KOCHI: “The IPL brings you to the attention of the world,” all-rounder and Kerala Ranji Trophy captain last season Raiphi Vincent Gomez had said during the first season of the IPL in Kochi. Kerala did not have a single player other than S Sreesanth playing in one of the world’s richest sporting competitions till Kochi Tuskers Kerala came along. Suddenly they had as many as four players rubbing shoulders with the best in the country under full glare of the media.
It was a welcome opportunity for Kerala as a cricketing unit, so used to occupying the last slots in the nation’s cricketing hierarchy, but trying desperately to overthrow the tag of minnows, to showcase its improving talents to the cricketing world.
Like so many other talents from the traditionally non-cricketing centres, left-armer Prasanth Parameshwaran, Raiphi Vincent Gomez and left-arm spinner P Prashanth, were catapulted into the national cricket psyche. So much so, no doubt backed by Ranji Trophy performances, Prasanth Parameshwaran — who dismissed Virender Sehwag in his first over en route to winning a Man of the Match award on his IPL debut – finds himself in the Rest of India squad for the domestic season opening Irani Trophy game. Although a grassroots development programme had already been put in place, the advent of the IPL was an ideal platform for the youngsters in the senior team to prove they could stand their ground against the best.
However, with the BCCI deciding to terminate KTK from the IPL bandwagon, the path to cricketing stardom may become a bit longer for Kerala’s aspiring youth but does not entirely become out of bounds, as recent results in the age-group categories prove.
“If not for the IPL coming to Kochi, Kerala players may never have got the opportunity to play in the IPL,” said K N Ananthapadmanabhan, former Kerala Ranji captain and the most famous cricketer from the state before Tinu Yohannan and Sreesanth broke into the Indian team. “It is disappointing that the Kochi Tuskers have been terminated.”
Former cricketers and the Kerala Cricket Association officials also point out that the process of cricket development in the state had been set in motion long before plans for an IPL team from Kerala were hit upon to affect the game’s growth in the long run, though they agree that the continued presence of IPL would definitely have been to the players’ advantage.
“The IPL is in no way connected to the development of cricket in Kerala,” said S Ramesh, former Kerala captain and KCA Game Development Manager. “What we are doing is grassroots development. Immaterial of whether the IPL comes back to the state or not, the development agenda set by KCA will take its own course.”
Echoing a similar sentiment, the state senior selection committee chairman D Gopakumar said that Kerala was improving steadily in all categories over the last few years. “Kerala has some very talented players in the age group teams. They have developed really well in the last three seasons. That is also why we have qualified for the elite group in the under-19 section. The IPL surely gave a lot of encouragement to the youngsters but it is not the biggest loss to Kerala cricket,” Gopakumar said.
Former Duleep Trophy player and renowned coach P Balachandran was positive that Kerala’s budding talent had it in them to make the cut on the merit of Ranji Trophy perfomances.
“The Kochi team presented a sure chance for Kerala youngsters to play in the IPL. It is difficult to imagine four cricketers from the state playing in the same IPL team next season. But a career in cricket is always dependent on Ranji Trophy performances. The IPL may bring you into focus but it is the consistency in Ranji that gets you the big call up,” Balachandran said.
While none from Kerala appears to be an immediate solution to the English-battered Team India’s woes, KCA secretary T C Mathew made a pertinent remark. “With Kochi Tuskers Kerala, players from Kerala proved that they could play cricket,” he said.
