may be mentioned that Vengsarkar is in the city to oversee the cricket camp being organised for 25 players from the NADP states, which include Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. Former India internationals, Ajay Ratra and Shiv Sundar Das, are also in the city for the cricket camp.
A member of India’s World Cup winning side of 1983, Vengsarkar has been involved with youth development as a cricket administrator all along and is one of those cricketers who knows it all when it comes to nurturing young talents.
Known as one of the foremost exponents of the drive, Vengsarkar believes that youngsters should be allowed to develop their natural game.
“It is the coaches’ duty to guide and motivate them,” he said adding that man management was a very important aspect when it came to development of the game.
The straight forward ‘Colonel’, as he was fondly known as, minced no words when he said that having the required infrastructure in place was the single most important factor in taking the game forward.
A member of the Mumbai Cricket Association, Vengsarkar gave example of the facilities in place in Mumbai even as he said that it was not surprising that the city team had 41 Ranji Trophies to its name and had produced around 12 Indian captains.
Stating that the present infrastructure in Shillong is by no means enough the legendary cricketer said, “If you have good infrastructure, you can create world champions.”
“The boys need to play in better pitches,” Vengsarkar said while observing that there was only one cricket ground in Shillong which hosted up to 200 matches a year thus leaving the pitch without a single blade of grass.
He also advocated that NADP states’ players, specifically those at the U-19 and U-23 levels, needed to play matches with sides from the metros to their skills further.
He also offered to host players from NE in Mumbai for their overall development.
“The boys need to play a lot of matches…Mumbai Cricket Association will be happy to host a team from the North East,” he said.
The NCA chairman reiterated that the BCCI is willing to fund infrastructure development given land is made available for the same.
Former India batsmen Shiv Sunder Das and Ajay Ratra also shared their experiences with the youngsters here during the ongoing NCA camp.
Meanwhile, Meghalaya Cricket Association honorary secretary Naba Bhattacharjee spoke briefly about the kind of remuneration involved for the players, coaches and others associated with the game while implying that youngsters should take cricket as a career option.
Earlier, Vengsarkar expressed his happiness at the enthusiasm of the youngsters and appreciated the parents who were present in the ground, for encouraging their children to take up cricket.