“Yatra Pratibha Avsara Prapnotihi”
The Sanskrit quote, which translates to “Where Talent Meets Opportunity”, is boldly carved right next to the Indian map on the Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy. Since the eventful and iconic night of April 18, 2008 (first match of IPL), the cash-rich league has evolved and transformed into a beast but the theme has remained the same.
Talent certainly has met opportunity as the IPL has seen players emerge from absolute obscurity to hog headlines. The journey from isolated cricket fields to packed stadiums to the Indian cricket team has been nothing short of a fairytale for many talented cricketers and the list continues to get longer with every season. Yes, there is serious money at play but the way IPL has spring-boarded, revived and secured careers is a fascinating case study.
From the out-of-the-box idea, which had fair share of teething troubles and resentment from the old-school lobby, the IPL is now a well-oiled machine which keeps churning out players in every edition. The 2023 season was the 16th edition of the tournament which has now grown into a ten-team event.
But the way IPL is growing and auction purses are swelling, are the franchises doing enough to do a deep dive at the grassroots level? For the December 19 auction, the purse has increased to Rs 100 crore for each team and it’s a matter of time before we hit the 150 crore mark. Will just scouting be enough to ensure the machine remains in top shape even after 10 years? Unfortunately not.
All franchises must figure a way to tap into the immense talent available in the country and go deeper than the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and other domestic competitions. Yes, some teams, like Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), are already doing that with their hinterland scouting method but the approach must change from a year-long scouting activity to a grooming approach.
As of now, not all teams have a full-fledged academy setup to identify and groom the potential superstars. Delhi Capitals probably have the most comprehensive academy setup where their teams participate in premier tournaments too but even that is not looked at as a feeder to the IPL side. Yash Dhull had been training at DC’s Bal Bhavan Academy since his formative years but it took a stellar U-19 World Cup season for him to make it to auction shortlist and then find a bidder.
“There are academies in place but the mindset is different. Franchises still wait for the players to be part of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) and do well there. How many players have we picked out of nowhere? Not many. RCB picked some, KKR too but were they persisted with and groomed? Not really. So that’s the change in mindset we need to have that youth academy kind of set-up in place,” says a source part of the IPL ecosystem.
Similarly, Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have academy setups but they are more of high-performance centres where members of the IPL squad train and polish their skills during the off-season. RR have opened up two centres abroad too but the India unit is more used for their current cricketers who train during the off-season. Teams like Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Gujarat Titans (GT) have no academies and continue to rely on scouting process to pick the domestic cream from India and around the world.
Lucknow Supergiants (LSG) have recently opened up an academy in Noida and are likely to go on an expansion spree but it’s still early days. Two of the oldest teams – Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) – have full-fledged grassroot programmes but like other franchises, their approach, too, is very scouting driven. MI have a MI Junior, which is an inter-school cricket tournament, and CSK have academies in Tamil Nadu where the squad members drop in from time-to-time for a pep talk and lessons.
It continues to be a very scratching the surface approach by the IPL teams and it’s not going to be long before they realise that they themselves need to ensure the supply for the demands. Scouting is important, very important but a grooming approach could well be a game-changer. IPL is no longer the two-month long tournament which started like a big fat party. It is a serious business and cricket model, and the same can be seen in the valuation of the league which continues to scale new heights every year.
In the fast-paced ecosystem, the franchises can’t afford to just rely on scouting approach and would need to go deep. Just like successful football clubs do with their robust junior programme. Lionel Messi was roped in by Barcelona’s youth academy at the age of 13. He played for the youth side where he was groomed and prepped for the big league. Messi is just one of the countless examples of footballers rising through the youth academies ranks and its time IPL franchises explore the route.
“Not suggesting that scouting isn’t important. It is very important to find the right players for the right roles but if the approach can also include the process of grooming the right players for right roles, it can do wonders and the talent on display will be unreal,” adds the source.
Similarly, even in India’s domestic circuit even the greatest of names have come from the grassroots. Did a Virat Kohli directly play premier domestic competitions? No. He had to undergo the grind of club circuit in Delhi and slowly make his way up the ladder from age-group teams to senior teams to India U-19 to the senior national side. It’s during that period that even state sides look at potential players and groom them for future.
In the IPL, talent will continue to meet opportunity but it’s time to start grooming talent and not rely on just scouting. There is unreal potential waiting to be tapped into and a shift from the usual approach can do wonders for the health of the cash-rich league.
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