Are baggage-handlers treated this shabbily?
October 16, 2009 by Dileep
A little over a week ago, in an interview with a news magazine, Manoj Prabhakar referred to Venkatesh Prasad, India’s bowling coach, as a baggage handler. He blamed Prasad for the downturn in fortunes of India’s pace bowlers, especially Ishant Sharma.
Now, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has sacked Prasad, and Robin Singh, the fielding coach. There was no courtesy call first to inform either man. Prasad got the news from the media. Baggage-handler, eh? I bet they aren’t treated so shabbily after two and a half years of service.
As for young bowlers losing the plot, maybe the board would do well to listen to one of their own. “One of the senior players called up after the Champions Trophy and said other players [youngsters] did not feel it [the loss as much as him], said Ratnakar Shetty, the chief administrative officer in a recent interview with PTI. “He said there was no feeling whether we won or not. There is no sadness [after losing].”
“You can see the change in attitude and focus which seems to have gone to things other than cricket. They are attracted by the different style of entertainment that is part of these events. This is worrisome. Some of these youngsters have become very big. Some of them feel that playing in Ranji Trophy is not as important as playing in the IPL.”
Didn’t anyone see this coming, when young men with not even one consistent season behind them went for twice the money that Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting and Shane Warne did? As you sow…
A little over a week ago, in an interview with a news magazine, Manoj Prabhakar referred to Venkatesh Prasad, India’s bowling coach, as a baggage handler. He blamed Prasad for the downturn in fortunes of India’s pace bowlers, especially Ishant Sharma.
Now, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has sacked Prasad, and Robin Singh, the fielding coach. There was no courtesy call first to inform either man. Prasad got the news from the media. Baggage-handler, eh? I bet they aren’t treated so shabbily after two and a half years of service.
As for young bowlers losing the plot, maybe the board would do well to listen to one of their own. “One of the senior players called up after the Champions Trophy and said other players [youngsters] did not feel it [the loss as much as him], said Ratnakar Shetty, the chief administrative officer in a recent interview with PTI. “He said there was no feeling whether we won or not. There is no sadness [after losing].”
“You can see the change in attitude and focus which seems to have gone to things other than cricket. They are attracted by the different style of entertainment that is part of these events. This is worrisome. Some of these youngsters have become very big. Some of them feel that playing in Ranji Trophy is not as important as playing in the IPL.”
Didn’t anyone see this coming, when young men with not even one consistent season behind them went for twice the money that Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting and Shane Warne did? As you sow…
Speaking to IANS from his hometown Bangalore, Prasad, who represented India in 33 Tests and 161 ODIs over seven seasons, said: “Yes, I received an email at about half-past eleven this morning, but I haven’t really gone through that. Of course, I am very disappointed. At this moment, I wish the Indian team every success in the coming series against Australia.”
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Even BCCI isn’t interested in cricket. But the point is that their positions don’t depend on performances unlike players. The younger players need to learn that goodwill is what will help them in Indian cricket where there are always enough officials who wait for a chance to put you into place. This goodwill will be earned only by some humility. No better than example than Sreesanth. The only reason his name crops up now a days is because of the ineptness of other bowlers !
And BCCI who endowed the power in the younger players with their money now finds it hard to digest it ! Wonder how they didn’t see it coming ?
So I guess the argument is tha players should not be entitled to better remuneration because they play cricket and that it is criminal for them to get distracted by everything around them because they are cricketers?
Now, can we use the same yardstick to judge every profession?
That all salaried men should stop ogling at pretty women and likewise all women should stop admiring handsome men.
And there should be a moratorium on switching jobs because that entails better remuneration ( either monetary or job satisfaction or both).
And any transgression of the above means the company they are working for is liable for damages!
Cheers,
That’s an extraordinary extrapolation, Homer. Tendulkar was a millionaire at 23, Tiger Woods and Federer even earlier. C Ronaldo wasn’t even out of his teens. Frankly, I don’t care about the money. I doubt that anyone grudges them that. But performance is non-negotiable. We’ll see what some of these guys are worth at the next auction.
