Schools cricket on sticky wicket

Unlike in Mumbai, organised schools cricket in Delhi is dying a slow death. The DDCA is ambivalent, writes Khurram Habib.

When Salwan Boys won the Parle schools cricket for the fifth time this year, a fairly common joke did the rounds -- `For the next 15 years, the Parle Cup belongs to them'. For the past few years, Salwan Boys, the most dominant force in schools cricket in Delhi, has been revealing the gap in quality cricket between their boys and those of other schools at almost every tournament in the Capital, and far too frequently.

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Of course by this, they, as their coaches say, have made many enemies.

When contacted, some of the betterknown coaches in town, on condition of anonymity, said Salwan features players who exceed the age limit. This, however, is just one case of contradictions and problems that ail Delhi's school cricket, where the rift between state-backed cricket and privately organised cricket is widening almost every day. From schools having private academies that many coaches have dubbed "production factories" to state-organised events that are seen as merely fulfilling a formality -- quality be damned! -- the city's grassroots seem to need proper watering.

This season, when the Delhi Administration organised a meeting to look into the zonal cricket structure, there were two points discussed -- that the matches should be no less than 40 overs and that every zone should complete the matches. This has been the major problem with schools cricket, one that prompts Gursharan Singh of the Gyan Bharati South Delhi Academy and Venkateshwara Gursharan Academy, to consider them as good as useless. "In the past we've seen inter-zonal finals of just 25 overs. There have been other matches of even 10 overs a side. What do you expect when the Delhi Administration's premier schools event doesn't give the kids even little opportunity?" he complains.

Gurcharan Singh of the Dronacharya Foundation, someone who's coached many of Delhi's junior cricketers to international fame apart from heading the National pace bowlers Academy, points out that the problem is even more complicated. "There are zones which do not hold these matches at all. In short, they are played somewhere and not played somewhere. There is little coordination," he says.

This, they say, made them develop their own academies and train players by making them play in their own tournaments. "The need of the hour is to expose youngsters to day games, so we started the Bon Ton cricket, which is a two-day tournament -- the final is of three days," adds Gursharan.