Cricket
T20GL can change face of SA cricket
It has already been typecast as the pot of gold at the end of local franchises' rainbow but the T20 Global League has the potential of being much more than just bling.
The tournament, contends Joburg Giants head of operations Rajesh Vetcha, can help South Africa meet its developmental objectives.
"It is not just about the activities in the six weeks the tournament is on," he said about the cricket jamboree that starts on November 6. "This particularly pertains to grassroots development," added Vetcha, who performs a similar role for team owners GMR at the Delhi Daredvils.
"We identify kids who don't have the opportunity," said Sunil Valson, team manager of the Delhi Daredvils and Giants.
"We expose them to our coaching staff. Imagine an 11- or 12-year-old who hasn't played the game before being exposed to a Gary Kirsten or a Rahul Dravid.
"We have a strong group of players between 14 and 19 years old. Twelve of them have already played for the state," Valson said about the Daredevils' academy.
"Anything is possible once you awaken a can-do spirit," Vetcha noted sagely. "You can fight the system with that, talent and hard work. That's the more important lesson."
Valson and Vetcha acknowledge that there have been and continues to be teething problems in the build-up to the league.
Upheaval at Cricket SA meant valuable time has been lost in the planning phases.
"Those are typical things," said Vetcha, who incidentally was a member of India's revered World Cup-winning squad of 1983. "I don't think it's problems per se, it's about getting clarity and being on the same page."
He was quick to point out that as a capturer of the imagination, the Indian Premier League (IPL) was also slow out of the blocks.
"The IPL started on a very timid note. After the first week, people realised what was happening and by the third week the stadiums were full," said Vetcha.
"It was Brendon [McCullum] who set the IPL on fire," Valson enthusiastically interjected. "He scored that brilliant hundred."
While McCullum, who will be playing for the Giants, won't have centre stage for the tournament opener, the Wanderers will host at least one semifinal and the final.
Vetcha believes the event will test teams in how they manage players. "It will be interesting to see how teams handle the pressure of playing for 45 days. Sometimes you have a team on paper and a team on the field."
Valson said: "I always think back to the 2009 IPL. We had 11 wins in 14 games. We then played the Kings XI and the coaches felt we should rest some players. AB [de Villiers] was very upset that we might lose momentum. The idea was to give them a break before the play-offs. We were blasted away by Adam [Gilchrist], who played the innings of a lifetime in the semis. You learn from that."
Vetcha is excited about Joburg Giants in the way it draws comparisons with Delhi.
He said: "The diversity, opportunities, the commercial possibilities, the vibrancy. We are happy to be here."..
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