Date:05/09/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/09/05/stories/2006090501221700.htm

Sport

The importance of an award

The cricketers and the coaches feel hurt when they are deprived of national awards, writes Makarand Waingankar

ALL SET: Rahul Dravid during the unveiling of the DLF Cup in Mumbai on Sunday. - PHOTO: SHASHI ASHIWAL

The value of an award is inestimable to the one who receives it. Though Rahul Dravid has maintained a dignified silence by not reacting to BCCI's faux pas of not recommending his name for the Khel Ratna in time, one should expect him to feel disheartened.

When, after scoring more than two thousand runs in local Mumbai cricket at the age of 12, Sachin Tendulkar was not chosen for the Best Junior Cricketer of the Year award of the Mumbai Cricket Association, he wept till he received a letter from Sunil Gavaskar that he too hadn't been the recipient of that award and he hadn't done too badly in international cricket. But ask Tendulkar about that award now and he still feels he deserved it.

Didn't Dravid deserve the Khel Ratna for his stupendous performances at the international level? Not taking anything away from Pankaj Advani, the recipient of the award, the principle behind such prestigious National awards ought to be consistency, and for that one has to be in a game for at least a decade.

Distinct bias

That there is distinct bias in not picking any international cricketer for any of the National awards (because of the presence of majority of non-cricketers in the committees) is evident from the views that the international cricketers get more money than other sportspersons.

For the past two years, the committee has rejected the name of Yuvraj Singh for the Arjuna Award. Though there are parameters for judging the performances, eventually it is the manipulative thought process that takes precedence over other arguments.

Against this background, the move to institute awards for ratings in domestic cricket by the BCCI has been welcomed by the cricketing fraternity. At a certain stage, money ceases to be the motivating factor and though a Ranji Trophy player will not be getting less than a lakh of rupees per game, knowing there is an award for the highest-ranked junior or senior player will motivate a player immensely. And if the first five rated players are given additional match fees by the BCCI for the next season, it will motivate players further as they will strive to attain the goal in a more scientific way.

Does the BCCI intend extending this rating system to women's cricket now that our team has created history by winning the series against England in England? The England team had beaten a strong Australian side last year, and to beat England is a creditable achievement for the Indian women's team coached by experienced Level II qualified coach Sudha Shah.

No longer is the ICC looking at women's cricket from a social angle. Initially, the BCCI seemed reluctant to get women's cricket under its wing, but now that the branch is merged with the BCCI, not only do the Indian women deserve a bonus as big as the men's team gets, but they too should be inducted in the rating system.

Rating system

Shouldn't there also be a rating system for the Best Coach of The Year Award by the BCCI? The majority of players in the Indian team are from small places and obviously have been coached by those who may not have done a certificate-level course. The fact that they have produced quality cricketers has to be recognised.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a household name but hardly anyone knows the name of his coach. Also, the late Kamal Bhandarkar of Pune was one of the finest coaches who produced quality cricketers. Sunil Gavaskar used to regularly visit Pune to seek his technical guidance. The services of Bhandarkar were never recognised because Indian cricket was too engrossed with other things.

The cricketers and the coaches definitely feel hurt when they are deprived of National awards. The hurt is more because of the fact that these awards are decided by the former international sportspersons who ought to know what it takes to perform consistently at the international level.

Despite being allocated Rs. 50 crores by the BCCI for encouraging players in other sports, if the bias is still going to persist then either the BCCI should have a dialogue with the HRD Ministry or not recommend any names for the National awards.