By the end of June 2024, two wonderful things happened in Indian cricket. While most of us rejoiced at our men’s team winning the ICC T20 World Cup, the achievement eclipsed the achievements of our women’s cricket team which was simultaneously making the South African team bite the dust.

Let it be ‘ladies first’ for this article, and more so because many of us may not have followed the remarkable performances of Harmanpreet Kaur and company. Smriti Mandhana was undoubtedly the player of the One Day International three-match series. She scored back to back centuries in the first two ODIs and missed the same by just ten runs in the third outing. While the second ODI finished as a close one despite the Indian team having set up a mountain target of 326 runs for a South African victory, the first and third ODIs failed to see any South African challenge worth the name.

Moving from white ball to white dress cricket, the Indian team was once again on top with the opening pair of Shefali Varma and Smriti putting up a record 292 runs for the opening stand. In the process, the Indian team declared the innings at 603 for 6 wicket; the highest ever total accumulated in any women’s Test match. While Shefali scored a double hundred, Smriti scored a century, once again. However, when the Indian team won the Test by 10 wickets, it was spin bowler, Sneh Rana, who was adjudged as the Player of the Match for bagging 10 wickets. She is only the second Indian player after Jhulam Goswami to have bagged 10 wickets in a Test match.

In men’s cricket the scene was very different. It seemed more than once that the Indian team would lose its T20 encounter. The first such occasion seemed to be against Pakistan but some immaculate bowling by our bowlers coupled with some rash attitude of the Pakistani batters end up with an Indian victory. The danger appeared to be the same even in the title contest against South Africa when the opponents required just 30 runs off 30 deliveries, but just one over from Jasprit Bumrah, a great catch by Suryakumar Yadav despite being under tremendous pressure, followed by a miserly penultimate over of just four runs by Arshdeep, turned the probable result of the match upside down in India’s favour.

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Fame is the very first part of his name and he has stood by it. Yashasvi Bhupendra Kumar Jaiswal has come to stay in international cricket and it seems to be on his very own terms. The 22-year-old left-hand batter made his Test debut against the West Indies in July 2023 and joined the select band of cricketers who have scored a century on debut. It just wasn’t an ordinary century but one that went well above the 150 mark to finish at 171. In the history of Test cricket, only ten batters have scored more runs in their debut Tests and the two Indians among that list are Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma.

Knowing that the best place to get the right cricketing impetus at a young age of just twelve years, Yashasvi moved from his village residence of Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesh to Mumbai. Life was tough; there were days when he had to go to sleep hungry but the determination in the young lad decided to overcome it all. He earned a few bucks at times through some part-time business but it was never enough to give a growing boy the nutritious diet required to gain the strength necessary to blossom into a hard-hitting batter.

Yashasvi was fortunate that coach Jwala Singh assessed the potential of the then teenager and took him under his tutelage. Thereafter, there was no looking back for Yashasvi Jaiswal. Yet to achieve his age of majority, Yashasvi scored two hundreds, one double hundred and an unbeaten half century in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

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The colour of India’s white ball cricket has undergone a dramatic turn over the last few months. For the Indian fans, Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma is no longer the ultimate batting hero though quite late. A new name has suddenly come up in contention as India’s saviour — Surya Kumar Ashok Yadav. Known popularly as Surya Kumar Yadav, cricket commentators have found the most suitable acronym to this unique batting talent’s name — SKY.

The coming of SKY has lent an unprecedented strength to India’s middle order in white ball cricket, especially in the shorter versions of the game. Surya Kumar has a rather modest batting average above thirty in One Day Internationals but it is his scoring rate of above 100 which makes him an invaluable asset in the middle order which is coupled with his reliable fielding. However, it is in the T20 Internationals that Surya Kumar’s spoils are remarkable and almost unbelievable.

In the T20I he averages 44.0 but what is more remarkable is his strike rate of above 180. To give an idea of what it implies is that if an entire team bats at the same rate it would be scoring 216 runs at an average each time and if a few extra runs are added it would be almost a winning total of around 225 each time.

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No victory seems ever so sweet as in bearding the lion in its own den. After India’s disastrous First Test performance in Australia in the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy, what followed was beyond imagination of all and sundry. A team that in an innings was ignobly crushed at its lowest historical score of just 36 runs was definitely not expected to raise its head again during the rest of the series. However, what followed is now history and will be talked about for years to come.

In the absence of Virat Kohli, who was granted paternity leave after the First Test, the writing for the Indian team seemed to be on the wall, but for the present Indian team, most of whose young guns have been nurtured under the guidance of the legendary Rahul Dravid, surrender is not there in their dictionary. At the end of it all, a new chapter in cricketing history was written at Brisbane where the home team had not lost a Test match in the last 22 years.

One may wonder as to what helped India win the series and perhaps the obvious answer would be the series of injuries to its players, as some of the players who contributed to this historical series may have continued to sit on the bench in the presence of their more illustrious team mates.

