Sunil Gavaskar: Our Asian Games achievers have earned the applause

Thrilling end: India finished fourth at the Asian Games with 85 medals, a late rush of gold medals giving its campaign a flourish. | Photo Credit: R.V. MOORTHY

The final weekend of the Asian Games in Japan was a golden one for Indian sport. There were heroic stories of conquering pain and coming back from the jaws of defeat to secure the gold medal, making every Indian sports lover’s heart swell with pride. There may have been fewer medals than in the previous edition of the Asian Games, but what stood out was the sheer pluck and determination of the athletes to keep fighting till the corner was turned.

Hopefully, over the next few days we will get to read and maybe even see the sacrifices made by parents and well-wishers to give their children the support and backing to achieve their sporting dreams. These kinds of stories and pictures are par for the course every IPL, when just one innings of 30 or even a couple of wickets means that not just the family, but the whole village or neighbourhood will be interviewed, as if a record-breaking feat has been achieved. Yes, cricket gets more eyeballs and views for sure, but ignoring achievers in international events from other sports is, to borrow a cricketing term, ‘not cricket’.

The domestic cricket season has begun with the Irani Trophy, even as almost 35 players were engaged in playing for India in the series against West Indies and at the Asian Games. The Ranji Trophy winners of last season were without their star bowler, Auqib Nabi, who made his one-day international debut for India and so missed out on the Irani Trophy. With so many players engaged in national duty, the ‘Rest of India’ side was really what that name suggests: the rest who were not on national duty. There is also a series against Australia A which is currently going on. So, one could argue that it was a fourth XI that took on the Ranji Trophy champions and still managed to beat them. All this may give the impression that India is well stocked with talent and, while the bench strength is definitely the envy of the rest of the cricketing world, it has taken away much of the importance of the Irani Trophy.

One of the reasons why some of the stars of the domestic season come a cropper at the international level is that their performances are mainly against second- or third-string teams. India’s internationals and sometimes fringe players playing for the ‘A’ teams are not playing in domestic cricket. How often have we seen guys who dominate State leagues simply unable to show the same talent when confronted by better Indian and overseas talent in the IPL? This is perhaps the telling reason why performances in the IPL are a faster route to an India cap than deeds in domestic cricket.

If India A teams are going to play during the Ranji Trophy season, then the tournament gets devalued. Yes, if there are Test matches and internationals going on, then it’s perfectly understandable for India players not to be available for their State teams. Have you ever heard of ‘A’ team matches during the IPL? Then why have them during the Ranji Trophy season and deplete the State teams even more? Isn’t the Ranji Trophy the national tournament? Australia and England also have their A teams, but they don’t play during their national season and only tour other countries in their off-season. The competitive level of their national championship is not compromised. Maybe this has been an unusual season for Indian cricket with many international series and tours planned well in advance and so the clash with domestic cricket.

Hopefully, though, as we get into the new season, domestic cricket will get the priority it deserves, for that is where the roots of Indian cricket lie. The stronger those roots, the stronger Indian cricket will be.