Former Rajasthan cricket team captain Sanjay Vyas on Saturday lauded administrator Lalit Modi for inculcating professionalism into the State’s cricket ecosystem during the Sportstar Sports Conclave — Focus Rajasthan at the Poornima University in Jaipur.
“I have seen a lot of changes. When I started, Rajasthan cricket was run by Rungtas. Everyone was a family member under the Rungtas. After Lalit Modi came, Rajasthan cricket changed a lot. We did not know how to commercialise the sport. Modi taught us what else we can do with cricket.
“Modi did an exhibition match between the England team and the Rajasthan players. He made Rs 1 crore from that for Rajasthan cricket. He ensured our DA increased four times once we requested him,” Vyas said during a panel discussion moderated by Sr. Assistant Editor of Sportstar, Shayan Acharya.
Rajasthan won the Ranji Trophy title in consecutive seasons in 2010/11 and 2011/12, and Vyas said the success was a result of the strong administration under Modi.
“We said we needed a coach. He asked us to suggest a few names. But he said we need only the best coach. He appointed Greg Chappell. He created a system. After 2009, they created a pool of fast bowlers. And those results took time, but we were Ranji Trophy champions,” Vyas recalled.
Former India international and Rajasthan cricketer, Gagan Khoda, added that Rajasthan has witnessed a wider spread of talent recently.
“Self belief has increased. With the Indian Premier League and with players sharing the dressing room with players from all around the country, their confidence has improved. Their mental ability and fitness [is exceptional]. Rajasthan has talent. Rahul Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed and Ravi Bishnoi played for India. There are players coming from all districts now; earlier it was just the big cities like Jaipur,” Khoda said.
Despite players from Rajasthan featuring in the T20I format, the State has struggled to provide talent for the Test side. Pankaj Singh was the last player from Rajasthan to earn an India Test cap. Khoda said that elevating the infrastructure can help bridge the gap.
“We need to create bases that are accessible to everyone, including the remoter districts. They should be reporting to the main centres, like Jaipur. You have to get more players and more talent,” Khoda said.
He added that there was a need to familiarise players with different kinds of conditions during the Ranji Trophy. “We played mainly at the KL Saini ground earlier. We only play a few games at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. We should get different grounds. We are not used to playing on spinning wickets. We need that exposure,” Khoda added.
Taking a step in this direction, Rajasthan Royals vice president Rajeev Khanna said that the franchise will be setting up a state-of-the-art training facility.
“We have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Rajasthan government to create a multi-sport hub. We will be investing Rs. 10,000 crore. It will be a complete sports city. Right now, I would like to keep it to just that,” Khanna said.
Khanna added that Rajasthan Royals has been working to create a talent pool of women’s cricketers. “We finished one girls talent hunt (recently) and we had 1,500 schools participate from districts like Bikaner. It is the responsibility of everyone involved to create that funnel-like structure. We go to districts to scout talent.
“We wanted to be a part of Women’s Premier League as well but could not. The whole idea is to create a talent pool. The teams who are part of the WPL or our state team can pick that talent. We have the talent and it is about nurturing them.”
The Sportstar Sports Conclave - Focus Rajasthan is powered by Poornima University, with Indian Oil, SBI, and Pratiyogita Darpan as associate partners, Great SportsTech as the Sports Technology Partner, KPMG as Knowledge Partner, and SSpark as the Media Partner.
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