1. Home
  2. Sports
  3. Arjun Tendulkar's selection in U-14 raises questions of nepotism

Arjun Tendulkar's selection in U-14 raises questions of nepotism

January 13, 2013

Arjun_TendulkarMumbai, Jan 13: With several lesser performers making it into the Mumbai Under-14 team for the West Zone league matches, parents of many talented youngsters are virtually up in arms. Some of them have laid the charge of nepotism, even questioning the entire selection process adopted by the MCA.

Among the most inexplicable exclusions is Don Bosco (Matunga ) School's Bhupen Lalwani: his unbeaten 398 against IES Modern School in the Giles Shield (Elite Division) should have made him an automatic choice. His knock came off 277 deliveries, was studded with 47 boundaries and even caught the eye of the connoisseurs. "I definitely expected my son to be picked in the team," Lalwani's disappointed father told TOI on Saturday. "But maybe, the selectors found somebody more deserving than him to represent Mumbai," he added sagely.

Another glaring case in point is Hansraj Morarji spinner Satyak Patel. He had picked up 6-100 against Anjuman Urdu in the Giles Shield, in addition to three five-wicket hauls in the Under-16 Harris Shield Plate 'B' division, including 5-12 in the final against Dhirubhai Ambani International School, that helped his team earn promotion into the Elite group. Satyak has taken 25 wickets in the Harris Shield this season.

"I am unable to understand the criterion of selection. Satyak has been doing well all season. Besides his Giles and Harris Shield displays, he took 19 wickets in the Ramakant Achrekar Dronacharya Cup to help Chandrakant Pandit Cricket Club (CPCC) clinch the trophy for the first time since its inception 12 years ago. His name is still missing from the list," Satyak's father Rajiv said.

In contrast, the inclusion of three VN Sule Guruji students (see box) — Akash Savla, Darshan Padawe and Tanush Kotian — and two from Anjuman-e-Islam — Azim Shaikh and Abhishek Shetty — who have hardly done anything of note this season, raises some serious questions. What's more, there are five kids in the team, whose school cricket records were untraceable, adding mystery to their selection.

Parents are also surprised at the presence of Arjun Tendulkar, son of batting legend Sachin. His best score, 124, had come last May in the Mumbai Under-14 trials for Khar Gymkhana against Goregaon Centre; his next best is a 70, scored last week for Shastri XI in the Vengsarkar Foundation Cup at Mahul.

Considering that a triple centurion, four double centurions and nine hundred-makers in the Elite group have not made the mark, their parents have reason to feel short-changed.

Attempts to garner a response from the MCA went in vain as joint secretary PV Shetty didn't respond to the calls and messages sent by this paper.

Giving credence to the parents ' woes, former Mumbai coach Pravin Amre said that the selectors need to closely observe all age-group matches in order to avoid missing good talent. "In my time, proper data was maintained in junior cricket and I was lucky to have a couple of former India players as selectors. Today, they are paid for doing the job too and are not just honorary officials. So they need to go to the maidan and watch matches," Amre said.

He, however, argued that one good performance cannot determine talent, and that many other factors are considered before selection. "I have been an Under-15 selector myself. You can't give someone a chance just because he hit a century or picked up five wickets. The opponents, the stage of the tournament also needs to be taken into account. Sometimes a good 50-60 in a close game can identify the best from the rest," he added.

IN A NUTSHELL...

Questionable selections

Akash Savla (VN Sule Guruji School) - played one match scoring 48 runs against IES Modern English

Darshan Padawe (VN Sule) - played three matches scoring 33, 0, 26

Tanush Kotian (VN Sule) - played one match scoring 8 runs against Shardashram

Azim Shaikh (Anjuman-i-Islam ) - Scored 28, 21, 37, 18 in four matches and picked just one wicket as an off-spinner

Abhishek Shetty (Anjuman-i-Islam ) - played one match scoring 4 & 18 in two innings against VN Sule

RECORDS MISSING

Hashir Dafedar, Manas Raikar, Jay Dave, Jahangir Ansari, Yash Joshi

Who deserved a chance

BATSMEN

Bhupen Lalwani (Don Bosco School, Matunga) - his unbeaten 398 (277b, 47x4s) against IES Modern English was the highlight of the Giles Shield season Pushkar Vashist (Al Barakat) - slammed 261 (274b, 36x4s) against BAK Swadhyay Satyalaksha Jain (Rizvi Springfield) - hit 239 (200b, 40x4s) against MD Bhatia Yasasvi Jayaswal (Anjuman Urdu) - hit 210 (210b, 28x4s, 4x6s) against Hansraj Morarji Shoaib Khan (Al Barakat) - scored 212 (183b, 31x4s) and 140 against Don Bosco and BAK Swadhyay respectively

BOWLERS

Rohit Desai (Don Bosco School, Matunga) - the off-spinner picked 6-22 and 5-11 against IES Modern English and scalped 5-137 against Al Barakat Satyak Patel (Hansraj Morarji) - the spinner took 6-100 against Anjuman Urdu and picked three fivewicket hauls in Harris Shield plate division with his 5-12 against Dhirubhai Ambani International School helping his side earn promotion Rajesh Sardar (Al Barakat, leftarm spinner) - picked 6-22 against BAK Swadhyay and 5-18 against Don Bosco

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 28,2020

Columbo, Jan 28: The Sri Lanka Cricket Board on Monday announced the 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Women`s T20 World Cup, slated to commence from February 21. The board also announced five standby players for the ensuing tournament.

