Published: Sep 29, 2014, 10:09 AM (IST)
Edited: Sep 29, 2014, 10:26 AM (IST)
Sep 29, 2014
School cricket helped foster Sachin Tendulkar‘s enormous talent. After retirement he hopes for the same to happen to other budding batsmen, as a result Tendulkar had recommended 15-a-side games at the inter-school and col legiate level. The idea, however, was rejected by the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA).
The batting maestro is however determined that the 15-a-side games should take place so much so that he had requested MCA president Sharad Pawar to ensure the cricket body has a second look at the idea, according to the Times of India.
Pawar has said there will be a Managing Committee (MC) meeting of the MCA on 16 October, a day after the polls, to discuss Tendulkar’s idea which was rejected twice by the Managing Committee, and didn’t find any takers amongst the MCA’s technical committee too.
Justifying his panel’s call, a member of the technical committee said to Times of India: “Cricket is a team game, not an individual sport. Many times, batsmen join hands with tail-enders to pull off amazing victories. This fosters team spirit, which must be inculcated in kids just as they begin playing the game. According to Tendulkar’s idea, every team can play up to 11 batsmen. So where is the scope for such a charming facet of the game? With so many batsmen around, it is doubtful who amongst them would take the responsibility of carrying the team through.”
“It was felt that cricket at the junior level should be played the way the game is played all over the world, the commitee member added.
“There is no point in the kids playing a certain type of cricket while growing up, but a different game at the top level. This idea won’t help us discover potential cricketers for Mumbai and India. It will encourage players who may just want to bat, and not field or bowl,” he said.
