About time BCCI realised one size does not fit all

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has made a rather brave effort to issue the comprehensive standard operating procedures for resumption of domestic cricket, as and when the conditions permit.

The hundred page document outlines the safeguards needed before the upcoming domestic cricket season gets underway. And most hearteningly, the BCCI has agreed to provide all resources to state associations in order to avoid any slip-ups. 

While the appointment of a chief medical officer for each member unit is laudable indeed, some caveats like the age bar on coaches appears to defy logic. 

Coaches come in all shapes and sizes, and some are fit enough to put to shame persons almost half their age. Its about physical fitness and not the number in the age column that should be the determining factor in the such appointments.

After all, its the coach's brain and his analytical as well as communication skills that come into play rather than his physical condition. The ability to spot those little flaws in technique and polish the rough edges is what coaches at the first class level need to do. Tactics and playing strategy is another area where coaches do have a huge contribution to make. And none of these can come without experience.

Rather than a bar on people who have spent six decades or more on Planet Earth, it may have been better handled with an advisory to check on the health condition before making these appointments. The BCCI owes it to the younger lot to give them the best brains to hone their talent!

Another area where the BCCI seems to have gone overboard is the amnesty scheme for age offenders. Under the present missive, there is a one-time amnesty being offered to those that had made false claims about their age without any penalty. Of course, any offender caught thereafter by BCCI faces an automatic two-year ban from cricket at all levels.

Praiseworthy on the face of it, but the amnesty need not be blanket. In the present scenario only those no longer eligible for age-group competitions are likely to step forward and confess. This will hardly help clear the malaise that affects not only cricket but almost all sports disciplines right across the board. And neither is the problem unique to India but is a global malady indeed.

Rather than full amnesty, a rap on the knuckles, like a financial penalty, may help deliver a better message to the budding cricketers. And thereafter, falsifying age should earn a harsher penalty than the mere two-year ban. Something like a life-ban on national selection would help deliver the right message down to the grassroots.

Given the current uncertainty over all things normal, the SOP also appears to be 'work-in-progress" for BCCI, which has even envisaged virtual monitoring of rehabilitation and injury management of players by the Bengaluru-based National Cricket Academy.

It would indeed help the cause of the game if BCCI made more constructive suggestions to member states rather than throw binding conditions for resumption of domestic cricket.