NAGPUR: Following the announcement earlier this week that teams can retain up to five players each in the 2018 edition, there is IPL in the air. Even though auction dates are yet to be announced, there is excitement. Away from the glitz, the process of scouting talent is on in full swing, with Ranji Trophy teams serving as the pool.
One of the most revered coaches to have handled the India job, John Wright has been involved in the process of netting talent for Mumbai Indians for three seasons. He was at VCA Stadium on Saturday, scanning players taking part in the Ranji quarterfinal between Karnataka and Mumbai. With earphones on — probably listening to his own country album Red Skies released about a year ago — he watched proceedings with interest. He scribbled on a notebook, sometimes gazing at his laptop.
Asked whether scouting talent for a T20 event from a multi-day format is efficient enough, the first Kiwi to hit 4,000 Test runs said, “There are many other tournaments through which this is done. However, it is easier to judge a bowler than a batsman in a four-day game.”
Wright spends around three months in India, travelling to different locales in search of new gems. Explaining how stringent and time-taking the process is, he said, “I think the first Ranji game I watched this season was the one between Delhi and Maharashtra. We have a team of people doing similar stuff. Some of us have covered the tournament from the start.
And we also focus on the U-19 and other tournaments. The coming auctions will be big. And auctions are strange things. You have to have good knowledge of players’ qualities. Otherwise, we might lose a good player, like Axar Patel.” Patel moved from MI to Kings XI Punjab in 2014, and tasted success.
The ongoing match would probably be of a greater interest since five players were part of the MI squad in the last IPL. Others like Aditya Tare and CM Gautam have also donned the blue jersey in the past. Asked who in this match had ignited interest, he said, “There are a couple”, not taking names.
Wright, who himself coached the MI for two seasons, said that players in the radar are generally called to camps, of which there are many. “We analyse them by making them play T20 matches. In the end head coach Mahela Jayawardene joins to make a decision.” The 63-year-old will be here till the end of this match, scribbling and scanning away.
Quarterfinals
In Jaipur: Bengal 354 & 177/1 in 73 ovs (A Easwaran 93 n.o) vs Gujarat 224.
In Vijayawada: Madhya Pradesh 338 & 47/2 in 18 ovs vs Delhi Delhi 405 in 119.4 ovs (K Chandela 81, D Shorey 78, H Singh 71; M Hirwani 5/89).
In Surat: Vidarbha 246 & 77/1 in 30 ovs (F Fazal 51 n.o) vs Kerala 176 in 61.5 ovs (R Gurbani 5/38).
In Nagpur: Mumbai 173 & 120/3 in 44 ovs (S Yadav 55 n.o) vs Karnataka 570 (S Gopal 150 n.o, S Aravind 51; S Dubey 5/98, S Malhotra 3/97).
vishal@newindianexpress.com