Sunny takes boys under his wing

Sunil Gavaskar has arrived in Bangalore as the first guest lecturer at the National Cricket Academy. The former Indian batting great is also one of the five members of the NCA committee, formed under the Chairmanship of Raj Singh Dungarpur to oversee the academy's functioning. Gavaskar was unable to be present at the inauguration of the academy on May 1 but he had an important role to play in its formation. During the inauguration Raj Singh had paid tribute to Sunny for having initiated contact between the NCA committee and Rodney Marsh of the Australian Cricket Academy, on which the NCA has been modelled.

In Gavaskar's youth there were not many opportunities for players to undergo formal coaching. In his memoirs Sunny himself recalls only one coaching stint that he attended, conducted by the BCCI in Hyderabad after his final year at school, under the tutelage of former England Test cricketer, TS Worthington. Gavaskar watched the trainees in action during the afternoon yesterday and told a local newspaper that he would talk to the boys about their technique only after watching them for a couple of days.

"But I did tell them that if anybody wanted to talk to me on temperament they were most welcome to do so", he added. He took time out to advise the buccaneering Punjab middle order bat, Yuvraj Singh, to play his natural game rather than worrying unduly about matters of technique. Accompanying Gavaskar at the net session in the Chinnaswamy Stadium were NCA Director Hanumant Singh and coaches Roger Binny and Vasu Paranjpe, the latter incidentally being Sunny's old captain at the Dadar Union Sporting Club.

"Its been a long, long time since I have watched so much cricket.For three hours, I watched nearly every ball that was bowled to the batsmen. Even on television, I do my half-hour stint and take rest", Gavaskar said. The NCA sure has been consigned to the background in these troubled times but its probably better that way. Let the academy go about its task with quiet efficiency, unsullied by the grime from outside, and slowly but surely the dignity can be restored to a once pristine game.