Domestic cricket should be mandatory for India's stalwarts
India's top players should play more domestic cricket so that the juniors can learn from them, says Makarand Waingankar in the Hindu
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
India's top players should play more domestic cricket so that the juniors can learn from them, says Makarand Waingankar in the Hindu. He recalls the era when national team stars used to regularly turn out for their state and club sides and feels the Australian approach of making domestic cricket mandatory is worth emulating.
Teenager Dilip Vengsarkar learned more about batting watching Gavaskar from the other end for Dadar Union than listening to a dozen coaches. Former India opener Madhav Apte, who toured the West Indies in 1953, played 'A' division tournaments for 55 years until the age of 71, facing Mumbai Ranji Trophy bowlers without a helmet.
The solution is simple. Like Australian cricket, make playing domestic cricket mandatory irrespective of the stature of a player. Sadly the stalwarts seem to have forgotten that when they were teenagers they benefited immensely by playing with cricketing icons.