Only divine power can save Hyderabad cricket

(N Jagannath Das)
Hyderabad: It can’t get worse than this. This is the pits. The present situation in Hyderabad Cricket Association is so ignominious, that only a supernatural or divine intervention can brighten this dark scenario that the HC has sunk into.
As one club secretary commented that even the four-member Supervisory Committee, appointed by the Supreme Court, has not been able to stop the rot that has set in the association.
But what is sad is the allegation of biased selection and corruption while selecting the Hyderabad teams. Perhaps HCA is only the state association that selects 20 or above 24 players for any tournament from junior to senior levels. This has raised eyebrows. The Covid-19 protocols saw the BCCI asking for a jumbo team as safety health measures two years ago. But this year the BCCI has clearly instructed the state bodies to select 15 members but the state Association reportedly continues to name a jumbo team. Apart from that, there is allegation that junior teams have witnessed six to seven new members being added/replaced for every match. Usually, the association sends the team squad for the first match but thereafter there is no further information of the changes or replacements in the team. A parent says this is happening in every match.
” I’m not sure if my boy will play in the next match. There is a lot of uncertainty and that has not helped the player’s cause. There are cases where players are taken with the team and they return without playing a single match. What goes through the players’ mental state is unimaginable. The parents have great difficulty in controlling the emotions of their kids. You can’t play with a player’s career,’’ lamented a parent.The selection of some mediocre players has a cascading effect on the team’s performance. The teams are facing humiliating defeats at all levels. The classic example is that of the Hyderabad Ranji teams that has not exuded any confidence. There is a basic lack of application. In the first match against Tamil Nadu, they just about managed to avoid defeat. However, they had the mortification of the TN openers slamming 100-odd runs off seven overs. Hyderabad’s woes continued in the next match as Mumbai raced off to an innings win. The home team amassed 600-odd runs and Hyderabad batters came cropper in both the innings.What is surprising is that the present body is not bothered about local cricket. Hyderabad had a glorious past. That it could produce top class cricketers is because of the strong local tournaments. It had tournaments like three-day league, Kishen Pershad, Behram ud Dowla to name a few. The players could perform and stake a claim for a place in the State team. This year, there are no three-day leagues and they straightaway decided to conduct a T20 tournament in memory of MAK Pataudi.
“The local leagues are a crucial link and they supply players to the State team. But with no leagues, the players are thrown like lambs to the wolves directly in big tournaments like Ranji Trophy. This has clearly exposed the players’ technique.
The batters learn to play long innings by participating in the local league while the bowlers learn to get the rhythm by bowling in the leagues. That is all missing now. Cricket has hit a new low. We are in a situation where God only can save Hyderabad cricket,’’ moaned a former selector.