I have always worked like this all my life. Whenever the pressure is all the way up, I start working. Always at the 11th hour (or 23rd hour whichever you prefer), I am there working like crazy. And at the same time saying to myself, next time I am going to do it properly as it was supposed to be done. Whether it is as important as writing my PhD thesis (which thanks to my advisor's efforts and commitment, I pretty much churned out in one weekend during which I slept a total of 6 hrs) or annual tasks of filing for tax returns, I seem to be waiting for the last moment before I get going on it. Talking to a few of my friends, they too seem to be in the same boat. Or maybe I hang around with people who do the same.
I write this post as I follow the fiasco known as the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India... who were the ad wizards who came up with that one?). After last world cup's showing where we reached the finals, the following Australia series, test series win in Pakistan, recruitment of an Australian Greg Chappel to coach the team, winning a series in WI, new exciting players like Pathan and Dhoni, everyone was looking forward to this world cup. And dismayed they were by the efforts of the Indian team. Who is to blame? The coach, the captain, the fans for creating the pressure, the selection committee, the Board for being cash hungry, the media for the hype, the sponsors who put the players in ads? There is a saying that being there in the middle of the game is sort of like a sanctuary for the players. Where once someone steps on to the field, all that is going on around is lost and he is into the game. If that is the case, then all surrounding the game can be discarded and if it did affect the players then they were not into the game.
Anyhoo, the connection I tried to bring out here was that after the exit of India, we once again have committees set up. Someone will be made a scapegoat (looks like Greg Chappel) and we will go on. There is already talk of creating a pool of 25-30 players (wasn't that the thing mentioned a year before the world cup?). So what has changed? I can understand individuals working when push comes to shove. But a whole organization? Why do we have to wait until another debacle before we act?
Solution is simple. When one wants to improve, you look up and find yourself a way. If someone out there is better than you, then you might want to follow the path they have taken. Not necessary to reinvent the wheel. Australia is a world apart in terms of playing cricket right now. Look at how it is doing it. Accepted that their way is not going to work in its entirety. We are a different country and culture but we can surely figure out a way to adapt ourselves to that system. What point is a pool of 25-30 players of they cannot get to perform at a higher level consistently. If winning the world cup is the war you want to win then learn to lose a few battles. Dravid and Sachin and Dhoni need not play or be selected for all the series. Send out these players to play in some series without getting a dead rubber game or knowing this is their only chance to come big and next game the regular players come back from their customary rest. Give them a whole series in India and abroad without the pressure of looking over the shoulder. If the Board has this much money, send these players to play in the Australian or English or South African domestic cricket schedule where they will play against quality players. People like Gambhir and Raina who struggle against good oppositions come back to Indian domestic cricket to score centuries at will. That shows how our system is. It will take a long while and effort to improve our system. We have not been able to make better pitches leave alone improving the whole domestic system. Use our system to identify and select players. Use other's refined system to hone that selection. Once identified, send these youngsters out and let them play. That is the only way we can improve. 24 years is a whole generation. How many more before we do win another one?
