Rising Star : Vijay Zol

It was December of 2011 when 17 year old, Vijay Hari Zol of Jalna playing in an Under-19 match for Mahrashtra against Assam,  made a vibrant score of 457. Zol remained unbeaten on the score as he faced 467 deliveries. 53 balls were dispatched to the boundaries and 2 hits went over the ropes. His 11-hour long stay at the crease was an exceptional showcase of temperament that would match with the likes of Rahul Dravid or Mohammed Yusuf.  His score of 457 climbed to the No.1 spot in the domestic record books, surpassing the previous highest score of 443 by Bhausaheb Nimbalkar's in 1948 in a Ranji match between Maharashtra and Kathiawar.

Vijay Zol - A Rising Star

The naturally gifted stylish left-handed batsmen has every cricketing shot in his book. His scoring areas aren't restricted to any particular side of the ground. This exceptionally talented batsmen can score runs in all the directions of the park. Concordant to the modern day international cricketers he can hit boundaries at his will and when there aren't much opportunities, he makes keeps the score-board rotating with quick singles, a quality carved from a genuine batsmen. His lean but acrobatic physique adds to his swiftness on the field. 

A year ago, Zol had also scored a double century against Gujarat in the league stages of Vijay Merchant tournament. His score of 222 was then his personal best. But it was his marathon innings of 457 that opened the doors for his career to blossom. His consistency of making match winning scores soon earned him a deserved place in India Under-19 squad that went on to win the Under-19 World Cup in 2012. A fifty in the group stage match and a supporting 36 runs against Pakistan in the quarter-final guaranteed his team a place in semi-finals. 

A talent like Vijay Zol is of gold value and hardly goes unnoticed. The IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore noticed the potential in Vijay Zol and wasted little time in signing him for a youth contract in 2012.

Invaluable - Vijay Zol

The limelight surrounding Zol hardly distracted him as his focus remained to be only cricket. His consistent performances and his ability to lead was rewarded with the captaincy of the Under-19 Indian team for the triangular series in Australia, early this year. Zol accepted the huge task of leading the team and came up with even better performances as he scored 293 runs at a staggering average of 73.25. Zol continued his purple patch as he lead India Colts to victory in Sri Lanka followed by a jubilant hundred in a winning cause against Pakistan in the Under-19 Asia Cup. 

On the pleasant morning of August 30,2013, Vijay Zol made a dream debut for India-A by scoring a century against New zealand-A. The innings was a compilation of technique and temperament that would outclass the best of bowling attacks from across the world. The lean into the drives and back-foot punches through the covers while maintaining a perfect balance reminded me of the grace of legendary Brian Lara and Saurav Ganguly as he concluded his exemplary innings.

Dream Debut - Vijay Zol celebrates his century on debut for India -A

Vijay Zol acknowledges Virender Sehwag as his idol. He was rightly awarded M.A.Chidambaram Award for the best Under-19 Cricketer by the BCCI in 2012. Given the records, the consistency and the form that Vijay Zol is in, the future looks all bright for this naturally gifted exceptional talent. But, to make it to team India, Zol has to do what he does best and that is to bat and bat to score big. 

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Indian Cricket : Politics at grass root level

Mahatma Gandhi, Poverty and Sachin Tendulkar are three things that almost every foreigner knows about India. On 2nd April 2011, the whole nation was in tears of joy.. No, no, no ! It wasn't for the happy ending of a romantic bollywood flick neither it was a much anticipated prospective change in the Indian political scenario.. It was the instinctive outburst of emotion from the whole nation as Dhoni lashed the world cup winning six into the stands of the vociferous and jam packed Wankhede  stadium.

Cricket is undoubtedly a rage in India. A sport that draws emotions from every street and corner of the nation, like no other sport has ever been able to do . A sport that gave real life superheroes for every child in the country. A sport that gave the people of India Sachin Tendulkar, a deity figure of the cricket universe. A sport that has now become a  part of our culture and to many of us, a way of life.

Back in 1983, when Kapil's devils lifted the world cup at the Lord's balcony for India by defeating the mighty West Indies, they gave millions of Indians a a historical moment to cheer for ages to come. The victory, unarguably seen as the greatest, particularly for its constructive impact on the younger generation, acted as an inspiration and a motivation for those aspiring to replicate the same for India.

 

The future of every game rests on the shoulders of the budding aspirants,  who, with all their talent and capabilities, dream of achieving feats their idols have left behind for inspiration and sometimes even aspire to surpass them and bring more glory to the nation. 

When such deserving talent is denied a potential opportunity by the so called dignitaries in power it is evidently politics at grass root level. Young talent is therefore left disappointed. Disappointment to aspiring young talent is like gravity is to weight.

 

Despite the fact that cricket has earned scores of international recognition for India and remains one of the most essential sports in its international outlook, young talent is barely given an unbiased chance at elementary platforms of selections. The process of selection of players for the inter college tournaments, under 16, under 19 tournaments and the university teams is just for namesake. In most cases there is always a pre-selected team comprising of players who have represented the state earlier, few of them brought in on recommendations by the higher officials. The selection and fitness trials are just in place to fulfill the formality. It just ends up as a part of news in next day newspapers.

Apart from the selection process the commercialization of cricket leaves the deserving talent stranded. League teams available on lease have added up to the unprofessional ethics of selection. A one-day league cricket team would charge an interested player around Rs 8000 for a season whereas the amount demanded for the 2-day and 3-day leagues are much beyond the affordability of a common man. Making it even worse is the reputation of a team which has become more of a brand name. For example, a league team might have five Ranji players chosen on merit and the rest of them pay the amount demanded by the team owner if they are to play for the team.This often causes the young and capable talent which cannot afford this amount to lag in the race and eventually end up with broken dreams of bragging the whites. 

Nevertheless, one cannot completely blame the higher officials and the owners of the league teams for partiality in selections.Unjust and corrupt practices have become an integral part of the system and now, even cricket is affected by this disease that does not seem to have an immediate cure. The scenario is such because people who can afford these mounting rates do it with a hush. Never has anyone dared to question the awry of selection process or so does it seem.  

As long as such unethical and selfish practices form the core of the selection system a proportion of the deserving talent will always be denied a chance. Genuine talent must not be marooned for the sake of monetary gains or political benefits. Such nuances must be curbed and the fire of corruption must be extinguished. While this can seem an insurmountable feat, it is certainly not impossible.

Today, domestic cricket in India is in dire need of straightening these elementary processes.As cricketers themselves, it is the moral responsibility of the selectors to be fair with the selection process, to give the deserving talent a fair chance, and acknowledge their potential that often goes unnoticed or prematurely marooned. 

In foreseeable possibilities to curb this trend, one idea is to begin reformation at the grass root level. Cricket is born at the grass root level in a cricketer and nourishes with time and encouragement. If the process of selection is structured, organized and above all, just and unbiased, it will bring more transformation to the game than anybody could have ever imagined.  It is never a right time to do something right. So, let us stop waiting and start now.

It is seldom seen that little things often  making a gigantic difference and this principle holds true with Cricket too.