The squad members are -- Chamari Atapattu (captain), Harshitha Madavi (vice captain), Anushka Sanjeewani, Hansima Karunaratne, Shashikala Siriwardene, Nilakshi De Silva, Ama Kanchana, Kavisha Dilhari, Udeshika Probodhani, Achini Kulasuriya, Hasini Perera, Sathya Sandeepani, Umesha Thimashini, Sugandika Kumari, Dilani Manodara.

The standby players are -- Sachini Nisansala, Prasadani Weerakkody, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Tharika Sewwandi, Inoka Ranaweera.

Sri Lanka will take on New Zealand in their opening encounter on February 22.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 9,2020

May 9: Filipina weightlifting star Hidilyn Diaz noticed live-streamed concerts were collecting money for coronavirus relief and was struck by inspiration: why not raise funds with an online workout?

Since then the Olympic silver-medallist -- and strong contender for her country's first Games gold -- has made enough money to buy food packs for hundreds of hard-hit families in the Philippines.

Diaz has done it all from Malaysia, where she was training to qualify for the now-postponed Tokyo Olympics when much of the world locked down against the virus in March.

"I thought (distribution) would be impossible because I'm not physically present," Diaz, 29, told news agency.

"It's a good thing that I have trusted friends and trusted family members who understand why we need to do a fundraising."

That circle of supporters has handed out the packages, which include vegetables, eggs and rice, to more than 400 families.

The food was bought with donations from about 50 people who joined sessions that lasted up to three hours, and gave them a rare chance to train with an elite athlete.

Diaz rose to fame in 2016 after snagging a surprise silver in the 53 kilogramme category in Rio, becoming the Philippines' first female Olympic medallist and ending the nation's 20-year medal drought at the Games.

Two years later, she won gold at the Asian Games in Indonesia.

However, her quest to qualify for Tokyo is on hold ahead of the Games' rescheduled opening in July 2021.

"I thought all the hard work would soon be over... then it was extended," she said. "But I'm still thankful I can still continue with (the training) I need to do."

Still, the lockdown broke her daily training regimen, keeping her away from weights for 14 days for the first time in her career.

"I felt like I was losing my mind already. I've been carrying the barbell for 18 years and all of a sudden it's gone. Those were the kinds of anxiety that I felt," she said.

But she got access to some equipment, and with her coach's urging, got back to work. She was relieved to find her strength was still there.

Instead of a Tokyo berth, the past months have been about a different kind of accomplishment for Diaz: helping her countrymen get through the coronavirus crisis.

Rosemelyn Francisco's family in Zamboanga City, Diaz's home town, is one of the first to get help from the athlete's initiative, and is deeply grateful.

Her family was not wealthy to begin with, and the pandemic has cost her husband his construction job.

"The food she donated has all everything we need, including eggs," said Francisco, 27.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
July 28,2020

New Delhi, Jul 28: 'Your character stood out for me than the number of runs you scored," said India skipper Virat Kohli while explaining his decision to give opening Mayank Agarwal a Test debut in the 2018-19 Australia series.

Mayank Agarwal had made his Test debut against Australia in the third Test of the four-match series.

Playing the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Agarwal managed to register a half-century in his very first innings in the longest format.

"I had seen you play for RCB, even then you played international bowlers with conviction and you would take them on. You were performing in first-class matches in a dominating way. That is something always stood out with you, I would say your character stood out for me than the number of runs. I knew you would be fearless without having any baggage," Kohli told Mayank Agarwal in a video posted on the official website of BCCI.

In the longest format of the game, Agarwal has managed to score 974 runs from 11 matches at an average of 57.29 with three centuries as an opening batsman.

The Indian skipper also explained as to what makes him notice in a player and added that it is important that guys in the team look to face new challenges and emerge triumphantly.

"For me, the biggest marker is how a person approaches the game, so for example when you opened and we made Vihari open with you. The first opportunity we presented Vihari to open the batting, he said yes to it and that matters me to the most," Kohli said.

"I opened in my first series for India, I said yes to this opportunity and things worked out fine for me. So, a guy who wants to get into tough situations will come out either holding his head high or learning from his mistakes," he added.

Kohli and Mayank would soon be seen in action for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab respectively in the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting from September 19 in the UAE.

The comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar keep on growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli currently has 70 centuries across all formats.

At present, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in the second place in Tests rankings. Kohli has so far played 86 Tests, scoring 7,240 runs with 27 centuries at an average of 53.62.

His knock of 254 against South Africa at Pune in 2019 remains his highest Test score to date. When it comes to ODIs, the current Indian skipper has played 248 matches and has 43 centuries.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.