Lalchand Rajput blames IPL for Mumbaiās downfall in Indian domestic circuit
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Former India coach Lalchand Rajput has stated that the downfall of the Bombay cricket is mostly because of the change in the mindset of the players due to the IPL. Abhishek Nayar has also seconded that thought and stated that the T20 league has altogether changed the journey of young players.
Mumbai has always been theĀ absolute pinnacle of the Indian cricket and their contributions to the golden goose that is the BCCI is unparalleled. And when we talk about the dominance, they are countedĀ in the same breathĀ as what Manchester United is to English football or Yorkshire is to English cricket. The team
However, lately,Ā the team has not been the same dominating side that used to instill the fear of God in the opposition camps and their reputation has gone down drastically in the recent past. Mumbai crashed out in the Ranji quarters last season, after suffering an innings defeat at the hands of Karnataka, which led to many former Bombay cricketers criticising the current culture.Ā
Yesterday, at the book launching event of "The Lions of Mumbai Cricketā at the MIG Cricket Club, Lalchand Rajput and all-rounder Abhishek Nayar took a dig at the IPL for Mumbai cricket's declining standards.
"Cricket is now a power game. Today, Mumbai's youngsters think of playing in the IPL, rather than for Mumbai. This mindset is wrong, because first and foremost, you have to try and play for your state, and then for your country. The IPL will come automatically. However, this mindset has changed because of money. This is the reason why Mumbai cricket has slowly come down from the level it was at earlier," Rajput was quoted as saying by ToI.
"In our days, they used to plead with us that 'don't make us field for two days.' However, now the same teams are competing with us and beating us too. This means that they've started believing that anybody can beat Mumbai. The other teams have developed because of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) coaching and the IPL, where you play with bigger players."
From many of the positives that the IPL has given to Indian cricket, perhaps the most important is that it has become a pipeline of progression from the Under-19 to the senior team for the youngsters. Under-19 players now need to prove themselves in the IPL in order to get selected for the Indian national team and it is no more the case that they only need to perform well in the Ranji Trophy.Ā
Clearly worried about the changing trends, Nayar said, "The stage is set for people to get picked for India through the IPL. The times have changed. You
