cricket india inc

since our multi millionaire cricketers came back from their Caribbean sojourn with more sun burn than they would have bargained for, there has been nothing left unsaid about the state of indian cricket. even our fellow blogger INF has written a post on his quit watching cricket plans. mr.k couldn't resist the urge to put his thoughts down. staying away from the usual "dissecting what went wrong at world cup" and "who is to blame", this post directs at a 10 point solution to eradicate the woes of cricket in our nation.

1. make the BCCI a corporate body much like american/european sports clubs and appoint a professionally paid CEO/General Manager who is accountable for the indian team's performance
2. have full time contracted selectors / scouts who have the job to select the best team possible all times barring injury
3. have a pool of 30 centrally contracted players - the contracts should be a) a flat amount plus incentive based bonuses based on performance b) provide all professional expenses for players for the contracted time including medical care c) provide clause for re-negotiation of the parameters during anytime of the contract d) retain partial image and branding rights of players
4. hire a "director of player development" whose responsibility is to run developmental teams and make players ready for the bigger stage
5. change the domestic cricket format to have not more than 10 teams at the highest level.
6. improve the facilities and pitches to international standards while retaining the indian feel. have developmental teams visit abroad to help them acclimatise with various conditions.
7. for the indian team, hire a head coach, specialist assistant coaches - fielding, batting, bowling, wicket keeping, a media manager and team manager
8. keep the fan happy - provide for the best stadium experience possible. for heavens sake get rid of no water, no rest rooms, no food, hot sun stadiums
9. get rid of the star system - probably the toughest thing to do in india as it exists everywhere
10. finally, the fans should learn to accept failure as part and parcel of the game and continue to support their team. indian cricket fans, learn from red sox nation.

talking of redsox, their end to years of misery and drought was engineered by a yale educated, young professional GM, who had the strength to do what it takes to "win at all costs".

ps: learn more about theo epstein at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theo_Epstein