*Coordination of support staff as important as cohesiveness of players
Rajesh Dhar
JAMMU, Mar 21: For achieving better results in the field of sports in general and the game of cricket in particular, the basic need is to focus on the skeletal assessment, fitness, strength and skill development of the players during the off-season. Or, in other words, apart from acquiring maximum fitness, the off-season is meant for developing skill and rectifying mistakes. Expecting working on the skill part of the game and refining the same during the competition days is simply absurd rather like crying for the moon or flogging a dead horse.
This statement was revealed by former Test Cricketer and Jammu and Kashmir Ranji Trophy team coach, Sunil Joshi while expressing his views on preparing the State teams and honing the skill and talent of the players to excel at the national scene.
In an interaction with EXCELSIOR, Mr Joshi, who was instrumental in helping Jammu and Kashmir to register a historic win against 40-time Ranji Trophy Champions, mighty Mumbai in Mumbai and thrashing star-studded Delhi in Vijay Hazare Trophy this season, said that Jammu and Kashmir has a talented crop of cricketers, which needs timely cultivation for yielding ripe fruit at right time.
Former India all-rounder, who has the distinction of helping Team India win against formidable sides, with his left-arm spin bowling and lower-order batting display, said that J&K has a galaxy of talented youngsters in Shubham Khajuria, Shubham Pundir, Umar Nazir, Jahangir Lone, Jatin Wadhawan and Usman Pandit etc, besides the likes of Parvez Rasool, Ian Dev Singh and Ramdayal, who posses all that is required to blossom at the highest level , adding that such cricketers are needed to go through a comprehensive scheduling of cricketing programme to provide them sufficient opportunity to achieve heights.
“Jammu and Kashmir is a unique State in the Country as far as its topography and climatic condition is concerned. It is opportune place for running the sports activities throughout the year-with six months in this region and six in the other, as the State has the distinction of having congenial sporting atmosphere all through 12 months, ” Joshi expressed.
Mr Joshi’s ‘mantra’ for betterment of the game in the State and achieving ultimate goals is “Mind Your Own Business”, meaning every member of the support staff and every player should concentrate on his own job, rather than indulging in others roles and assignments. He said developing professional instinct and attitude among the players and the supporting staff is the need of the hour.
Expressing satisfaction over the support staff provided to him by the JKCA during the current season, former Karnataka all-rounder said that the coordination of the support staff is as important for the team as cohesiveness of the players.
“For better results, during the competition days, Captain needs to concentrate on taking on-field quick decisions, be innovative and lead from the front; coach needs to make official strategies and ploys, infuse spirit and build temperament of the players; manager needs to provide boarding, lodging, food and allied facilities, while the physio and the trainer need to assess wholesome fitness and strength of the players,” Joshi expressed.
However, during the off-season, Joshi’s ladder to success is straight and simple. He said the off-season camp needs to begin with groups of batches, commencing with a camp for the group of skillful Under-19 and Under-23 probables for two to three weeks with skeletal assessment, fitness and strength, with a qualified staff, which is to be followed by a similar camp for the selected Ranji Trophy probables.
He further said, that these camps should be followed by skill coaching camp for two to three weeks for the first and second group respectively. After picking the players on merit basis from both these groups, a pool of around 30 players should be selected and provided a platform to participate in the prestigious All India level cricket tournaments, which are annually held at Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Chandigarh and Pune.
Mr Joshi said that off-season ought to be focused on fitness and skill level only, under a qualified coach. Otherwise, expecting good show from the State players, without proper training in the off-season is to red rag a bull.
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