Punjab couldn’t survive the ICL hurricane

The writing was on the wall for Punjab even before a ball had been bowled this Ranji season. They had lost their skipper Dinesh Mongia, and 11 more players to the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), and with all the BCCI-proposed bans in place, Punjab knew their first and realistic target was to try and stay afloat in the Elite division this year.

As the season began unfolding itself, there were a few moments of joy. Moments where the Punjab Cricket Association could see promise for future but most of the time, the state team was fighting against all odds. They failed to qualify for the semifinal, which was natural anyway, that they survived relegation was in itself a big relief for the state cricket mandarins.

It began almost unexpectedly. Punjab gave the maximum number of players to the ICL, and considering how professional the state cricket was being run, the resentment of the players shocked each and one. Other than Mongia, those leaving the state team were seasoned players like Reetinder Sodhi, Munish Sharma, Rajesh Sharma, Amit Uniyal, Bipul Sharma, Ishan Malhotra and others. The void was big and almost too difficult to fill but in Pankaj Dharmani, the veteran of many a battle, lay the responsibility to show the youngsters the way.

Some of the youngsters who were drafted into the state team were thrown in at the deep end without much experience. Some came from the Under-19s, some from the Inter-Districts. Uday Kaul, Ravi Inder Rajji, Manpreet Gony and Karan Goel fought hard and well but with the bowling too weak and inexperienced Punjab struggled to bowl out rival teams. Their inability to pick up wickets meant Punjab couldn't force outright wins or gather important points, even when playing in matches at home. It was too late for the side when VRV Singh became fit and came back with brilliant bowling against Orrisa, and the state selectors have a job at hand to identify bowlers who could bail out the state in the coming years.

In fact, the performance of Punjab had been dipping since they last played in the Ranji Trophy final in 2004. They haven't even been making it to the semifinals for the past two years. Caretaker coach Daljit Singh had laid out his plans for the season quite early with camps starting in summers and when former India player and skipper of the Punjab team that won their only Ranji title in 1992-93 Gursharan Singh joined in as the new coach, it looked the team would try and regain the lost glory.

Source : http://www.expressindia.com/