Sandhu Says Manjrekar Can Be India Captain

INDIA POST SOUTH ASIA BUREAU

NEW DELHI: Balwinder Singh Sandhu is best remembered for the last ball of his first over in the World Cup of Cricket, 1983 which India won surprising the West Indies in the final.

Desmond Haynes, the West Indiesr, took his bat away from the ball which he thought was going away. To his surprise, the ball swung in to knock down his off stump. Thus began a slide which ended with the Windies finishing much lower than India’s modest total of 185.

The same Sandhu is now the Coach of the Bombay (Mumbai) side which won the Ranji Trophy final at the Roop Singh Stadium in Gwalior.

Like the other star Sikh of cricket, Bishen Singh Bedi, Sandhu is highly articulate and does not tire of talking cricket. As Bombay coach, he has plenty to say about each player under his charge. In his first year as Coach at the Mumbai Metropolis, the general perception is that he talked every player into developing a committed, hardcore professional approach. "I know we encountered some poor teams in the super league but my approach was to make the team crush the opposition quickly and mercilessly." This was proved, more so, in the final against Delhi, another tall scoring team that produced more than five hundred runs, only to be defeated by Bombay that surpassed that total adding a hundred and more runs to their score. The former India medium-pacer is working hard to smoothen the rough edges in young Wasim Jaffar’s game. Is ther ready to walk into the India team? "Almost. But I don’t want him to be an Abhimanyu. What is the use of daringly running into ‘chakravyuha.’ He should also come back alive."

Sandhu waxes eloquent over Sanjay Manjrekar and his captaincy. "He is keen on regaining his place in the national side and he is working hard towards that goal.

All these ups and downs have made him a better human being and a more mature Captain. His attitude towards the game has undergone a sea change and today he is just the kind who, to my mind, looks good to be even India Captain," says the inimitable Sardar.

It may be recalled that cricket is in Sanjay’s veins as his father, the illustrious Vijay Manjrekar was a sheet anchor for India. Vijay used to score double centuries even in his school days and matured to be a stable batsman.

Sanjay is an all-rounder and can keep wickets too.

Gopichand Improves to 46th in the World

With the latest IBF rankings putting National Champion P Gopichand at number 46 in the world, and Deepankar Bhattacharjee at number 55, this certainly looks bright for Indian badminton.

Gopichand, ranked at number 190 a couple of months earlier, has proved his worth with a runner-up spot in the Indian a pre-quarter-final showing in the prestigious All England and a fair showing in the European circuit.

But keen enthusiasts may lament the fact that when compared to its more glamorous cousin called tennis, few people are aware of what goes on with the shuttlers.

Indian number one tennis player Leander Paes may not be able to cross the streets unrecognized, a scenario which would be most unusual for Gopichand. Also in terms of money Gopi is nowhere near Leander, but then Leander Paes has an Olympic Bronze Medal also around his neck.

Gopichand has a long way to go but he is improving fast.

Indian Diana’s Hero is Kambli

Guess who’s Diana Edulji’s favorite cricketer? It’s Vinod Kambli. "I hope he makes it back to the Indian team," said Diana who became the first Indian woman cricketer to be granted a benefit match.

What next? Diana would love to try her hand at coaching. At the back of her mind is perhaps the job of cricket Manager of the Indian World Cup team.

Would she like the women’s national body to merge with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as has happened in South Africa and New Zealand? "Definitely, for more money would come into the game."

Diana wanted to get some lady players from abroad to play in her benefit, but it’s not easy.

You have to approach the Federation and pay a special charge. It’s much better with the men.

Dalmiya May Work To End Draws In Cricket

It is only a matter of time before the Board of Control for Cricket in India Secretary Jagmohan Dalmiya takes his place at Lord’s, having got the highest post in the cricketing world--now called the President of International Cricket Council (ICC). Also, in him, India gets its first Chief of an international sporting organization.

The ascent of the 55-year-old Calcutta businessman from the obscurity of a club-level cricketer, to the acme of the cricketing world is remarkable indeed, if not meteoric. But those in the know of things are not surprised. Dalmiya, the astute Marwari, was always known for his sharp business acumen and infallible pragmatism. In the face of last year’s humbling injustice, Dalmiya had shown great composure, and saw the situation as a moral victory for him. "It is a great responsibility, but I will try my best to do justice to the choice," Dalmiya said.

Tales of Dalmiya’s organizational abilities are legion, but he surely reached very close to the pinnacle with the 1996 World Cup in the subcontinent.

Though not willing to talk about his plans right now, he has, in the past expressed his intent to do something about the draws in Test cricket--the very idea which was seized as too radical by the English papers. And Dalmiya is well aware of the dangers of overdose of cricket, both for spectators and players. "There is undoubtedly more cricket these days compared to earlier times. I will have to take the players’ view in this respect," he says.

Popularizing the game in more countries is also high on his agenda.

The experience of being the Secretary of the Indian Board, and also the President of the Cricket Association of Bengal and the Secretary of the Asian Cricket Council, will surely work to his advantage when he takes charge in June until the year 2000.

‘They Pick the Team, I Endorse’

Cricket Selection Committee Chairman Ramakant Desai’s sense for uncharacteristic humor came in for much appreciation the other day when doctors were attending on him for a heart ailment.

The doctors couldn’t help remarking to the Chief Selector about the strange ways of the Selection Committee. Desai is reported to have told them with a straight face: "The other four Selectors pick the team, I just endorse it."

Dream of Polo on the Snows, Some Day

The late Maharaja Hari Singh’s grandson, and Dr Karan Singh’s son, ‘Yuvraj’ Vikramaditya Singh has been trying to revive the glory of Kashmir polo. The Yuvraj’s team that takes part in polo seasons at Delhi and Jaipur, did themselves proud when they won the SMS Gold Vase at Jaipur recently.

Says Vikramaditya: "Five years ago, I made efforts to revive polo in Kashmir by holding a season in Srinagar. Everything was finalized and all top players in the country were to take part in the season, which would have brought polo back to Srinagar after almost half a century. But we were unlucky as the situation in Kashmir took a turn for the worse and we had to abandon our plans."

But after the formation of a popular Government and the support which Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah has extended, the Jammu and Kashmir Riding and Polo Club hopes to revive polo in the State next summer by holding a full season.

The young Yuvraj has a dream. Like St Moritz in Switzerland which stages snow polo, he, too, wants to hold a polo match some day on the frozen Dal Lake.

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