India Cements Cricket Players

Are they on the way out to more 'Neutral' Clubs?

It is heard from reliable sources that Abhinav Mukund and Dinesh Karthik  of India Cements cricket team may be moving on from their club of many years to another club in the first division. 

Given the developments over the last 6months and the shifting of cricketing powers, players may be looking for clubs that are politically and administratively neutral and a safe bet that would place them with better zonal and national prospects if they get back into form in the new season with the bat and ball.

A third player, who has been a key player with the state team is also said to be exploring opportunities. There are a few more players in the large pool of IC players who are also said to be  'in talks'. The said players have been with the IC clubs for many years.

A senior official of the club stated that it is the choice of the players to stay or leave and that they will not ‘go out of the way’ to prevent any such moves, though they have not heard anything officially from any player so far about their intent to move.

Another senior official said that the club has been nurturing players for two decades well before the emergence of this so called power-play and that it is likely that the club will take this in stride and life will move on.  Also, the official claimed that these kinds of talks are a normal occurrence at the end of the season.

While there may be truth to this theory, it assumes increased significance this year. Historically, over the last two decades and more, there has been a movement of players in local club cricket towards the ‘powers that be’. And hence if this does happen, it should not be a big surprise.

Another player who has played over two decades of first division cricket and watched Abhinav Mukund and Dinesh Karthik is of the serious view that their departure from their current club will help re-ignite the club for he believes that they have not played the role of 'mentor' for the upcoming youngsters in the club. He says that when big international stars like Hussey and Hayden drive straight to the nets from the airport and Indian icon such as Dhoni is seen playing for hours at the nets without seeking any attention, these players are casual on the field allowing easy singles when the ball is played to them. Inside the dressing room, they are seen most of the time chatting topics that are away from the match. He believes that the dressing room atmosphere and the on-field attitude will improve dramatically if this so called move fructifies and it will actually work in favour of India Cements in the long run.

On another front, it is also reliably learnt that one of the senior players of the state and part of the Indian team has on behalf of the state players communicated to the official(s) about the manner of running the affairs of the TN state team and the consequent (negative) impact on the players.  

A senior official of the TNCA stated that they had not received any such information in ‘writing’ and that they would understand the situation if any such communication reaches them.

While the league season has concluded for the Elite group, there are a couple of shorter version tournaments over the next couple of months as part of the 2015-16 calendar.