Players generally value the state team’s success more, but the standard of cricket in Duleep Trophy is better © Cricinfo Magazine

Everyone has a reason for playing cricket. Some play because their friends also play, some start with a single-minded focus of playing for the country. There are various steps one goes through before getting to that ultimate goal.

In Mumbai, cricket is big at junior levels: even playing for a school like Shardashram, where Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli played, is a matter of pride. Harris Shield, Giles Shield and other such tournaments are very competitive. After having played at those levels, one moves to age groups and then becomes one of the probables for Ranji Trophy. For a youngster that is a big thing, because that is one step below playing for the state, becoming a first-class cricketer.

I remember when I got picked for the Under-17 side, I saw it with a lot of pride. When I was handed the cap with the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) logo on it, it was a big thing for me. Every thing since then – collecting newspaper clippings, conversations with friends, et al – was a motivation for playing for Mumbai. With such a journey to playing for the state, one inevitably values every moment and success with the state team.

When a player starts playing for a state, he gets attached to particular venues too. For any cricketer in Mumbai, it is very special to play at the Wankhede, may it be the Ranji final or school cricket final or Times Shield tournament. I remember the first time I went to the Wankhede. Sachin was making his debut, and Achrekar sir [Ramakant Achrekar, my coach and Sachin’s] had picked us up and taken us to watch the game. The first thing that struck me was the lush green ground and I immediately told myself I wanted to play there.

When it comes to a team like Mumbai, there is a lot of history attached too. We have won the Ranji Trophy 37 times now, and whenever Mumbai fail to make it to the knockouts, it is considered a big failure. A Mumbai player knows great players have represented the team; there are stories and legends built around and that can be a source of both motivation and pressure.

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Not all players get picked for the national team straight from the U-19s or state side. There are few like Parthiv Patel and Yuvraj Singh who do well at U-19 level and bypass the route. But others have to go through the system and this is where the Duleep Trophy comes in. It gives an opportunity to cricketers who have already done well for their state, but haven’t made it to the national side: there are three games if you make it to the final, someone like Parthiv who has scored 900-odd runs in the season gets a chance to take it to 1200-plus.

The timing this year is unfortunately not great. The squad for Australia has already been announced, but the players have to tell themselves there is a Test series coming up in March too. That said, this is better timing than the last two or three years when it used to be played before the Ranji Trophy. So the players would make it based on the previous season’s performance and wouldn’t necessarily carry on from where they had left then.

Different players from different teams come to play for a zone in Duleep Trophy. It is very difficult to adjust because the thinking and the attitude are different. For example, Mumbai players who have won Ranji 37 times think differently than some other teams. Then it is difficult to get all the different players to gel as a team for just two or three matches. Players are not comfortable in even sharing rooms. It may work for a senior, because the junior room-mate usually adjusts to his habits.

Duleep Trophy is an individualistic tournament, because – whether players accept it or not - everybody focuses on his own runs and wickets, being so close to selection. Playing for a state side comes with a sense of togetherness, with a lot of success and disappointment shared over a period of time. That bonding is missing in the zonal sides.

While getting used to players from different backgrounds is a must while playing for India – and just as difficult – but because one wants to play for India for as long as possible, he has to adjust. While playing Duleep Trophy, the attitude is to just somehow get through the two-three matches. Besides, while playing for a national side, when the whole world is watching, selfish players are exposed, something you can get away with while playing the Duleep Trophy. And then there is the pride of playing for a country. There is hardly any pride involved in representing your zone. There are different people from different states, some selfish, some hard to get along with.

While any success is cherished, players generally value the state team’s success more. But then again, the standard of cricket in Duleep Trophy is better as the best players from the country are playing there. Individual performances bring more satisfaction here. It still is a big thing to play Duleep Trophy: ask those who played a lot of Ranji Trophy, but couldn’t make it to Duleep Trophy. When one gets that opportunity, he should get over all the issues, and as a professional look at it as an opportunity and step closer to the goal.

	Winning the Ranji title is a high point of a player's career and something to be really proud of © Cricinfo Ltd

The 2007-08 Ranji Trophy has just ended. As usual the team that claims the title ensures that their name will be etched in the history of Indian domestic circuit, which they richly deserve. I daresay that winning the Ranji trophy is as good as winning a Test match because of the toil that a team goes through for over six months of preparation and performance.

Most first-class teams start their off-season training camps in the month of August, when 30 probables are selected. These players have to undergo fitness camps; they go out and play some cricket in south India in events such as Buchibabu Trophy, Moin-ud-Dowla Gold Cup and KSCA Invitational, which are organised well by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) and Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) respectively. These tournaments are played in the last two weeks of September and the first week of October.

After proving their mettle in these matches, fringe players get eventual nods for their teams. The actual first-class season begins in the last week of October and it is often noticed that the team that peaks at the right time eventually wins the tournament, as is evident from the finalists: UP and Delhi, who have sidelined major teams like Mumbai and Karnataka at crucial stages of the tournament. Players also have to fight through patches wherein form deserts them in batting, rhythm in bowling, and confidence in wicketkeeping and fielding. After each failure, the toughest part is to spend the evening - when you doubt yourself and your abilities. The players who succeed are the ones who forget about the previous day and sleepless night, and begin the next day with hope and optimism. This trend has to continue over a consistent period of three months.

