Same old, out-of-tune song
Sunrisers Hyderabad serve a raw deal to local cricketers
By : moses kondety
Update: 2015-05-19 06:17 GMT
Hyderabad: The Sunrisers have finished sixth in IPL — they have matched their last season’s effort. Is that good enough? They took the fight for Playoffs qualification to the last game this time though but by and large, it’s been the same old song with the Hyderabad franchise, which seems out-of-tune with the times.
Understandably, they faced the music on field. The hosts paid for relying heavily on a few players, both in the batting and bowling departments. The worst part is that they shut themselves and did not apparently try to think out of the box. If only they had made better use of their players, especially the local ones who would have greatly benefitted from the big stage exposure if not made better contributions than some others. But nobody seemed to care for them.
Of the four in the squad, G.H. Vihari and Ashish Reddy got to play five and six matches respectively. Vihari, the opening batsman, was slotted at No.7! He may not be a heavyweight unlike others in the team but is an India U-19 World Cupper and has a double century against his name in Ranji Trophy. The 21-year-old’s confidence has been crushed. His team’s think tank is to blame.
Bowling allrounder Ashish Reddy was the other underutilised Hyderabadi. He got to bowl just six overs in the six games he played, conceding 50 to claim three wickets. Two other India U-19 players — C.V. Milind and Ricky Bhui — suffered the most. They were in but actually out. The duo remained just on paper and weren’t even part of the squad for away games to which teams travel with pruned sides. Ricky, of the Andhra Cricket Association, was not considered even for the three matches SRH played in Visakhapatnam. All Milind and Ricky got for their troubles at practice sessions was the Sunrisers jersey, trousers and some money. What they needed most was at least a game.
Doing away with the catchment area rule — which made it mandatory for teams to have four uncapped domestic players from Associations affiliated to the franchise in the squad — has hit the lesser known players hard. The franchisees too have been deceptively playing their cards. They sing different tunes on different stages. For example, they seek tax exemptions from state governments for staging games under the guise of promoting local talent but the reality is far away from it.
In the given circumstances, the BCCI would do well to impose a minimum quota (maybe one slot) in the playing XI for uncapped local players — a far cry though, given the grime that has gathered in all the powerful places.