Development in science, technology and culture seem to have no effect on Indian sport. It's still
run by people with neither credential nor vision, leading invariably to disastrous performances. People with political clout
or other influences have been occupying top administrative spots for ages and rarely do they feel the pain former
sportspersons experience when the performance curve keeps dipping. Also, they seldom care about sentiments of the
sport-loving public.
This is why people like Sunil Gavaskar has to dissociate himself from the National Cricket Academy. The problem is more
palpable in football and the way we are preparing for the pre-World Cup is the latest example.
Even the best footballing nations devote years to prepare for the quadrennial show - with administrators, coaches,
managers, scientists, doctors and players all going through the process. And what are we doing? Well, we have opted for a
15-day camp and that, too, in the middle of the National League with no club releasing more than three players.
It's hard to come across anything more ridiculous. Even a longer camp may not have guaranteed India a berth in the next
stage, but the question here is one of attitude. If you don't want to give it your best shot, then why compete at all?
The most annoying thing about Indian officials is that they are not just unaware of modern methods, they care little
about learning. They are so determined to remain ignorant that even if there are examples at the doorstep, they choose to
ignore.
There were lessons to be learnt from some of the teams which came for the Sahara Cup. Bahrain, for example, were here to
prepare for the World Cup qualifiers. They suffered three straight defeats in India, yet they are now in reckoning for a
final-round berth in the qualifiers.
This is one example of a team learning from its mistakes and improving its performance straightaway. Just goes to show
how much we are lagging behind on this front.
It's both amazing and sad to think that we will be going into the World Cup qualifiers without our best team. After
having shed sweat and blood for the country, this state of affairs hurts. Officials, however, will never honour sentiments of
people like us and continue to smash hopes of thousands who hope to see the team do something noteworthy.
If the 'pact' between the clubs and the federation results in another miserable performance, the coach can't certainly
be blamed.
It's deeply disappointing that it took us less than a year to undo all the positives of the England tour, where we put in
a lot of planning. We considered the players' height, weight, agility, skill and tactical sense to combat rivals who were
physically and technically superior. This time, poor Sukhwinder Singh will have to think afresh and do without some players
he would have liked in his team.
There has been a lot of hue and cry on Basudeb Mondal's exclusion from the national squad. Here again, we have been ruled
more by emotion than logic. Basudeb is one of the better ball-players in the country but he has to fit in the coach's scheme
of things first.
I do feel for Basudeb, but his recent performances suggest he is not fit for a 90-minute game. He has been overlooked
even by his club coach of late.
One can't blame Sukhwinder for Basudeb's exclusion as one never knows whether he would have been ignored had the coach
been allowed to pick more than three from a club. It's disheartening to see that the clubs, which rely on four big-bodied
foreigners, are calling the shots when it comes to selecting the national team.
The way we are going, the pre-World Cup promises little glory for India but then, what's new? As Indians, we are used to
tolerate everything, even humiliation. Let us prepare for more.
by PK Banerjee
appeared in The Telegraph on March 7, 2001