The reasons for Bengal's poor showing

The captain of the Bengal cricket team Utpal Chatterjee feels that the irresponsibility of some of the members of his team led to the poor showing in the Ranji Trophy. Chatterjee, who finished the season with 52 wickets from seven matches is of the opinion that unless something drastic is done, the standard of cricket in Bengal will not improve. In fact, the manager and coach of the Bengal team Samir Dasgupta and Palash Nundy are also disillusioned at the performance of some of the so called stars.

The manager has already decided to present a very strong report against some of the cricketers of the side. ``Do you know that Rohan Gavaskar, Abdul Masood, Nikhil Haldipur were planning to go to a movie as the side was losing wickets? They immediately left for a matinee show after Bengal had lost to Mumbai. There was no remorse in them. A loss does not affect them. They do not feel for the team,'' is Dasgupta's complaint.

Nundy, on the other hand, feels that it is no use complaining to the officials. ``What is the use,'' he laments. ``There will be no action taken.'' He is also of the opinion that most of these cricketers have their own pet officials who protect them against all allegations.

Both the coach and manager, however, are all praise for the senior pros like Srikkanth Kalyani and Utpal Chatterjee. ``The youngsters do not even learn from their dedication,'' remarked the manager.

Chatterjee, however, also blames the selectors for the debacle that the team has suffered this season. ``We played 31 cricketers in the eight matches that Bengal played this season. I did not have a settled team.'' At the same time he also has a few harsh words for his colleagues. ``The time has come for them to prove their worth. They have managed to get the Bengal cap quite easily. None of them are concerned about the welfare of the team.''

However, it is doubtful whether anything will be done to stem the rot. The joint secretary of the Cricket Association of Bengal Debdas Bannerjee had asked the selectors this season not to include Rohan Gavaskar in the 14 for a match in the preliminary stage earlier this season. The junior Gavaskar had failed to attend the practise session on time and Bannerjee had decided to take disciplinary action against him. However, he had to retract his step due to the insistence of a top CAB official. Today, a disappointed Bannerjee is apprehensive of taking any action against an erring player.