Some truth may be concluded regarding my above statement if one is to compare the composition of the Indian team in the first Test with that of the fourth and final Test. Prithvi Shaw with scores of 0 and 4 in the First Test was consigned to the bench as was Wriddhiman Saha who could muster only 13 runs in the two innings. Injuries to Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami made way for two bowlers who were otherwise retained in Australia mainly for bowling at the nets.

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Cricket in India, with a population of around 1.35 billion, is tantamount to a religion. It is unresistingly an intoxicating and enthralling sport. Its charm is overwhelmingly bewitching, the craze of which transcends people of almost all age groups in our country.

But the stories of passion and love for cricket and its millions of aficionados do not cease here. A majority of the adolescents who play and watch the 11-member team on the 22-yard pitch bat, bowl and field so intensely, dream to play for the country. They also yearn ardently to earn the name, fame and fortune like their favourite players by making their career as brilliant cricketers of the country.

But the entry into the domain of cricket as a career is not an easy task. Nor is it a tailor-made profession. Unlike other professions and career choices, a career in cricket is a Herculean task which is stacked against fierce struggle, consistent challenges, failures, desperation, rejections and criticisms.

However, with the opening of more editions of cricket over the past few decades and the increase in the number of matches being played among the cricket-playing nations, the possibility of getting an opportunity to be selected for the national team and chances of starting career as a cricketer have become brighter and stronger.

What qualities do you need to become a cricketer?

In the present milieu of the cut-throat competition, cricket as a career and success as a cricket player is fraught with an array of challenges and hardships. To start, survive and succeed in this war-like situation, prospective cricket players must have the following professional inherent qualities:

• They must be very good sportsmen and natural athletes.
• Adaptability to accept international cricket’s odd circumstances like those of culture, cuisine, creed, language, weather and non-friendly audiences of foreign countries.
• Players are expected to bowl, bat and field for hours for the perfection of which they need to have very good physical fitness and mental stoicism.
• Aspiring players must be excellent in these eight segments of cricket — athleticism, fitness, skill to brave the tense circumstances, fielding, running between the wickets, bowling in the danger zone, dealing with balls accurately to duck being out and, most importantly, perspicacity of taking on-the-spot-decision.
• Must possess talent in one or all the three aspects of cricket: bowling, batting and fielding.
• Must have the willingness and interest to travel across the nations of the world for playing tournaments and series of the matches.
• Must be flexible and stoic to live apart from family and friends for a very long time.

Get the basics right!

All the important international cricket formats are grouped into the following three categories:

1. International Test Matches
2. One Day International Matches
3. T20 International Matches

Domestic cricket consists of the following formats:

1. First Class
2. List A
3. T20 Matches

A majority of prospective cricket players prepare and try to specialize in a particular format or sometimes two of them. Those who want to play only T20 matches restrict themselves to T20 cricket and join a particular T20 Premier League. However, it is another thing that these players are also chosen for playing T20 International cricket matches for India.

As far as the selection of players for the different formats of the cricket is concerned, it is the governing body of the cricket of that country which makes selection of the players. For example, BCCI (The Board of Control of Cricket in India) is the governing body and the richest cricket body of the world which functions along the line of a corporate organization.

All the players of the team, coaches, physiotherapists and other crew members are chosen by the BCCI for which the players need to sign a contract for a certain period, usually for a year. The BCCI also performs the task of arranging matches with the nine major cricket-playing nations, ie, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, South Africa, England, Australia, Zimbabwe and West Indies. The players are richly paid by the BCCI, the figures of which are not less than the earnings of a very high-profile entrepreneur of a corporate sector or a Bollywood celebrity.

Where and how to start?

An aspirant has two choices; the first choice starts right from school from where one can launch into the world of cricket. School cricket matches may prove to be the golden passport to participate in inter-school matches which pave the path for matches and tournaments played at the inter-college and university level.

Yet another very popular choice to enter the professional cricket world requires hard labour — ‘Open Cricket’ is a comparatively harder way to start the career as a cricketer. These matches are conducted by various cricket associations which have no connection to school, college and university level matches.

Across the country, each district has a District Association. All these District Associations further constitute the State Association. The District Association functions as a selection committee for promising cricketers for the matches at the district level. On the basis of the personal performances, players are chosen and the team is formed by the District Association.

The selection process

The performance of aspiring players at the district level creates the opportunity for them to play for their states. On the basis of the performance of the players at the state level, the national level selection committee makes the selection of the players for the national level team.

The Ranji Trophy is considered another golden passport for the selection of players for the national cricket team. It is also the most crucial stage which facilitates the entry of a prospective player into the cricket team of the country.

The Ranji Trophy, named after Ranjit Singh Ji, the first Indian cricket player who played for England and Sussex, is the first class domestic cricket championship of India. It is also popularly called as ‘Ranji’. It was earlier known as ‘Cricket Championship of India’. The Ranji Trophy consists of the teams representing the various states of the country. So every state has its own representation in the Ranji Trophy team. The Ranji Trophy holds the competition among 29 states.

