Sachin Tendulkar shares recommendations with MCA to revive Mumbai cricket
Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar on Thursday met with the Mumbai Cricket Association and shared his suggestions to improve Mumbai cricket.
Last Friday, a new managing committee took over proceedings at the Association, following which a meeting was held at the facility in Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai. Among the attendees were president Vijay Patil, vice-president Amol Kale, secretary Sanjay Naik and members of the Apex Council.
41-time Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai haven’t won the domestic tournament in the last three years. Their performance in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy has also been see-saw.
No bus journeys, avoid night travel
Reports said that Tendulkar made as many as 18 recommendations, some of which included prominent points like increasing the number of grounds in the city, avoidance of night travel for players and ensuring their safe and respectful exit. He also suggested no bus travel for the players, good remuneration to support staff, 14-member squads for school cricket and encouragement for women’s cricket. Tendulkar also emphasized that the selection committee’s minutes of the meeting be recorded.
Had our first Apex council meet today and we were joined by “The Lil master” who shared his vision and thoughts with us. I am blessed to have had this discussion while we work towards our common goal of developing and taking Mumbai cricket to much greater heights !! ? pic.twitter.com/a1zjp2KnPg
— Vihang Sarnaik (@vihangsarnaik) October 10, 2019
Punish age-fraud offenders
One of the biggest issues plaguing domestic cricket for a while has been that of ‘age fraud’. In a bid to eliminate it, Tendulkar suggested that there should be strict punishments for those found guilty.
“He wants the MCA to be serious about checking age fraud. He wants us to make a rule that bans an under-14 age fraud culprit from playing for both the under-14 and under-16 cricket teams”, a source said.
Another important aspect that Tendulkar stressed was the need to build a state-of-the-art gym for all Mumbai cricketers. He also said that coaches of all age-group teams should maintain a document on every player to help them train the player consistently.
