ICL: In a league of its own

The ICL take-off was fairly successful but it is still too early to predict its players’ prospects.
At the end of the day, however, several unknown players got a platform to prove their mettle,
says Gopal Sharma

THE Indian Cricket League (ICL) deserves credit for at least giving the lie to the notion that there is dearth of cricket talent in the country. The 17-day extravaganza that concluded at Tau Devi Lal Stadium at Panchkula on December 16 brought centrestage a host of talented youngsters, who otherwise were facing obscurity. Some players were even facing financial hardships without any hope of being able to showcase their talent at the top level. The maiden ICL venture provided them and others a perfect platform to make an impact with their talent. On their part, many youngsters proved they were blessed with skills comparable with those who have already made their mark.

The image of an unfancied-till-now Sujay Tarafdar being carried on the shoulder by peerless Lance Klusener (the South African allrounder was the most outstanding performer in the 1999 World Cup) after the former wrecked Hyderabad Heroes with an inspired burst of seam bowling will take some time to fade from memory. Before this stupendous feat, the sprightly Sujay was an unknown seamer hailing from some nondescript village in Assam. Suddenly thrust into the nerve-racking world of cricket, the youngster, just out of his teens, was not found wanting. Blooded into Kolkata Tigers squad for the match against Hyderabad Heroes, he emerged with flying colours, winning the Man of the Match award ahead of several proven performers.

Tarafdar cound not hide his emotions after the match having outperformed bigger names like Nantie Haywards and Klusener. He confessed it was nothing short of a dream come true made possible by the ICL. Proving that the match-winning performance was not just a flash in the pan, Tarafdar claimed two crucial wickets in the next game as well. Tarafdar had played for the country in u-17 age group before being left on the fringe.

Ali Murtaza, the 17-year-old left-arm bowler from Uttar Pradesh, also gave the spectators many a moment to enjoy and applaud. He came in to bowl at a crucial juncture and would break into a celebratory jig after every scalp. Ali became the second most successful bowler in the competition.

The 21-year-old Abhishek Jhunjhunwala had everybody raving about his overflowing batting talent. There were many others such as Shreyas Khanolkar, T P Singh, Abbas Ali, Kiran Powar, S Sathish, Ambati Rayudu and Thiru Kumaran who proved that they neither lacked the skill nor the temperament of a top-notch cricketer.

Mumbai’s Powar put bigger names to shade, finishing the tournament with the best strike rate, while Chennai seamer Thiru Kumaran, who was under the spotlight with sensational 6-21 against Mumbai Champs, the best bowling figures in the tournament, emerged the most successful bowler of the tournament. Thiru had not fared badly when he got an opportunity to represent the country in 1999-2000. Unfortunately, an injury forced his ouster from the squad and he could never stage a comeback.

Initially as the tournament started, it were the foreign professionals who held centrestage with their stupendous feats. But once the Indian youngsters got used to the razzle-dazzle of the carnival, they started to come into their own.

Kapil Dev, the driving force behind the tournament, was upbeat about the passion generated by the players. "Look at Mihir Diwakar, who has been playing even after being injured on the field." The Kolkata Tigers player had suffered a blow on the jaw, but returned to bowl with his face bandaged.

The former legendary allrounder said the Indian youngsters were bound to gain confidence and improve their skills while playing alongside some of the biggest names in international cricket. The bigger players, on their part, never shied away from counselling the youngsters and telling them about the finer points of the game and patting their backs whenever they did well on the field.

Ambitious moves

After the final between Chandigarh Lions and Chennai Superstars that generated unprecedented frenzy and had the stadium bursting at the seams, Subhash Chandra, chairman, Essel Group, and Kapil Dev, chairman, Executive Board, ICL, pleased with the way the whole show progressed, unveiled a host of ambitious plans. The most important of these were the opening of cricket academies in prominent cities of the country, introduction of the 50-over format matches and broadbasing the number of teams participating in the tournaments the next time.

Chandra said the academies would have features normally not seen in the academies already in business. He said that scouts would hunt for young talent across the country. "We will groom young talent with professional coaches, physios and trainers. Ultimately, we would like to have a strong talent bank of cricketers in the 18-25 age group."

Chandra said more ICL tournaments are in the pipeline next year. And with better training facilities and top of the line infrastructure available, talented youngsters are bound to improve as cricketers. The just-concluded tournament at Panchkula has already shown that having got an opportunity when they were expecting none, the players will not be found wanting on account of the urge to do well. The unbridled passion for the game they displayed on the field will testify to the fact.

"Some of the youngsters’ performances have been very good and they are getting offers to play abroad," Chandra revealed.

Future gameplan

"We have no conflict with the BCCI," said Kapil, who was sacked by the BCCI as National Cricket Academy’s chairman when he joined the ICL, before the tournament final. The legendary allrounder had earlier said that the joy felt after the successful launch of the ICL at Panchkula was akin to the exhilaration experienced after the Indian team registered the historic 1983 World Cup victory.

"We will not let you down, we will work for everything — our life is dependent on that. In a few years, these boys will play for the country. If that does not happen, I think the best players will not be playing for the country. I will be disappointed," he said.

But the monolithic BCCI, the sole arbiter of the destinies of even the biggest stars the country has produced, is unlikely to yield ground. Any such possibility is highly unlikely in the near future.

The road to salvation perhaps lies in the talented youngsters, backed by the ICL, churning out performances that would be tough to ignore.

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