Published: Oct 14, 2011, 11:16 AM (IST)
Edited: Aug 23, 2014, 02:28 AM (IST)
In the past, quite a few players have come into the limelight due to their performances in the Challenger Trophy. Piyush Chawla’s (above) spell to Sachin Tendulkar in one of the editions got him instant fame © AFP
By Nishad Pai Vaidya
If the Irani Trophy was played under the shadow of the Champions League T20 (CLT20), the Challenger Trophy, which concluded on Thursday, was played in obscurity. Squeezed between the CLT20 and the India-England One-Day International (ODI) series, one of India’s premier one-day domestic tournaments failed to get the attention it deserved. Traditionally, the Challenger Trophy served as a cradle of emerging talent, but with the emergence of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the selectors seem to have shifted their scouting base.
The scheduling of the 2011 NKP Salve Challenger Trophy is pathetic to say the least. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) clearly has its eyes focused on other tournaments such as the IPL and the CLT20. They have failed to give the championship the due it deserved. The CLT20 got over on October 9 and the England ODI series begins on the October14. The BCCI managed to fit in this prestigious tournament in the four-day gap to give some of the India discards and promising one-day players at the domestic level a chance to compete in a tri-series format.
In general, the BCCI has been criticised for the way it has scheduled India’s tours in the past few months. India’s tour of England got over on September 16 and the CLT20 started immediately after the team returned. Five days after the end of the CLT20, England begin their ODI sojourn in India. It hardly leaves any time for a domestic competition like the Challenger Trophy.
Moreover, it’s hard on players like Gautam Gambhir. The Delhi opener had a tough tour of England with injuries but used his time in the CLT20 to get back into his groove. Had his franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders qualified for the knock-out of the CLT20, then Gambhir would have been on the run for days. Luckily he had a small gap which allowed him to cool off before the Challenger Trophy. The final got over on Thursday and he will immediately have to fly out to join the Indian team to take on England the next day.
In the past, quite a few players have come into the limelight due to their performances in the Challenger Trophy. Piyush Chawla’s spell to Sachin Tendulkar got him instant fame. Sreesanth came into the national reckoning after a good performance in one of the editions. And nobody can one forget Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s whirlwind knock in one of the games in the 2004-05 edition, which drew praise from the then India captain Sourav Ganguly and coach John Wright. However, in the past few years, we have seen players being brought in on the basis of their IPL performances. In such a scenario, what value does a good performance in the Challenger Trophy hold?
The tight scheduling hasn’t allowed some of the India regulars to take part in the Challenger Trophy this time around. With the exception of Gambhir, none of the other players are India regulars. Harbhajan Singh has just been dropped and is trying to make his way back whereas the others like Yusuf Pathan, Subramaniam Badrinath and Saurabh Tiwary are fringe players.
The India discards such as Robin Uthappa, Irfan Pathan and Mohammed Kaif are trying to use this opportunity to get recognised again. However, the inclusion of India regulars adds more competition and quality which tests some of these players and the other youngsters who impressed during the previous season. As a result, the just-concluded tournament lacked the quality the previous editions.
The Challenger Trophy has all the necessary ingredients to become a “premier” one-day tournament like coloured clothing, day-night games and televised coverage. If the scheduling is right, then some of the India stars will be able to participate which would attract the crowds to the stadium.
The BCCI needs to get its priorities right. In pursuit of the big bucks through the T20 tournaments, they risk killing the base of Indian cricket. One would just hope that they do not strangle their swan while chasing a golden goose!
(Nishad Pai Vaidya, a 21-year-old law student, is a club and college-level cricketer. His teachers always complain, “He knows the stats and facts of cricket more than the subjects we teach him.”)