Secondly, Tendulkar, Dravid and Kumble have all made millions. Have you ever seen it affect their focus or desire to compete? Have they ever slacked off? Dips in form are inevitable, for anyone in any field, but in those cases there’s never been any compromise on professionalism. I was at Kumble’s press conference last night, and he was fuming. It might “just” be a Twenty20 game for some, but for him it’s not. And that’s what you want from a player who wears your shirt.
Fair enough Dileep, but is every newcomer the same? For every Tendulkar, there is a Vinod Kambli.. But Kambli’s excesses did no mean that everyone was tarred by the same brush.
Are there some who cannot handle he fame- yes. But you do not make it to the top of the pile if you dont have the discipline to marry with your talent.
And they know better than others that if they dont keep performing consistently, the market will out them before they can say why!
Is the “junior players lack focus/professionalism” argument similar to the “juniors cannot play the short ball”, where just because Suresh Raina was ackward in playing the one short ball from Ryan Sidebottom, all hell broke loose?
Cheers,
Personally, I think the short-ball thing was blown way out of proportion. The same Raina hit some magnificent pulls for six in the IPL, off decent bowlers.
The professionalism bit is a worry for me though. And not just me. Most of the commentators you speak to say the same thing. Look at it this way. How many of the youngsters who have broken through since World Cup 2007 have made themselves indispensable? They have purple patches and then flop miserably. There’s not one who name is writ in stone on the teamsheet. That, to me anyway, is a major worry.
Too much too soon? Misplaced priorities? we can only speculate. They have the answers, and if they don’t act on them soon, we’ll have many more Kamblis and no Tendulkars.
Dhoni, Gambhir, Raina, just to name three. When injury free, these three names, along with Yuvraj, Sachin and Sehwag, will be on the team sheet.
Rohit Sharma does not embody the new generation. And Rohit Sharma’s problems with consistency were in evidence well before he broke into the national side.
Then there is Ravinder Jadeja who has been in and out of the team.
And professionalism is a much maligned word. The current crop will beat the seniors every single day in the fitness stakes. And post 2003-04, Sehwag was seen carrying a paunch that made me proud. And Dravid’s decline as a first slipper is evident for all to see.
Everyone has their ups and downs. The fittest and the most focussed survive. For every Kumble, we have a Nilesh Kulkarni.
Thats the name of the game.
I believe that this current crop has more cricketing nous than we ever did.
But lazy journalism like “problems against the short ball” adds pressure when there should be none.
Which reminds me, when are you taking your peers to task over this ? 🙂
Cheers,
But Homer, all three names you mention were part of the side long before the 2007 World Cup.
I agree with you on the fielding, to an extent. Tendulkar and Dravid were never spectacular, but till very recently they were very very safe. The younger lot take some special catches, but also shell some real sitters.
Cricketing nous? Again not sure about that. I don’t think anyone comes close to Tendulkar/Dravid/Kumble for that. Nous is also about keeping your eye on the ball all the time. Dhoni to a large extent, and Yuvraj and Gambhir as well, have done that in recent times. The same can’t be said of most of the bowlers. Sacking the coaches is a cop-out.
Dileep,
As early as the first IPL, the BCCI had reservations about the coaching staff participating in the IPL because of a conflic of interest.
Then, Gary Kirsten, when he was appointed coach, wanted to bring in his own fielding and bowling coaches but was denied by the BCCI.
This year,Robin Singh has been made coach of the Mumbai Indians. And given the flap between the Ambanis and N Srinivasan over the IMG deal and it is not hard to see why the coaches had to go.
An over reaction? Sure.. But not any different from Dravid being drafted into the ODI team because we have a “technical weakness” against the short ball.
Secondly, Gambhir established himself in the team post 2007. Prior to that he was on the fringes, unless you consider him making is debut prior to 2007 as fait accompli.
Thirdly, because of the constant exposure to TV, these kids now have a lot nmore undertsanding of game situations and the ebbs and flows of the game than we did.