Selectors, who do honorary jobs in most of the states, are also pleased to see players whom they have given an opportunity to, repay the faith placed in them by performing and contributing to the team cause. Administrators, too, have to undergo difficult situations while staging the matches, arranging the travel itinerary, ensuring that Under-19 and Under-22 players are made available for the Ranji Trophy matches, and then rewarding the teams for bringing glory to the associations. Trainers ensure that they engineer the players’ fitness according to the nature of the job. And physios maintain these lean machines through proper care, injury prevention and injury management. Most of the coaches have played the game themselves, and help the teams in preparing well, giving strategic inputs, maintaining discipline, and encouraging players and keeping the team spirit going. The coaches also realise that playing was much easier than coaching, as once the game starts, the coach has no control on how the players deal in match situations. To de-stress themselves, they get into the healthy habit of drinking a lot of water.

As only 260-odd players have managed to get an India Test cap in about 75 years of the history of Indian cricket, for a bulk of the players, winning the Ranji title is a high point of their careers and something they can be really proud of. For the finalists of the Plate League - Railways and Gujarat - regaining a place in the Elite League is an achievement, as playing in the Plate League has its own set of challenges. Even though some of the teams are weaker, the playing conditions are tougher, as all matches are played on sporting wickets and teams want to get as many outright wins as possible and qualify for the all-important semi-final stage. Once that has been achieved, the teams can’t slip during the semi-finals as that can spoil all the efforts during the season.

Sterner tests lie ahead for players getting selected in the zonal teams, as the Duleep Trophy is one of the tougher competitions on the domestic circuit. As the Duleep Trophy is an opportunity to catch the eye of the national selectors, the team spirit among players collected from different states is often missing. That team spirit, which is central in a state team, is what makes a Ranji Trophy triumph so special.

	Where did it all go wrong? Was it the touch down or slow running? © AFP

In the first Test between Australia and India, the difference between the sides was much more than just skills. I enjoy watching Australia play for the manner in which they go about using their skills. Every session is meticulously planned and the plans implemented. They pay attention to small things when they practise: the throwing technique, the running between the wickets, the ground fielding, and minute details like sliding the bat while taking runs, relay throwing etc. More importantly, they implement them during the games.

A picture of contrast was Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman not being able to take threes even when the ball reached pretty close to the MCG boundary. Dravid got stuck at one end, strike was not rotated, and the batsmen came under immense pressure. Sourav Ganguly later nearly ran himself out while backing up and not sliding his bat back. And this is not an aberration; many more Indian cricketers have done that at the international level.

The stark difference set me thinking about how cricket is taught at the grassroots level in India. There are thousands of coaching clinics that run all over the country and not many of the coaches that conduct these camps actually teach their students these basics. Not many of the coaches are aware of these basics in the first place and are not able to explain the advantages and the disadvantages.

In my younger days a typical session would start with a jog for a couple of minutes, followed by a few stretches and you were straight into the nets. I would bowl from the start till I got exhausted and worry if I stopped, the coach would feel I was not fit. The moment I slowed down, he would ask, "Kayre, damlas ka? (Tired already?)". I would promptly reply, "No sir" and pick up the ball and bowl. By the time the nets would get over I would not be in a state to walk, leave alone field. It did make me fitter, but it also made it easier to fall into wrong habits. The fielding practice would involve a few catches here and there followed by a few drills and the net session would be over.

When you reach the first-class level, things improve a bit. At least the teams I have played in work on their basics. The players do realise now that it's not just a fancy thing. For a coach, it's important to explain why a certain thing is being done. For example, although there is a conventional approach of running between the wickets in a straight line, there is another concept where while looking to go for a second you can take a U-turn running in a small semi-circle near the popping crease – something Jonty Rhodes used to do effectively. By going the latter way, a batsman never has to stop while turning, allowing him to keep the momentum intact. Different batsmen respond differently to different methods, but all these things can be tried and results had on paper. It's then easier to explain to a kid and say, "That's why you should take a U-turn, or this is why you should run in a straight line."

The coach has to make sure that every drill is not just a chore to be done, but it leads to something that can be used in a match situation. A relay throw, the fielders need to know, helps the fielder who is midway between stumps and boundary to go for either end. Otherwise, the moment the ball leaves your hand from the boundary line, you have no control over it. So while relay throws may take an extra second, they make both ends danger ends.

We do try to teach such basics at the first-class level, but sometimes players come to the Ranji level without any knowledge of these basics. Not all of them make first-class debuts at a mouldable age, say 18-19. So it is difficult to undo things like faulty throwing techniques and diving methods. They do practise but when instincts take over in a match situation, they tend to do the same old thing.

That there is still a long way to go shows in the over-rates in Indian first-class cricket. Almost every match goes into the reserve half an hour to finish the stipulated 90 overs per day. Generally speaking, the urgency is lacking. Australian cricket, in contrast, is high-paced; you don't see anyone walking in between the overs. And that is not inbuilt; they keep constantly working on that.

The solution probably lies in coaching the coaches and also making sure coaches for an age group don't change every year. Currently, a player has to interact with a different coach each year and with different techniques and drills, it is easy to get confused and develop wrong habits.