"We have so much talent in our country today that we can easily field two teams," says former India captain Chandu Borde. He finds that the enormous talent that India possesses right now is the reason behind it. He finds Indian cricket is in safe hands and it would be great to see how this young Indian team will do in near future.
Meanwhile the reports in The Economic Times quoted Borde saying, “Indian cricket has a very bright future.” Borde came to Noida for the inauguration of the The Chandu Borde Global Cricket Academy at the Global Indian International School (GIIS) campus, which is the third in the GIIS network in India, the other two being in the GIIS campuses in Indore and Surat.
Borde believes that the fielding has been one of the areas that have seen massive improvement in last decade or so. He feels great when young lads make those desperate dives either for catches or for stopping the runs. He is happy the way BCCI has given facility not just for batting and bowling but also for fielding to all these youngsters at all levels.
He was quoted by DNA saying, "In our days we did not have anybody training us specifically in fielding. Nowadays with support staff training players specifically in fielding, our players are living up to their standards. However, players nowadays get more opportunities to showcase their talent because of the league system in the Ranji Trophy. In our days, it was knockout format, not many players could get more than one opportunity prove themselves," he said.
Inception of new academies has made the life easier for the players and that’s what very much required at the grass root level. "During our days, we used to play on the school grounds. But nowadays, because of the accent on construction of buildings, very few schools have big sports grounds," Borde said.
"That is where the academies come in to help in spotting and grooming young talent. It is good that many former cricketers, including Ranji (Trophy) players, are associated with schools and colleges in one way or the other to develop the game," he added.
Meanwhile the reports published in Times of India quoted the Former Indian Test opening batsman, Chetan Chauhan, saying "Credit also goes to IPL which has given a great exposure to the cricketers coming from the small towns or lesser known states. Nobody today hesitates to dive, take a tumble, attacks the ball while fielding.”
"Previously, international cricket meant players mainly from Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Madras (now Chennai) and Kolkata. Nowadays, the Indian team has players from many small cities," he added.
The lot of questions has been raised on why BCCI shouldn’t be brought under the influence of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, on which Chauhan said, "Why just BCCI, all sports bodies in the country should be brought under the RTI. After all, these bodies are run with public funds. But then, that is my personal view and not that of the DDCA," he said.