Tendulkar, Dravid and Kumble are only 3 names out of an entire batch that came through in the late 80s and 90s.But three names arent representative of the the entire lot, are they?
Finally, bowling ( and team performance). It is an established fact that India takes its time to hit mid season form, particularly after coming back from a break ( whether 2 weeks or 2 months). Couple that with a lack of form and suddenly we have a bowling “crisis”. But again, the only two bowlers off the boil are Ishant and RP. Praveen Kumar has been on the ball every time he has been given a chance. Munaf bowled a dream during the Irani and the Challenger finals. Zak is hors de combat.Ashish Nehra is the surprise find of the season ( given that he has not managed to break down yet).
And we havent even started talking Irfan, Sreesanth, Tyagi and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar yet.
Ditto Ojha and Piyush Chawla in the spin bowling ranks. Not to mention Ramesh Powar.
If this is a crisi, I will take it any time :).
Cheers,
By the by,
Indian bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad and fielding coach Robin Singh were Thursday sacked by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after a review of their performance in the recent overseas tours.
In a terse statement, the board said: “The BCCI has decided to discontinue the services of bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad and fielding coach Robin Singh with immediate effect.”
A senior board official told IANS that the decision was taken after a meeting of board president Shashank Manohar with coach Gary Kirsten.
“It was noticed that the showing of the fast bowlers and also the fielding was not up to the mark. The board president had a meeting with coach Gary Kirsten before taking the decision.”
Cheers,
I told you long ago 20:20 was a disaster.
Just like I have complained from the day of my birth that the BCCI and the selectors are corrupt and have no clue or vision.
The country has no hope until the selectors have vision. We can not keep living off luck and 1983 because tomorrow will not be like 1983.
If money, greed and power are your only motives in life, you can never achieve anything because you heart is tainted by dirt. Your heart has no love.
de Silva revealed that Venkatesh Prasad, the former India bowling coach released from that post last week, was also a contender for the post and had submitted “a strong application” but the SLC decided in favour of Law as he suited their requirements better.
A week ago, all and sundry were spewing venom at the BCCI for thier “handling” of the sacking of Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh. A”disappointed and deeply hurt” Venkatesh Prasad wanted an “explanation”from the BCCI.
8 days later, not only has Venkatesh Prasad submitted his resume for the job of Sri Lanka assisatant coach but is also short listed for the same.
Is there more to this story than is being let on in the public domain and if so, can we expect a follow up? Or is it the case that the follow up story is not “sexy” enough to get the eyeball/TRP count going because it demands accountability from the “wronged” person and gives no scope for the ritual BCCI bashing?
Cheers,
July 31, 2009 – Paul Farbrace has announced that he will be quitting his post as Sri Lanka’s assistant coach when his contract ends on August 20 to take up the position of head coach of Kent.
17 August 2009 – Sri Lanka Cricket is on the hunt for a new assistant coach to fill Paul Farbrace’s position.
2nd Match: India v New Zealand at Colombo (RPS) – Sep 11, 2009 – India is in Sri Lanka for the Compaq Cup thru Sept 14th 2009
Sep 19, 2009 – India depart for South Africa for the Champions Trophy
6th Match, Group A: India v Pakistan at Centurion – Sep 26, 2009
October 6, 2009 – Robin Singh, the former India allrounder and current fielding coach, has been appointed coach of Mumbai Indians for the third season of the IPL, and former fast bowler Paras Mhambrey as his deputy.
Oct 16 2009 – Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh fired as coaches by the BCCI
October 23, 2009 – de Silva revealed that Venkatesh Prasad, the former India bowling coach released from that post last week, was also a contender for the post and had submitted “a strong application” but the SLC decided in favour of Law as he suited their requirements better.
Isnt googling fun?
Cheers,
Googling can certainly be fun, but you can sometimes take two and two and make five. The TV channels here specialise in it. Unless you know Prasad or Robin Singh, I’d desist from making any such insinuations.
I am making no insinuations Dileep.. I am just putting together a chronology of events that is in the public domain. Are you disputing the sequence of events?
