A lot of players faced a similar situation (like Jadeja's) in the first edition of the IPL when they were found negotiating with other franchisees despite already signing an MOU with one © Associated Press

‘I hate Ravindra Jadeja. He’s betrayed Rajasthan Royals’, wrote a Rajasthan Royals fan on my Facebook page. ‘Jadeja should be banned for longer’, wrote another on Twitter. I felt bad for him. He reminded me of classic western tragedies and a fallen hero, doomed to a life of retribution, for he fell for the lure. No doubt, he should have been penalized. Yet, I consider the fine just a deterrent, not the solution. Jadeja’s story didn’t come as a shock, for I had seen it all coming and was surprised that no one else did.

A lot of players faced a similar situation in the first edition of the IPL when they were found negotiating with other franchisees despite already signing an MOU with one. Back then, they were let off with a stern warning. Ironically enough, it was never considered an issue, but an aberration.

But ever wondered why players didn’t take the MOU seriously? Well, it wasn’t just plain foolishness. Perhaps, we missed a story there.

The contract stand-off between agents and players has continued to be an eye sore for both the parties for ever now. The latest case in point being boxer Vijender Singh. Apparently, he signed a rather odd contract in which he agreed to share 60% of the revenue generated with the agency. It was a long contract with no option to walk out. And it isn’t just the newbies who’ve succumbed to the pressures. Big guns like Sourav Ganguly, Zaheer Khan, VVS Laxman, Harbhajan Singh too have had their share of unpleasant trysts with legal modalities.

What troubles me is this – why did Vijender agree to such obscene terms?

Well, as kids when you go to an academy the only thing you learn are the nuances of the game. You ask your seniors and coach how to play a certain shot or bowl a certain ball. You never ask them how to find the right agent and how to deal with the media. Neither do the seniors offer you such an advice. But the moment you graduate to the next level you’re suddenly exposed to a world of a different kind. Not only do you face better bowlers and batsmen but also different kinds of pressure from all quarters.

If you perform, even moderately enough, an agent/manager and nowadays the IPL scouts approach you with an unimaginable booty in hand. With cricket fast becoming mercurial in nature, the insecurities loom large on its players. And the agents cash in on just that. A rosy picture is painted and a world, hitherto unseen, is promised to these kids. Would you then blame these teenagers or 20-somethings for falling for it?

But, it’s not only the contracts where players find themselves on a sticky ground. A certain sense of high headedness amongst cricketers has also been a constant media grouse. Even the officials within the board have aired their concern with regards to the priorities of the younger lot. Add to this the danger of success going to a players head and one has a lot of issues to deal with. But are the young players equipped to deal with these non-cricketing issues? My answer is a firm ‘no’.

With the average age of a player making some quick bucks coming down considerably, there’s certainly a need to address these issues. These players need professional help on various quarters. We need a mechanism in place which would reach out to these kids and teach them how to deal with the media, how to choose the agent judiciously, how to honor a contract and its repercussions and above all how to set your priorities right with regards to playing for the country. It may sound a lot of work but England Cricket Board does it efficiently every year. They have a drug menace to deal with and hence to educate their cricketers, they’ve formed a committee which visits every county and speaks to every first-class cricketer. We need something similar keeping our issues in mind. Such mechanism would not only avoid Jadeja-like cases to occur but also will empower players to deal with the over-the-top criticism Jadeja has been subjected to.

"If you don’t have a good enough team to compete then you must hire professionals to make one" © Cricinfo Ltd

A couple of years ago, Wasim Akram, when asked about Indian domestic structure, remarked - “To improve the standard of cricket, India must reduce the number of teams playing in the Ranji Trophy."

He went on to observe that India "were sacrificing quality for quantity". Well, I beg to differ with him on this. While I acknowledge that it is imperative to have a strong domestic set-up, one also needs to understand the dynamics of this country. We are a nation of a billion people with cricket as our religion. Obviously then we need a bigger platform to accommodate its students.

Wasim’s comments perhaps stem from his appreciation for the strong Australian and South African domestic models with only six teams apiece. While the set-up has proved to be a success in these countries, in India it might well filter out talent from the heap rather than identifying and nurturing it. Let’s face it, a total of 27 teams in the Ranji Trophy amounts to just about 297 playing members from a pool of thousands across the length and breadth of the country. Trimming these figures down would well mean snatching away of crucial opportunities.

