VISAKHAPATNAM: Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) has been struggling to bring up cricketers suitable for T-20 matchesc
The recent Indian Premier League (IPL) player auction has proved that both batsmen and bowlers of Andhra region have not been considered fit for the T-20 format.
Eight young cricketers, including Andhra skipper Hanuma Vihari, explosive batsman Ricky Bhui, stumper K.S. Bharat, D. Sumanth, D.B. Ravi Teja, Bhargav Bhat, C. Stephen and B. Ayyappa of ACA were among over 578 players in the IPL-11th edition auction.
Only one among them, Ricky Bhui, was shortlisted at the IPL auction held in Bengaluru. Even Ricky was sold to the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for a base price of Rs 20 lakh only. Sources said that in the 8th edition of IPL Hanuma Vihari got a base price of Rs 10 lakh and Ricky Bhui was bought by Hyderabad team in the past three editions to play the glamorous game.
Admitting that ACA’s players were not in demand in the IPL auction, ACA secretary Arun Kumar said that no doubt IPL is a golden opportunity for the youngsters to make name and fame. “Our players’ performance was excellent in a longer version (50 overs match, three-day format) of the cricket but not so good in the T-20 format. We have been on the job to promote T-20 format and to produce talented players who will fit in the T-20 format in the coming days,” he said.
On condition of anonymity, a former player of the ACA said that playing T-20 game is not an easy task. Most of the youngsters around the world are playing T-20 more as they have developed their skills. Though the ACA managed to produce a few batsmen, it has to do a lot to create good bowlers.
“Claiming ACA as the top association is not a scale to measure its growth. As long as we are not able to establish a system to churn out fresh talent, we are failing in whatever we are doing,” a former player and administrator of ACA said.
So far, only five players played in the earlier editions of the IPL since its inception in 2008. Medium pacers D. Kalyan Krishna, Paidikalava Vijay Kumar, batsman Y. Venugopala Rao and D. Sumanth played for Hyderabad franchise while all-rounder Shahabuddin represented the Mumbai.
