ACA’s outstation obsession

STUMP VISION: Syed Zakaria Zuffri

Syed Zakaria Zuffri at Nehru Stadium in Guwahati. File picture In the recent Ranjit Trophy and Duleep Trophy tournaments, the Assam Cricket Association (ACA) has displayed an apparent “soft corner” for outstation recruits. By backing R.R. Parida and Anand Katti for East Zone side, which was sent packing by West Zone, the only thing one could infer was that the ACA was trying to justify its decision to field the duo in the Ranji side. Promising medium-pacer Krishna Das was there but only to cool his heels while Arlen Konwar, who scalped 14 wickets in four matches, was not on the selectors’ radar though the same player got selected after taking only seven wickets in five matches last season. Had Konwar been selected, he could have got another opportunity to impress the BCCI selectors, as there is a dearth of quality offies in India. The “soft corner” for outstation recruits was also reflected at the conditioning camps for the one-dayers. Captain Parida himself came a day before the announcement of the team. Why this special treatment? The lack of planning was also reflected in the selection of the Vijay Hazare Trophy one day team.  Katti was named standby after playing the Duleep Trophy in the main XI, while local talent Gokul Sharma was not even considered despite being in good form. The latter had scored a century in practice-cum-trial matches — performances which were “considered” for the selection. Sharma had even led the state under-22 team to the all-India quarter-finals with a 100 against Tripura and 60 against Punjab. It was also surprising to note the inclusion of Deepak Sharma, who played all the Ranji matches without a 50. Outstation recruits are also given special treatment during conditioning camps. Often most of them arrive before the announcement of the team. Why this special treatment? Returning to the action on the field, it is heartening to see competition building up with the introduction of the Elite and Plate Groups in our premier inter-district domestic meet.  It is a good initiative of the ACA. It is a laudable initiative of the ACA which should now try to make it even more competitive by reducing the number of Elite Group teams from next season. A lot of outstation players also played for various districts and I foresee that if this trend continues, there will be hardly any local player in the state side few years down the line.  ACA has done the right thing by calling for reports from the districts on outstation players but it needs to go beyond that by framing a policy that does not hinder the progress of local players.  It is sad to see Assam is following the example of minnows Tripura rather than the formidable Bengal side where services of outstation players were used to boost both Ranji and domestic cricket over a period of time instead of changing players and coaches every other year.  (The writer is a wicketkeeper-batsman and is currently with the ICL)