Mumbai cricket needs a review

Mumbai;s chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar

Mumbai cricketers need to play more long-form cricket." Sitting opposite me at the lunch table in suburban Mumbai last week was not just a Mumbai cricket lover who uttered these words, but an inter-office team boss, a recruiter of players and even a keen-as-mustard member of his team's playing XI.

My friend pointed to the month of the year and that the top tier of the Times Shield tournament which in previous years would be approaching its end, had not even begun. He was right. That's just one of the many absurdities city cricket is experiencing, either through the changing landscape of scheduling or poor administration.

The 2018-19 season will go down as a notorious one for Mumbai cricket. Failure to make it to the knockout rounds of the Ranji Trophy has not gone down well with the cricketing fraternity and winning the season-opener Vijay Hazare Trophy is not viewed as substantial consolation. However, a title triumph in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy played in the T20 format may provide some amount of solace.

Things have been dramatic off the field too with Parsee Gymkhana's cricket secretary Khodadad Yazdegardi calling for a Special General Meeting (SGM) at the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) to oust the present selection committee comprising chairman Ajit Agarkar, Nilesh Kulkarni, Sunil More and Ravi Thakkar. Some feel that this sets a wrong precedent because cricketing decisions must be made by the Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC) appointed by the MCA. I wonder whether tomorrow club members would want to have a say in the appointment of the Mumbai team captain, something that used to happen at Yorkshire County Cricket Club and stressed out Geoff Boycott no end during his controversial career with the county. "I am proud to have followed in the footsteps of some great men who captained Yorkshire, but I realise now that taking on the role was the biggest mistake I ever made in my cricketing career," he admitted to The Telegraph in 2014.

At the heart of Yazdegardi's desire to see the selection committee scrapped was that the selectors were not watching local cricket and hence some deserving players didn't make the list of Mumbai probables. And while the selectors - who are only answerable to the CIC and the ad-hoc committee - refute this charge, Yazdegardi succeeded in getting the SGM held. There it was decided that the ad hoc committee handling the affairs of the MCA should direct the Raju Kulkarni-led CIC to replace Agarkar & Co. The issue of selectors not watching matches landing up at the very top of the house could have been avoided had the CIC tackled the problem and come up with their verdict. After all, the committee consists of top names in Mumbai cricket.

Amidst all these unhealthy flames came former Mumbai coach Chandrakant Pandit's success with the Vidarbha team that clinched the Ranji Trophy and followed up that sterling triumph with Irani Cup honours. Pandit, who was relieved of his services as coach of Mumbai, went to the Orange City and made his detractors green with envy in just two seasons. This makes for yet another example of Mumbai cricket's loss and a gain for another state team. It also shows what extending a free hand to a coach can do. Indeed, the Vidarbha template for success is worth emulating.

Where does Mumbai cricket go from here? How does it pick up the pieces in an administrative environment not providing much indication of genuine intention to stage a recovery? That the CIC decided recently to invite a few former captains to join them in discussions was good, but is that enough to bring about extraordinary change? Will the CIC be able to call those former stalwarts for another meeting and say to them, 'You suggested solutions for X, Y, Z problems last year and this is what we have done?' After all, some form of a follow up is as important as the action itself.

While well-wishers of city cricket mull over questions like these, I propose the initiation of a complete review like they had in Australia in 2011. No other state association has produced more international and club cricketers than Mumbai. Their involvement in the revolution is mandatory. A survey must dwell on questions over efficient administration, fairness in selection across all levels, club tournaments, facilities at grounds and whether people with good intentions are allowed to enter the system. I'd also recommend a whistle blower policy to ensure nothing comes in the way of talent development.

Unless there is administrative will and promise to act on the findings, the review will have no meaning. Who doesn't want to see Mumbai cricket back on track and by that I don't only mean an improvement in the national championship. However outlandish it may sound, but the 41 Ranji Trophy triumphs must be kept aside for the time being and only spoken about when the next title is close at hand. Yes, Mumbai must inscribe its name on the Ranji Trophy again, but that can wait. What cannot wait is finding solutions to in-house problems, lest we lose more than trophies to our troubles.

mid-day's group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance. He tweets @ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com

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