This Ranji Trophy season was a disastrous campaign for Goa. The Goan side lost five out of their seven games, losing to Tripura, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Railways and Gujarat. Infact, Goa could barely manage to collect mere four points courtesy, to their two draws against minnows Chandigarh and mighty Karnataka.
This poor showing meant that Goa finished 31st among 32 teams in the Ranji Trophy Elite group. Goa along with Manipur, who lost all their games are now relegated to the Plate division for next Ranji Trophy season where they will face minnows from North-East like Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
“The players don’t have the right attitude. The hunger is missing in many players now. During Swapnil’s (Asnodkar) time, the players were a little bit more dedicated. Their final aim shouldn’t be just playing the Ranji Trophy, but eventually playing for India. That is how they can push the bar,” Vipul Phadke, President of Goa Cricket, said at a sports conclave held in Goa earlier this year. Phadke was bang on in identifying what are the major problems plaguing Goan cricket.
Among batters, Suyash Prabhudesai was the lone bright spot for Goa this Ranji season. The opener, who plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL, scored 687 runs including three centuries against Chandigarh (197), Karnataka (143) and Tamil Nadu (104). Captain Darshan Misal with 31 wickets including two 5-wicket haul and Mohit Redkar with 23 wickets were the other star performers for Goa.
But, apart from these three cricketers, rest of the Goan squad was not up to the mark. They were very much inconsistent in their performance. Among outstation players, Krishnamurthy Siddharth scored 467 runs including a century while Arjun Tendulkar scored 258 runs and took 9 tickets in 11 innings.
Another problem facing Goan cricket today is the lack of bench strength. The cupboard looks empty. Goa has very few quality cricketers like Suyash Prabhudesai, Darshan Misal and Mohit Redkar in its ranks. The state needs more. The challenge for the association would be to groom and nurture talent. Relying on outstation cricketers always won’t really help Goan cricket in the long run. The outstation cricketers’ are mainly brought to the side in order to raise the bar for Goan cricketers.
Phadke was also frank enough to admit that Goa Cricket Association (GCA) had failed to identify talent from the grassroots’ level.
“GCA has also failed on some aspects. It has failed to produce young talent from the grassroots. We need to work at the under-14 and under-16 levels. Recently, we have started centres for junior boys, and we plan to expand this, decentralize the whole system, and take cricket to the villages of Goa. This will be a long journey, and it will take time. The results won’t happen overnight, “ he said at the conclave.
Swapnil Asnodkar, former Goa Ranji captain who was also present at the sports conclave also felt that there is lack of hunger among Goan cricketers.
“Talent is there, but the challenge is to nurture it. Players need to give their whole heart and not just rely on the association to provide the facilities. When we played, there wasn’t much exposure or facility, but the hunger was there. The hunger is dying. Maybe because they are getting everything spoon fed. Once you fool around with this game, the game fools around with you. The biggest spoiler for any cricketer today is the mobile,” Swapnil said.