Fact is that Prasad was on the SL short list. Fact is that the SLCC started the job search in mid August. Fact is that Prasad was fired from his job one week before the SLCC announced its candidate for assistant coach.
So where is the follow up story?
And since you know Prasad and Singh,I guess it is your prerogative to make statements like
“There was no courtesy call first to inform either man. Prasad got the news from the media.”
despite evidence to the contrary.
Cheers,
Do you have evidence that Prasad was informed by the board of his sacking? If so, I’d love to see it.
Dileep,
Speaking to IANS from his hometown Bangalore, Prasad, who represented India in 33 Tests and 161 ODIs over seven seasons, said: “Yes, I received an email at about half-past eleven this morning, but I haven’t really gone through that. Of course, I am very disappointed. At this moment, I wish the Indian team every success in the coming series against Australia.”
Comment #1 on this post.. Now if only you could see it 🙂
Cheers,
And an email constitutes a courtesy call, does it?
thats not what you asked for, did you? You wanted evidence that the Board communicated to Prasad about his sacking, which it did.
And let us follow through your argument. Yes, the e-mail does not constitute a courtesy call, but neither does it amount to “Prasad got the news from the media” – Prasad received the e-mail and was aware of it BEFORE he spoke to the media.
Talk of changing goal posts!
Cheers,
Prasad, the former India new-ball specialist, told Cricinfo he had not been notified by the Indian board (BCCI) about his axing. “I have been not been informed about this but if this is true, I am deeply disappointed and hurt,” he said. “I have no doubt that I have done my job for the Indian team to the best of my abilities. I will try to contact the BCCI and find out what I did wrong that has led them to take this decision.”
IANS, like so many others, picked up the story from Cricinfo. By the time they spoke to him, he may or may not have seen the email. But the Cricinfo story clearly suggests that he did indeed learn of his sacking from the media.
http://www.cricinfo.com/india/content/story/429676.html
Dileep,
Timestamp on the first comment on the article you have linked – (October 15 2009, 11:07 AM GMT) ie 4:37 PM IST.
“The BCCI has decided to discontinue the services of bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad and fielding coach Robin Singh with immediate effect,” said a brief statement from Board secretary N Srinivasan. – Time stamp Thursday, October 15, 2009 16:44 IST
“The BCCI has decided to discontinue the services of bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad and fielding coach Robin Singh with immediate effect,” said a brief statement from Board secretary N Srinivasan. – Time stamp – 16:38 IST, Thursday, October 15, 2009 (New Delhi)
Going back to the article you linked –
“Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh have been sacked from their respective positions of bowling and fielding coaches with immediate effect. A terse one-line release, issued on the eve of the Diwali festival, did not offer any explanation for the decision but a board official said the reason was the team’s performance in the last two tournaments (the ICC World Twenty20 and the Champions Trophy). ”
I assume Cricinfo spoke to Prasad AFTER the BCCI announcement. If so, funny thing – everyone and his uncle “broke” the story around the 4:00-4:30 PM time frame ( including PTI).
“Yes, I received an email at about half-past eleven this morning, but I haven’t really gone through that.” – Prasad’s words.
And yet he “learnt” about his sacking from the media… Right on!
Cheers,
If the time-stamp says 4:37IST, you can safely assume that the call to Prasad was made hours before that. Stories don’t upload themselves, and with stories of this sort, all bases are checked before it’s put out. Cricinfo doesn’t function like “breaking news” channels who care little for whether the story they’re breaking is true or not.
And in that story, he clearly says that he’s not aware of his sacking. End of story as far as I’m concerned.
He not being aware of of his sacking does not equate to the BCCI not informing about his sacking. Like I said, I assume that the CI story came AFTER the BCCI announcement, and making allowance for all of the fact checking and sundry details, it still does not point to the story making it to the web before 11:30 AM ( the time Prasad says he received the e-mail from the BCCI).
Unless you are suggesting that CI “broke” the story BEFORE the BCCI announcement.. 🙂
Cheers,