Sports

Awadh All-Stars

Small-town players have the will, the public sports colleges show the way

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Awadh All-Stars
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Raina and R.P. Singh's success in the season gone by has focused greater attention on the college. Earlier, there would be around 400-500 aspirants for admission, out of which 15 cricket trainees get in each year. Now the number of aspirants has gone up—the college this year had nearly 1,600 applicants in Lucknow alone, with another 1,400 in other centres in UP. "We can get good quality out of this," says chief coach Deepak Sharma. "The kids aren't from affluent backgrounds, nor do they have much cricket running in the family...they work a great deal harder."

It's not as if the Sports College hasn't produced anyone before the new crop. "Ashish Winston Zaidi and Kaif's elder brother, Mohammed Saif, spring to my mind. But then, UP was hardly in focus in national cricket," Sharma says. "The scope for youngsters to come up has increased since exposure is much greater now. The introduction of a league system at the junior level has changed the scenario."

It's amazing how with such little infrastructure and manpower so much success has come by. Sports College, for instance, has but two coaches—S.P. Krishnan helps Sharma—to attend to the needs of 60 trainees. The Kanpur hostel offers just two strips for practice. "Mind you, the facilities are not in the same league as you would get at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore...but the focus is sharp," Kaif told Outlook.

"In the hostel, you just have people of your group, the ground and the equipment available...there's no scope for doing anything else. At worst, you play a spot of some other game," says Kaif. "But the focus is on cricket and you cannot bother too much about what else happens in the outside world. Even the evenings are not wasted, it's spent on honing your skills. Since there are just two nets available, you almost always get a good bowler to bowl to you. These are small things but the extra effort pays off in the long run. The discipline of being in a hostel, getting up early, training, makes us tougher."

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But it's not as if Uttar Pradesh cricketers have suddenly discovered that level of self-belief and confidence which set winners apart from also-rans. Sharma talks with pride of the time Raina scored a century in a practice game against Aligarh Muslim University but went back to the nets almost as soon as the match ended. He felt he needed to work on a weakness. Kaif, who led UP to a Ranji Trophy triumph this year, believes the humble backgrounds, the low-profile life in Sports College and Sports Hostels and the struggle make the cricketers mentally stronger. "We play a lot of matches in our hometowns, gaining a lot of competitive experience at a young age," Kaif says.

"There have been many like Zaidi, Gyanendra Pandey, Ubaid Kamaal, Rizwan Shamshad, Shasikant Khandekar etc who were talented but did not have the luck to play at a higher level. But now, with more opportunities for our players to parade their talent and train at the nca, and with greater media awareness...performances count," Kaif says when asked why some of his predecessors could not make the move from the junior ranks to Team India.

Kaif's modesty does not permit him to point out that his performance has helped changed the way Uttar Pradesh cricketers are perceived. "I have shared my experiences, tried to provide them with direction. There is a greater understanding of the need to be fit and to adopt the right training techniques. Wherever the lads may be from, they have learnt to be competitive. They realise there is no room for a small-town mentality once you are on the field."

Of course, the setting up of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore in 2000 has also helped players from states like Uttar Pradesh come into the limelight. Kaif's own selection to the Australian Cricket Academy in 2000 was a turning point, being the first cricketer from Uttar Pradesh to be exposed to modern training methods. He returned not only to share his experiences, but also to become an inspiring role model for other youngsters in his home state.

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