As per the latest data, the total number of teams in this trophy is 37 with the latest addition of the north-eastern states. The players for the Ranji Trophy team are selected from among the top-performing players of the 29 states and 6 Union Territories of India. Players from various cricket associations and cricket clubs also get the opportunity to play for the prestigious Trophy.

For selection to the Ranji Trophy team, an aspiring player needs to go through the following processes:

First, start playing cricket right from childhood when you are usually in elementary school. It would be better to get yourself enrolled in a cricket team at local level or a local club. Ensure participation in as many cricket matches as possible. Your excellent performance in school and various other tournaments and matches would enable you to get selected for the district level tournament. Thereafter, players are selected for the divisional level which consists of many districts taken together.

On the basis of the performance of the players at the Inter-divisional tournaments, the players are selected for the camps. These camps serve as the rigorous training centres under the professional guidance of renowned coaches. During their stay at camps, these trainee players also play various tournaments which are reckoned as the entrance test for the Ranji Trophy.

The IPL cricket matches have proved to be a very good platform the teams of which are drawn from the Ranji Trophy teams. The IPL and T20 limited edition matches were introduced by the BCCI in 2007-2008 for which the players are selected via auction. They play for the teams owned by franchisees.

The BCCI has divided all the players into four categories of A+, A, B and C from the salary structure point of view the parameters of which make the stint of experience and last year’s performance in the matches played by an individual player. The ranking of the players lasts for one year and if any debutant joins in between the year he is given the slot in the grade C.

How much can you earn as a professional cricketer?

Retainer fee: This fee is paid as per the central contract and category to which the player belongs. Players in Grades A+ are paid 7 crore annually. As per the latest contract which came into effect from October 2019 and which will last till September 2020, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah have been included in the category of A+. Grade A players get 5 crore, Grade B players receive 3 crore while Grade C players are entitled to get 1 crore per annum.

Match fee: A match fee is paid for playing international matches. It is the same across all four categories of the central contract. For an appearance in every Test match, 15,00,000 is paid. For an appearance in a One Day International match, it is 6,00,000 and for each T20 match, the fee paid is
3,00,000.

Performance bonuses: For every century scored in Test or ODI, 5,00,000 is paid to the players, while for scoring double century in Test or ODI, 7,00,000 is paid. The 5-wicket-feat in Test, ODI or T20 attracts 5,00,000 whereas for a 10-wicket haul and scoring a double-century, the bonus is 7,00,000.

The bonanza does not stop here. In case of a win in a Test match against a team in the ICC Top 3 ranking, a 50 per cent hike is given in the match fee of the players. Winning a Test series against an ICC Top 3 team, 100 per cent or more fee is paid to the players. For a victory in ICC World Cup in both ODI and T20, an increase to the tune of 300 per cent is given in the match fees.

Success as a cricketer calls for absolute dedication and unyielding devotion. Aspiring players must be one hundred per cent dedicated to cricket. They must labour hard and practise vigorously without losing passion, patience and enthusiasm.

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When the great Sachin Tendulkar announced his retirement from Test cricket in 2013, it took the country by storm. The man, who glued the nation to their television sets or radios like never before, was going to play his final competitive match at the hallowed Wankhede Stadium.

The obvious brouhaha followed. Crowds thronged to the stadium at Marine Lines. News all over India was centred around the batting maestro.

After India won the Test and Sachin gave his farewell speech which brought many to tears, the crowd was on their way back. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was walking back to the Indian dressing room, when he met the person in charge of conducting the test. Seeing how busy and tired that person was, Dhoni just smiled and told him, “Don’t worry, you won’t have so much work when I quit.”

He was true to his word, at least as far as stepping down as India’s ODI and T20 captain, a position he has held since 2007.

Right from the day it was announced that Dhoni would be leading the India ‘A’ side in the first warm-up match against England at the Brabourne stadium — his last game as captain — the excitement started to build up.

Warm-up games usually have free entry and this was no exception. Star Sports, the official broadcaster, had requested the BCCI for live telecast of the match, which was granted. And the crowds turned up in large numbers — 20,000 of them. It was nothing compared to Sachin’s farewell, but Dhoni perhaps wanted it to be this way.

Dhoni closed at a record 331 games across all formats. A colossus among captain-wicketkeepers, given that second on the list of most matches across formats is Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim, who is yet to reach 80.

His rise as a player and then as a captain has been a story beating the odds, and more importantly, of being himself. ‘Dhoni-style’ has become a trend, a trend that banks on intuition and guts rather than going by the book.

There was a sense of rawness about him when he broke into international cricket in an ODI in Bangladesh in 2004. His approach to the game seemed quite different, clear from his unorthodox shots. Newspersons went into a frenzy, doing stories on how many litres of milk he would chug in a day.

But his captaincy was much more than that. His ascent to the top gained momentum after India’s poor run at the 2007 ICC World Cup, where they failed to make it past the group stages. Questions were raised over Rahul Dravid’s captaincy.

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