As much as cricket is a game of achieving excellence, at its heart it remains a recreational activity. While many start the journey towards excellence, most fall by the wayside and even tend to stop relishing the pure joy of the game.
In its quest to ensure that cricket is imparted to aspiring youngsters properly, KheloMore Sports has tied up with Cricket Victoria’s Melbourne Cricket Academy to implement its education programmes in India.
David Hussey, the former Australia allrounder who now is the head of Cricket Victoria’s men’s cricket coaching wing, hoped that the association between the Melbourne Cricket Academy and KheloMore will help the youngsters keep reinventing their love for the game.
ALSO READ: The rise and rise of Riyan Parag: Overcoming the odds and making No.4, a slot of his own
“As you fall in love with the game, you fall out of love the with the game because training is different, you become glorified grazers out in the field and you don’t bat as well as your brother and you end up fielding a lot of the time,” Hussey said, referring to his brother Michael.
“I fell out of love with the game but then fell back in love with the game because this new coach made it fun. The environment to learn and grow was not too dissimilar to the Victorian way, so that made me fall back in love with the game and I was very fortunate enough to play a very, very long time.”
While Hussey hoped to pass on the Victorian cricket development model to Indian youngsters, Jatin Paranjape, former India international and national selector who is the CEO of KheloMore, hoped that schoolkids are taught the basics of the way along with a way of life at an early age.
Former Australian Cricketer David Hussey during the launch of Melbourne Cricket Academy held at Cricket Club of India in Mumbai. | Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI/ The Hindu
“At last count, India had about has about 1,80,000 to 1,90,000 private schools and these schools are equipped with very contemporary education systems. Those systems essentially dictate that participation is more important than winning,” said Paranjape, who is a member of the BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee.
“There is a change in the mindset of the way schools are also looking at their at their students, the way parents also want to bring up their wards. It’s going to take time, but I think the secret sauce lies in making these contemporary programmes available to Indians and that’s what excites us.”
The partnership with the Melbourne Cricket Academy will result in KheloMore tying up with various cricket academies and gated communities for coaching activities. Starting with July, it will also launch a coaches’ certification programme to widen the cricket coaching horizons in a methodical way.
Comments
SHARE