The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
New panel will clear all doubts: Shirke
FORMER BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke has welcomed the appointment of administrators, saying that the Supreme Court has made a “veryimportantchange”.onmonday,theapex courtappointedafour-memberpanelheaded bytheformercomptrollerandauditorgeneral of India Vinod Rai to run the cricket board.
“Something one must understand and appreciate is that now the Supreme Court has made a subtle but important change, which is vital. Now the authors of the recommendations are not the implementers. The Lodha Committee authored the recommendations but now they are not the implementers (of the reforms).” “It is left to the administrators. This is the most important distinction that the Supreme Court has made (today), which is very important and highly appreciative,” Shirke told The Indian Express.
Shirke was removed as the BCCI secretary for noncompliance by the Supreme Court’s January 2 order. Then, he stepped down as the Maharashtra Cricket Association president as the court order also made him ‘ineligible’ to be an office-bearer in his state association. But he was all praise for the panel of administrators. “The court has appointed administrators of impeccable backgrounds and I’m very sure they will clear the doubts about the whole thing – the confusion related to implementation or non-implementation; whether the board had deliberately delayed the implementation. The panel has an EX-CAG, a career banker, a cricket historian and also a former cricketer. So it’s excellent for the BCCI…”
Shirke was pleased with historian and cricket writer Ramachandra Guha’s presence in the panel. “Somebody like Mr Guha; he understands the history of Indian cricket, how it has evolved. He wrote about (former Maharashtra fast bowler) Pandurang Salgaoncar’s non-inclusion in the Indian team in his book, which showed even the small details he has been aware of… So personally, I welcome the Supreme Court’s decision,” he added.
BCCI joint-secretary, treasurer gets SC nod
The Supreme Court Monday approved BCCI joint-secretary Amitabh Choudhary and treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry’s representation intheupcomingiccboardmeetingsonindia’s behalf. Vikram Limaye, who is also part of the court-appointed four-member panel of administrators, will accompany the BCCI duo.
The ICC meetings start from February 2 in Dubai and there had been speculations over who would represent the BCCI following Anurag Thakur’s – Indian board’s nominee in the ICC Board of Directors - ouster as the cricket board president by the apex court’s January 2 order. This round of ICC meetings is likely to discuss revenue share for member boards, while looking into governance changes for which the Governance Review Committee has been set up.
During the hearing today, the court had initially suggested that Amitabh, who is discharging the duties of the BCCI secretary, should go to the ICC meetings along with Limaye. But the cricket board’s legal counsel Arvind Datar asked for Anirudh’s inclusion because of his experience in cricket finances. The three-judge bench accepted the request. Limaye, the former Wall Street man and currently the managing director and CEO of IDFC, has an iconic stature in finance sector.
This would be the first ICC meetings for all three and the task they face is to stonewall India’s 22 per cent revenue share, which N Srinivasan had firmed up during the global body’s structural overhaul in 2014.
The independent ICC chairman Shashank Manohar had earlier recommended rollback, urging a more equitable distribution and a section of the BCCI fears that other member boards might take advantage of the situation to slash BCCI’S revenue share by five or six per cent, which is close to $200 million. If the matter comes to voting, each Full Member has one vote. FINN TEARNEY and Jose Statham practice their ground strokes on the first outer court, topless. On a hot day at the Balewadi Stadium, the chiselled, ripped torsos of New Zealand’ Davis Cup singles players is the first sight you’d see when you approach the tennis arena.
Their individual rankings — Tearney is 414 and Statham is 417 —may show them as underdogs going into Asia Oceania Group 1 tie but their sharp and groomed bodies exhibit a highly-focused fitness regimen.
It’s the first day of practice, and the Indians have occupied courts two and four. The physical difference between the two teams is stark. India’s highest ranked singles player Saketh Myneni (205) can’t help but rotate his right shoulder at regular intervals — testimony to chronic shoulder problems. Yuki Bhambri sports a brace under his right elbow — symbolic of his recent struggle with tennis elbow that sidelined him for six months.
The reserve player Prajnesh Gunneswaran has had his own run-ins with knee injuries that ate up five years from his professional career, and 22-year-old Ramkumar Ramanathan is seen slouching in posture. Somdev Devvarman was Indian tennis’ athletic specimen but he has retired now and so the onus of victory falls on an injury-hit group of players who struggle to max their potential due to lack of support.
The pursuit of success on tour now requires players to travel with a coach and trainer to take care of the game and the body. It’s an expensive proposition and currently, none of India’s top three singles players have the benefit of a well chalked out fitness plan. Travelling with an entourage that includes fitness trainers, as is the wont in professional tour, is a luxury the Indian singles players cannot enjoy since their low ranks don’t allow them entry into bigger events. They have to resort to the ATP Challenger events, ATP 250s or the qualifying stages of the Grand Slams. Myneni is India’s highest ranked player at 205, followed by Ramkumar at 276 and Bhambri at 368.
So far, in the current season, Myneni and Ramkumar have pocketed $5680 in prize money through their singles and doubles matches, while Bhambri has won $7640. In turn, the charges of a physical trainer, on average, comes to $2000 per week (travel expenses excluded).
“You have to choose between travelling with a coach or trainer, which is tough because both are important,” explains Zeeshan Ali, coach of the Davis Cup team. “If you have a trainer to keep you fit, but not a coach to correct the mistakes you’re making, you won’t win matches to afford a trainer. If you have a good coach and you’re winning more matches, that’ll take a toll on your body and you need a trainer to keep you in shape.”
Bhambri is on the lookout for a replacement after his regular trainer got married and stopped travelling. Myneni has a trainer based in the United States whom he shares with other players on tour.
“That way I don’t have to worry about travel expenses since I share the physio with other guys,” says the 29-year-old. “But it’s difficult to share a trainer with someone for three-four weeks and have the same schedule.” Another setback, strangely, is Myneni’s towering six-foot four height.
“Trainers from here aren’t exposed to that height range. At Saketh’s height, everything becomes specific and the exercises you would use for someone at six-feet will not be as helpful for someone like him,” asserts Vece Paes, the former team doctor of the Davis Cup team.
Ramkumar has been the most privileged among the athletes as he has been funded since he was 14. Now 22, the Chennai-lad who had once defeated Devvarman in the first round of the Chennai Open 2014, has plateaued. Though he is considered the fittest on the team, his off-court preparation has kept him down.
“He’s a hard worker on court, but off it, he’s a slacker,” says Karti Chidambaram, vice-president of the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA), the body that has been Ramkumar’s long-time sponsor.
“He needs to understand the physicality of the game and his problem is that he hasn’t been able to settle down with a coach. But he’s also not the easiest person to get along with.”
Singles, fit or unfit, is in sharp focus in the Davis Cup week where four singles ties get played. A country conditioned to looking only to doubles for recent international success struggles to figure out a way to propel even one of its singles players into the Top 100 consistently. The sad news is that it only seems to get worse year after year.