Quality, undeniably, is a huge concern, and the BCCI has by and large taken measures to ensure just that. State teams can now field up to three professionals in the playing XI. The onus is on the state associations to make use of this opportunity along with the funds provided by the BCCI.

Talking quality, teams in the Plate League are often criticised for the lack of it. Some feel that they deserve to be kept in that division for their sheer non-performance. At one level it’s absolutely just that they bear the repercussions of not improving as a state team but at another level their poor standard isn’t good for the health of the game in India. Also if the teams in the Plate League don’t progress, the Zonal one-day matches, which are currently in progress, would also lose its relevance.

I’d stick to my suggestion of having three groups of nine teams. Instead of just a couple of teams swapping places, a good idea would be to have three teams getting relegated and promoted every season. Teams who don’t show any signs of improvement in terms of results and producing good cricketers should not only be relegated but also be slapped with a financial penalty. The process is quite straight forward: if you don’t have a good enough team to compete then you must hire professionals to make one. Assam did exactly the same thing in the ongoing first-class season and was successful. They not only topped their group but also qualified for the quarter-finals. With that they have ensured a place in the Elite League for the next season. It’s time for others to follow suit.

"Most centuries scored in this edition of the Duleep trophy have come from the middle-order batsmen which include as many as three double centuries in just four matches" © Cricinfo Ltd

The fast bowlers had made early inroads and the opposition seemed to be on the mat. The batting was in pieces when the middle and the lower middle-order geared up and pulled their team back into the match. Just when they seemed to be cruising, the bowling side came back with a couple of crucial breakthroughs, giving their team the leeway to perhaps steer the game. More often than not, such a spin-off comes up around the 80th over just when the fielding side decides to take the second new ball.

Subsequently, it is this new ball that decides the face of the scorecard for the team batting first, for the wickets taken by it is what seals the innings. What happens in successive innings’ can undoubtedly be presumed.

This is the story of a typical Duleep Trophy game.

Chances are that one may have failed to spot the striking parallels between most Duleep Trophy matches, barring the last innings of the recently concluded final where West Zone made history.

So what is it about the second new ball that makes it so pivotal? Well, it is the ball itself – the Kookaburra instead of the regular SG Test.

The new Kookaburra ball moves appreciably both in the air and off the surface and hence accounts for few early wickets. Perhaps a smart way to deal with this inevitable evil is to pitch the ball slightly fuller (to allow the ball to swing more) and make the batsman play maximum number of deliveries. Since the quality of bowlers at this level is pretty decent, they don’t take time to adjust to the new requirements. On the other hand, batsmen are required to tweak their feet movement substantially along with assessing the line of the ball. This adjustment is a tad difficult than the one expected from the bowlers. And thus the batsmen invariably succumb.

Now you would think that scoring tons in such a situation is quite a task, perhaps reason enough to credit the middle and lower middle-order batsmen for their rescue act. But hang on; let me give you an insight in to how things pan out in the middle. The moment this red Kookaburra loses its shine and seam (which gets embedded in the surface), the ball ceases to perform its tricks. This results in making the quicker bowlers ineffective and batting considerably easier. Just to make matters easier for the batsmen and worse for the bowling side, most of our spinners don’t know how to use the Kookaburra effectively. Finger spinners are not used to putting extra spin on the ball (because they can get away with putting less spin on the SG Test ball) and there aren’t too many wrist spinners around in any case. I am reminded of VVS Laxman’s assessment of a dearth of quality spinners in India which gets reiterated in India’s premier domestic tournament.

What spreads out on the pitch thereafter is predictable. While the batting side waits for the Kookaburra to lose its sheen, the bowling line-up hangs in to get hold of the new ball.
A quick check tells me that most centuries scored in this edition of the Duleep trophy have come from the middle-order batsmen which include as many as three double centuries in just four matches. Only two openers scored centuries but on a fourth-day wicket which obviously doesn’t help the quick bowlers much.

So it may not be a bad idea to read the scorecards and performances keeping these dynamics in mind.