Click to play video'Perform or perish!' That is the message of BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah to the Indian team. In a CNN-IBN exclusive he says that non-performers could be called back, if they fail in the first Test against South Africa starting on Friday. Shah has however, dismissed the need for a bowling coach, something that chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar had spoken of earlier.
Dilip Vengsarkar, who is currently in South Africa, is optimistic that the Indian team will improve its performance after a drubbing it received in the One-Day series.
Is the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) putting undue pressure on our cricketers?
CNN-IBN Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai put the question to the panellists including the Chief Administrative Officer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Prof Ratnakar Shetty, former cricketer and national selector V B Chandrasekar and sports journalist Sharda Ugra.
The Indian Cricket Board is set to crack the whip, says the record. Perform or come back home is the message for the Men in Blue. It could be testing times for a team that is already struggling to make any impact in the African Safari.
Chairman of Selectors Vengsarkar is now in South Africa and will remain with the Indian team till the end of the Test series. He will have a voice in the selection of the playing 11 although the final decision will rest with the team management. There have been fears that Vengsarkar’s presence could undermine the role of the captain and the coach. But the Colonel himself has dismissed those fears.
Should non-performers be asked to come back?
How seriously should the fact that the non-performers should be called back be taken? Is it a threat to team given by the Indian Cricket Board? Is that really possible?
"I don’t know to what reaction he has made the statement; I have not heard the entire context. But I feel what Dilip Vengsarkar has said carries more weight because normally in a tour a player who is injured or a player who is not available for a long period and someone with a serious problem comes back home. I don’t think really that just a performance in one match really has ever been a case in the past,” said Prof Ratnakar Shetty.
What is Vengsarkar doing in South Africa then? Is this also a part of the process of putting pressure on the team management to deliver?
"I don’t think that it he is there to put pressure on the team management. Because of his experience of having played for a long number of years for India and being a successful cricketer, he will be able to give inputs to the team management when they finally select the team members for the Test match. His inputs will be helpful for the final eleven," Shetty said.
How helpful is Vengsarkar’s presence for the Indian team?
With Chairman of Selectors Vengsarkar also in South Africa, his presence in itself could put pressure on the players to perform.
V B Chandrasekhar who has been on tours with the playing team as a selector opined, "It is important that a selector travels on tour to see the attitude of players and the way they function. However, from a selection point of view, it is going to be different if you sit in a committee when you only get the feedback from the coach or the captain. It is always better if one of the selectors tours with the team and that should become a part of the touring committee.
However, will not Vengsarkar’s presence put pressure on the captain and the coach as well? As by doing so two authorities will be created: the Chairman of the Selectors as one and the captain and the coach as the other.
"When you select a team for a tour match it is important that the selector forms a part of it. There is no question of being watched. However, if a player feels that he is under pressure then he wouldn’t be playing cricket at the highest level," said Chandrasekhar.
Are the players being put on pressure?
Niranjan Shah had very clearly in a CNN-IBN interview said that the board would look at how the team performs. Non-performers would be called back.
With the Board secretary having said that, have the players been put on a lot of pressure?
Renowned sports journalist Sharda Ugra said, "Having someone back just because they have not performed well is almost like telling the selector that you didn’t do your job properly as you picked the wrong people. The mental state of the team is such that they are almost under siege. They would want to hear that from all the distances. The only message that they get is come back if you are not doing well. And this statement coming from the secretary is a bit disconcerting."
After the team being completely decimated in the One-Day series, and the kind of remarks made by the politicians in Parliament, the team must be in a sense of siege.
Sharda Ugra pointed out by saying, "There is pressure to produce results. But 'perform or perish' is only a slogan. Cricket is a game that requires confidence and the team is struggling to get it back and where pressure concerned, the team doesn't only face pressure from the politicians but pressure from the media. And the last thing that they need is the Board secretary saying something like this."
Is the Indian Cricket Board being influenced?
Has the Indian cricket board got it wrong? Is what the politicians are saying and what the people are saying carrying them away? Has Dilip Vengasrkar been sent to South Africa just because the politicians are getting angry with the cricketers?
"It was on the cards for Dilip Vengsarkar to go to South Africa. It was opted for the Test match period. We have not done well in the One-Day series. We have not been doing well over the past four months and therefore the pressure came from the public. The Board however, doesn’t function on public emotions and what people think. Cricket has to be run in a manner according to the long-term policy of the Board. The boys had done well in the first six months of the cricket season. They won 18 games on the trot and everybody praised them. We just need one good innings from them," said Shetty.
How is the team being affected?
With the matches just around the corner, a number of players have their careers virtually on the line. What would it mean to the players at the moment?
"The slogan of CNN-IBN ‘Whatever It Takes’ works well for them. And they know what it is to handle pressure. It is a lot more pressure when they play in India. When I was on a tour with the team as a selector in West Indies, I found them very relaxed, and that was the reason why they won the Test series there after 30 years," said Chandrasekhar.
But surely, the cricketers must have been affected by the criticism they have had to face over the last month.
"The team feels a lot less pressurised when they are outside. They have done well in the Test series after losing 4-1 to West Indies. They should do well in the coming matches," said Chandrasekhar.
Are the cricketers under less pressure when they play outside India?
A lot of cricketers believe that they are under a lot less pressure when they are outside the country then they are when they play in India. By being away from the criticism of the public, the politicians and even the Board help the Indian team who are playing in South Africa?
"Their preparation leading up to the Test match in Johannesburg could actually help them, and moreover Vengsarkar is not treat figure. He is just a selector on tour and it is his role to be there. I don’t think that that will put them on pressure. The pressure that they feel will be internal particularly if they don’t get runs. They will be anxious about it and they will want runs. But they will back themselves," said Ugra.
However, when you are down you tend to work harder. May be that will help the team turn the corner.
"Sachin Tendulkar’s example cannot be used for that matter because he knows his game only too well. However a lot of younger players will want to get the Test match underway and be out there. Even Ganguly for that matter will feel the heat after returning to the side," said Ugra.
Will the team get any incentive should they do well from here on in?
With the BCCI Secretary making a statement like that and the Board giving a stick to the players, what bonus will the cricketers get?
"The thinking that has been going on as far as the contract system is concerned is that the payment should be based on the team’s performance. You should have the incentive bonus instead of them paid equally whether they win or lose. You pay them more when they win matches," said Shetty.
The final verdict
Seventy per cent of the people, a thumping majority, agree that the Board is putting undue pressure on the cricketers during their times of crises, as compared to 30 per cent who say that it should not be affecting the players on tour.
Whether Team India comes back from the slump or continues to falter, though, is yet to be seen.
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