Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network-Mangaluru (MD)
Mangaluru, Jan 9: TENVIC (To Ensure Victory) led by former captain of Indian cricket team, Anil Kumble organized 'Anil Kumble’s Spin Stars Contest' for spin bowlers aged betwen 10 to 19 years. The aim of the contest is to give the spin bowlers an opportunity to showcase their skills to veteran coaches and expose them to an all new level in cricket.
TENVIC organized the contest for the kids here on Friday January 9 at Nehru Maidan cricket ground, Mangaluru.
Addressing the media, former captain of Indian cricket team, Anil Kumble said ,"We have registered 2000 students from Bengaluru , 200 students from Mangaluru and 600 students from Hubli. We will have the finals in Bengaluru on January 18, 2015. After the finals, we will select a total of 20 students and give them training in the summer season. We are going to provide cricket kits for the selected 20 students. Top three students will be rewarded with Rs 1 lac each for their studies. They should not sideline or ignore their studies. There will be lot of pressure from their parents to give more importance for studies and they do not allow their children to play cricket. Our plan is to provide scholarships for these students and along with studies, they should play cricket," he said.
"I am going to train those who get selected on January 18, personally. I will also give tips. Those spinners who have played for the state and national teams will also train the students," he added.
Speaking on the spectacular performance by K L Rahul in the test match against Australia, Kumble said, "I am very pleased with his performance. Though he could not perform well in his debut test as he was nervous, he has shut their mouth in the second test. When an opening batsman is sent to play in the 6th or 7th order he will have lot of pressure and he will not have much practice. I hope he continues the form in future", he said.
Anil also asked not to compare him with Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman or anyone as he is still young.
Speaking on the rumours that Karnataka players are being left out of the world cup squad, Anil Kumble said, "I am happy that players from Karnataka are performing really well. Stuart Binny has been selected in the world cup squad. There will be disappointments among some of the players because only 15 players can be selected and out of them only 11 players can play. They will get selected if they are really good."
Talking about the present Indian team, Kumble said, "If you see from last one year, the same team is playing. Middle and top orders are properly set and in world cup there is a lot of time between matches. There will be time to shift the players. But I am worried about the
bowling. No one should compare one-day matches with test matches. There will be fitness problems for the bowlers as they have been playing lot of matches continuously. Speed is not the main thing, you should bowl line and length and you should be consistent.", he said.
"When the world cup squad is selected, the squad cannot be re-arranged later. A player who is not in the world cup squad cannot be considered in the world cup squad, even if he is found fit later. There is still time for Jadeja to become fit."
Briefing about Mahendra Singh Dhoni's retirement, Anil said, " He has retired at the right time. It is his decision. There was no pressure from anyone. You should not worry about the critics. If you take criticism personally then your career is gone. I believe he has retired at the right time. Being a wicket keeper and captain, doing two things was very impressive even without injuries from past six years. Virat Kohli will be a great captain."
“Coach Duncan Fletcher is going to leave the job after the world cup. I have no desire for that post. There is still time”, he added.
Mayor and Dakshina Kannada cricket association president Mahabala Maarla welcomed Anil Kumble with a floral bouquet.
Addresing the media Maarla Said, "TENVIC lead by Anil Kumble, has come to Mangaluru to select the spinners and train them and include them in state and national teams in the future. Especially spinners from Karnataka should get the chance and we have given full support to him”, he said.
Vijay Bharadwaj, former India cricketer, R Ananth, former Karnataka state cricketer, Sridharan Sriram, left-handed all-rounder, K Jeshwanth, former left arm spinner and left handed batsman and others were present on the occasion.
TENVIC is a sports company founded by eminent sportspersons Anil Kumble and Vasanth Bharadwaj with the objective of enriching lives in and through sports. TENVIC has three lines of businesses – Grassroots Sport Development, Lessons from Sports and Branding and Sports.