‘JK failed to take advantage of climatic condition’ ‘Only place in India where cricket can be played throughout year’ ABID KHAN Srinagar, Mar 21: Terming J&K State as the best place in the country for playing cricket, legendary cricketer and former J&K Chief Coach, Bishen Singh Bedi, on Friday said that Jammu & Kashmir is the only place India where Cricket can be played throughout the year. “J&K is blessed with ideal climate to play cricket throughout the year. During winter you can play cricket in Jammu while as during hot summer months you can play cricket uninterrupted in Srinagar,” Bedi said in an exclusive chat with Greater Kashmir. “I don’t think any other place in the Country has got such an advantage of playing cricket without interruption. Just a 300- kilometer drive separates the two places and weather is so different. In other states, unlike J&K, either the weather is too hot or too cold that bars them from playing cricket in entire year,” he said. He said that J&K Cricket Association (JKCA) which is the governing body of Cricket in State has failed in to tap such an advantage. “It is irony to see such an advantage being wasted by the JKCA. They have got the resources and money but have done nothing all these years. It doesn’t need rocket science to understand the advantage of playing cricket during all season of the year,” he said. “Once you start taking advantage of such beautiful natural-cricket- weather, I am sure JK will start making inroads in the National cricket arena. Players will get a chance to be in practice during all seasons and that will definitely help them to improve their game,” the legendary spinner said. About the JK performance at the National Level, he said, “I was both surprised and happy to see JK side qualifying for the quarterfinals and also the group for the next Ranji season. Happy, because I love the players, their talent and the potential that they have got. Surprised, because I know they have not got any kind of facilities in comparison to their counterparts but still they performed exceptionally”. “It (good performance) was not due to the efforts of JKCA people but only due to talent and hard work of the players. Till JKCA does not improve the infrastructure at both Jammu and Srinagar, nothing is going to change. Our players need facilities, where they can hone their skills and it is the area where the JKCA lags behind and has failed entirely,” he said. Bedi opined that One Day cricket is an entirely different ball game and JK has got no experience in that area. “I was in J&K for around two years and I hardly saw anyone playing 50-over domestic cricket. When you don’t play any 50- over cricket at home, then how can you expect the team to perform well at the National level? They lack exposure and facilities which hinder their performance,” he said. When asked how fortunes of the state team could change, he said, “I can’t change, neither any other coach nor any big player can. It is a systematic process and it is the responsibility of the Association rather than the players and coaches. Process of change should start from grass root level with players given access to all kind of facilities”. About Parvez Rasool’s success, he said, “There was nothing I could have advised him, during my stint with J&K, apart from a little bit of fine-tuning, which every youngster needs. And I hope that with a little bit of luck and backing, Parvez has everything that a player needs to be successful at the international level”.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 07:56:20 +0000