WHY DO CRICKETERS FROM ODISHA DON'T PLAY FOR INDIA

Sitting in my living room and watching IPL, I witness the immense talent and potential in our domestic players. Many players, who are yet to represent India, have become household names through IPL. They not only get the exposure, but also share the dressing room with cricketing icons and international stars. As an Odia, it is a matter of great pride for me to see Mr. Ranjib Biswal( Rajya Sabha member) as IPL chairperson. But this season, there are no players from Odisha playing in the IPL this season ( Pragyan Ojha made into the Indian team and IPL by representing Hyderabad). Last season, Biplab Samantaray, our Ranji Trophy captain played for Sunrisers Hyderabad and performed really well. It was a deal negotiated by the Odisha Cricket Association last year, which hosted a couple of home games for Hyderabad. Players like Haldhar Das have also played in the IPL.

       The million dollar question to be asked is why do players from Odisha do not go on to play for India? People don’t even remember the players who have played for the country ( Debasish Mohanty, SS Das and Sanjay Raul have represented the country). A big state like Odisha, where cricket is a part and parcel of every household, has failed to produce international level cricketers. Is it the lack of talent or simply put the inability to perform at the ‘required’ level? A state boasting such a high population, where cricket is not only the dominant sport but has been internalized in the culture of the people, doesn’t have an international cricketer. Albeit hockey is prominent in certain areas of the state and among certain section of people ( in the tribal areas of Roulkela and Sundergarh), cricket is a pseudo religion among the youth masses. It is equally popular among both the urban and rural masses. If one visits the nooks and cronies of the cities or the vast barren lands in the villages, one will always find people playing the game with great fervor and passion. There are a lot of cricket clubs spread all over the state, conducting many local level tournaments. It provides an opportunity to all the young budding cricketers to hone their skills and prepare themselves for the bigger battle ahead. The presence and participation of Ranji cricketers augment the process of their evolution.

           Hence it is clear that there is no dearth of passion and commitment from the side of the players. Then what is holding us back at the national and international level? The reason may be threefold- infrastructure, performance and clout.

           Firstly, the lack of infrastructure in our state may have given a major jolt to the aspirations of the cricketers here. There aren’t many stadiums in the state. Most of the motley clubs are concentrated in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. The plight of other districts is not worth mentioning. Cricket in the state also suffers from lack of funds and finances. Our players go to Kolkata to play in their league to earn some money for subsistence. Besides, the local clubs here are not maintained properly. There is this innate lack of ‘turf wickets’ which deprives the cricketers from getting a taste of real pitches. The Odisha cricket is dominated by ‘matting wickets’ which is not where the Ranji and international matches take place. The lack of turf wickets make the transition an Achilles’ heel for cricketers who have played the entire season on matting wickets. Suddenly they are put on virgin areas which in turn become detrimental to their self confidence. Also there are no sports academies in the state. The edifice of a nebulous career is put at a young age. But there is no sign of prudence with respect to harnessing such talent. Most of the clubs have coaches who are past cricketers, many of whom are not even Ranji players. They impose their own archaic methods and thinking, which was prevalent during their time on these youngsters. No new ideas emanate from these coaches. Their reluctance to reinvent themselves by undergoing ‘Level A/B ‘ course depicts the lack of efficacy of the system. Cricket is no more a physical game; it is more a mental game than a physical game now. The psychological aspect of the players is neglected. The coaches, not only lack the ability and acumen to deal with the psychology of players, are not committed enough to master the art. The propensity of the coaches to remain in their bubble and not come out of their comfort zone has cost the players dearly.

            Secondly, coming to the performance of the Odisha players in the past few seasons, it can be dubbed as ordinary. As Sachin Tendulkar has said “performance in the domestic circuit cannot guarantee you a spot in the Indian team, but can surely bring you into reckoning.” Not only have the Odia players failed to earn a spot in the Indian team, very few have made it into the ‘reckoning list’.  According to current Ranji trophy selector P. Jayachandra( a member of the team that made it to the semis) the current players who have made it to the ‘reckoning list’ are Natraj Behera, Biplab Samantaray, young Gobind Poddar and paceman Basant Mohanty. These players have shown glimpses of brilliance but nothing eye catching. Their inability to perform consistently has not attracted any starry eye from the national selectors. Since only three players have played for India, and Odisha has never won the coveted domestic title, the players suffer from the implicit indigenous problem of lack of belief. The kind of background and psychology that is ingrained in most of these players prevents them from dreaming big. They are drained by their ambition and aspiration to play for the state team; anything above that is a bonus. This lack of belief needs to be changed. Dreams should be high and one mustn’t relax until one has represented the country.

Another point that I had made earlier was performing at the ‘right place’. People play well at the Ranji level and then go on to represent zone, India-A and subsequently India. Odia players play well at the Ranji level, but at a higher level where the stakes are high, they flop. In 2001, Debasish Mohanty had taken ten wickets in an innings against south zone (which had Rahul Dravid in the side). Then when he played for India-A against Australia, he went wicket less. Laxman scored a hundred and Harbhajan took a fiver in that match; both of them got selected into the Indian team. The epic 2001 Australia series followed and both of them became legends. The debacle of the 2002 West Indies tour resulted in the ousting of Shiv Sunder Das from the Indian team. But later he was made the captain of India-A squad that toured England. Although the team did well but he failed to score runs and was never seen in India colors again.

          Coming to the third point, there is considerable clout exerted by boards of Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, and Delhi in the administration as well as the selection process. Odisha belongs to the nadir group in the hierarchy. The state cricket is run by the whims and fancies of two people- Shri Ashirbad Behera and his son. They decide who to select as captain, coach, support staff, etc. Right from the U-15 level to the senior level, it is ‘they’ who run the show in the state. Mr. Behera’s son ‘Budha Behera’ owns the rising Student Cricket Club in Cuttack. Players from all over the state come here in the hope of making it to the state team. The propriety of selection of players in the entire hierarchical level rests on him. But the media and the district associations have failed to accentuate it. It’s high time we take note of this culture. The callous nature of the administrative officials has cost the career of many.( Sanjay Satpathy being a notable one)

On the national level, we have got familiar with Shri Ranjib Biswal as the man who was carrying the national flag in Sachin Tendulkar’s world cup winning victory lap. Mr. Biswal had held many a post of prominence ranging from NCA Director, national selector, manager and finally IPL chairman. Being such a powerful person on the national level, what is his contribution towards Odisha cricket? He could have recommended few names. Natraj Behera this season has scored four back to back hundreds, but does he feature in any of the IPL teams? Surely the players could have performed better, but Mr. Biswal could have squeezed in 1-2 players!! How many times have players like Ajit Agarkar or Murali Vijay made international comebacks? What are the extra ordinary performances of players like Mohit Sharma and Stuart Binny that earned them a national cap?

Even with his credentials, Mr. Biswal is an outsider in the state and has wielded negligible power in the state administration machinery due to the father-son duo. If players are selected to the national team, the credit would go to Mr. Behera. The tussle between the two groups has lead to the parochial scenario in the state.

        This being the scenario, the only option that the players have is to score tons and tons of runs in the domestic circuit and hope to catch the attention of the national selectors. The quagmire squalor of the state cricket officials would lead them no where. They must decide their own fate and hope for the best