Sports lovers would like to believe that, with these former players in charge, the high profile Karnataka State Cricket Association would be a model association. And why not, for we know that these figures have had untainted records as players.

Their entry into KSCA was not easy. At first, they had to ward off a strong opposition led by former president Srikantadutta Wadiyar . Getting former secretary Brijesh Patel’s backing too did not happen before some intense negotiations prior to the elections. The unanimous win these players claimed in the elections was indeed historic.

But what followed was quite disappointing.

Within three months of being elected, the team found itself buckling under immense pressure during the ICC World Cup. There was a fiasco over ticket sales and a police lathi charge at the ticket counters outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Legislators had accused Kumble and Co. of selling tickets in black. This had become a topic of discussion in the assembly.

This was followed by a controversy involving Kumble and his sports management company TenVic. It wasn’t wrong for the Indian media to question why the president of a state association, who is a ‘mentor’ with IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore, would have state players sign a contract with his sports management company. Kumble’s defence, that he was mentoring Vinay Kumar, CM Gautham and S Aravind didn’t make sense simply because they are part of the very establishment that Kumble is in charge of.

Let’s leave controversies aside and talk about the performance of the Karnataka Ranji squad. In 2009, under coach Sanath Kumar, the team entered the Ranji final and lost a close encounter to Mumbai by six runs. In 2010, they were knocked out of the semis. In 2011, Sanath Kumar was not retained by the current team of officials in KSCA and moved to Baroda which gave him a deal he deserved. Baroda gave him charge of not just the Ranji team but also the junior squad.

With the mentoring of Srinath and Kumble, cricket buffs here hoped that the team would bring good results. However, it was not meant to be.

The team was knocked out by Haryana. The hosts were handed a miserable six-wicket defeat. You could argue that administrators are not responsible for a team’s performance. But are they not accountable?

In the absence of Vinay and Mithun, both called for India duty Down Under, NC Aiyappa and SL Akshay were brought into the bowling attack. Aiyappa had not played a Ranji match in the past two years and has been busy doing modelling assignments for fashion guru Prasad Bidappa in Bangalore.

Though Aiyappa, brought in due to his performance in the recent domestic leagues, did a pretty decent job of bowling; youngsters like pacer Ronit Moore who has shown good form in domestic league matches has completely been sidelined.

Why recall a 33-year-old who perhaps has no chance of making it any further than the state squad?

Bharath Chipli, 29, who was dropped in the past season was recalled. Though Chipli scored 364 runs in the Shafi Darashah, the immensely talented Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul or Karun Nair, all India under-19 players, were not given a chance to play the Ranji. Apart from SL Akshay no other player this year was given a debut. Please note that SK Moinuddin too is a potential player but he was just made to sit out.

Karnataka coach Jaswant’s answers to these questions can hardly be justified. He says: “This was debated in our selection meeting. But at the end of it we didn’t get a positive response from the under-19 or under-22 team coaches. They said the boys were not delivering consistently in the under-22 level. Why take a chance for Ranji?”

But Mr Coach, a player can deliver only when he gets a chance.

Critics of the KSCA point out that the selection of players to the state squad hasn’t been entirely on merit. Former KSCA administrator Brijesh Patel was accused of ensuring his son Udit played all Karnataka matches, while the quota for the influential curator’s son and Canara Bank clout continues to deprive deserving players. (Aiyappa and Chipli both play for Canara Bank).

So, how is this a positive change? Kumble and Srinath might have been among the the world’s best bowlers but can they be the best administrators? It’s been a year since they took charge and the progress is for us to see and judge.

Number talk:

KL Rahul: Three centuries in the Karnataka League, highest scorer in 2nd division League. In Shafi Darashah he scored three 50s in four games and has scored 95 runs on two occasions. He was awarded the man of the match in Shafi Darashah.

Karun Nair: A century knock and a half century in Shafi Darashah. Two centuries and a 50 in Under-22 matches in which he captained the team. He scored a total of 406 runs in six innings.

Mayank Agarwal: Scored 137 against Bengal in Under-22, one of the highest scores in a match. In six innings, he scored a total of 330 runs.

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