da premier bet： Synergy is a much-praised management concept, and its applicationto Indian cricket would undoubtedly reap rich benefits
da roleta： Staff Reporter20-Mar-2002Synergy is a much-praised management concept, and its applicationto Indian cricket would undoubtedly reap rich benefits. The India’A’ tour to South Africa presents a shining example of suchsynergy, where Yashpal Sharma’s determination and single-mindeddevotion, qualities that are outstanding in rags-to-richesstories such as his, rub shoulders with Jagmohan Dalmiya’scorporate clout and workaholic zeal.Sharma himself, when interviewed ahead of his departure for SouthAfrica as coach of the ‘A’ side, is quick to single out Dalmiyafor praise. “The president of the Board of Control for Cricket inIndia (BCCI) is determined to take Indian cricket in the rightdirection, and that is good,” he said.The tour itself consists of a three-day match and a limited-oversgame against the President’s XI, as well as two four-day fixturesand two limited-overs matches against South Africa ‘A’. Runningfrom March 22 to April 19, the tour ensures that India ‘A’ gainimmense exposure to fast pitches and quality attacks.The ‘A’ tour “is a wonderful concept,” says Sharma. “It is a movein the right direction. It is exposure for the youngsters at theinternational level, and by this they stand to gain a lot. Theydon’t feel out of place when they make it to the big league.”When questioned about the targets that he, as a coach, has setfor the tour, Sharma displays a wonderful pragmatism. “Obviouslywe want to win the series. But exposure is the most importantthing – to allow players to expose themselves to quality tracks,”he said. “This is the second string of players for the 2003 WorldCup, and good results here will hold them in good stead.”Sharma pointed out some promising youngsters who had caught hiseye while making a point about the recent infusion of fresh bloodinto the Indian team. “As we saw in the Hyderabad one-dayer, theyoungsters have a big role to play in pushing the seniors,” hesaid. “Gautam Gambhir has a big chance of making it big, and sodo the others. The selectors have got the balance right; thesquad has the potential to do well and it has tremendous balancetoo. It will be a good experience for fast bowlers like RakeshPatel, L Balaji, Debasis Mohanty and Amit Bhandari.”The India ‘A’ coach took time out to praise Balaji in particular.”L Balaji is a good prospect. He has the basic technique. Heneeds to sharpen his skills,” said Sharma. He also had some wordsto offer on Parthiv Patel. “He is a very good young cricketer andlooks very confident. As a wicket-keeper, he is technically verygood, and he is also a hard-hitting batsman.”The generation gap is always a worry for the coach of a youngside, but Sharma ran up against no such problems. “In just twohours, I could gel with them very well. My approach is that of asenior player, and not exactly as a coach. I am trying to pass onmy experience and help build good careers,” he said.Sharma was known in his day as a gutsy and courageous cricketer,always fighting till the last possible moment. He is now on amission to impart these qualities to the Indian youth. “As aplayer, I always backed my fighting abilities,” he said. “Skillis important, but the most important thing is attitude, and Iwill try to instill this fighting sprit in the boys.”
