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With the Cricket World Cup in the Carribean round the corner, this is as
good a time as any to ponder on the state of cricket in Goa. It has always
been a topic of interest to me that Goa and Goans have not yet made their
presence felt in this sport. To the best of my knowledge and I would love to
stand corrected on this, no Indian of Goan origin has donned India colors,
be it white or blue. If nothing else, given Indian cricket's appalling
fielding standards, it would be very well served with a dose of the
celebrated Goan athleticism, which at present is being monopolised by Indian
soccer.
Considering that Kerala which was, till recently what one would consider a
cricket agnostic state, has thrown up two remarkable fast medium bowling
talents who answer to the names of Tinu Yohannan and S Sreesanth, it would
not be unfair to fantasise a Quadros or a Coutinho tweaking his left arm
over and do a Ponting (not that it tales much to do Ponting ) in flight and
being stumped by a Salgoacar. I have not seen too much of cricket being
played on Goan grounds like it happens in the rest of India, but I was very
impressed when, the other day, travelling from Siolim to Calangute, I saw a
most impressive cricket nets being conducted and under lights !!. And it was
even more heartening to note that demand seemed to exceed supply by a fair
margin going by the wannabe Tendulkars and Dravids jostling with each other
for a hit. Being an ardent cricket fan, it was a sight to behold.
A few years back, the Goa Cricket Association had roped in V B
Chandrasekhar, who played all too briefly for India, to lead the Goa Ranji
Team. For reasons unknown, the experiment did not last long enough for any
significant benefits to trickle down, either in the form of the Goa team
setting the Ranji stage on fire or more realistically inspiring the next
generation to take up the sport. It is relevant to note here that after
hanging up his boots, VB has set up a cricket academy in Chennai. How much
would it have taken to entice VB do the same in Goa. Which brings us to the
fundamental question. Is there enough commitment amongst the powers that be
to make Goa a formidable force in domestic cricket. Media reports indicate
that a spanking new "exclusively" cricket stadium is coming up in the Tinvim
locality. But talent does not necessarily follow infrastructure creation. It
takes much more to create a sporting culture than simply building a stadium.
Else, countries in the Middle East would be top of the leader boards in the
Olympics.
Given that international cricket matches that are allotted to non metro
locations are few and far between, it may not be a bad idea to use the new
stadium for popularising the new emerging 20/20 version of slam bang
cricket. 20/20 has all the ingredients for making a visit to the stadium an
enjoyable family outing and this may be the best way to inspire the future
generations to take up cricket in right earnest. I sincerely hope that
cricket gives soccer a run for its money when it comes to attracting Goan
sporting talent sooner rather than later.
