Deep Dasgupta

Calcutta: For Bengal, the Ranji Trophy season was all over after Delhi beat Maharashtra by 10 wickets on Friday. Bengal’s final group league encounter against Delhi, from Tuesday, has been rendered inconsequential.

The debacle against Uttar Pradesh has come as a shocker to the CAB. So much so that president Jagmohan Dalmiya has decided to seek three specific reports from manager Rusi Jeejeebhoy, captain Laxmi Ratan Shukla and coach Roger Binny.

“What can one say about not winning a match when an opposition team gets dismissed for 62. Let them first come back. We will ask Jeejeebhoy to submit an overall report about what went wrong. Shukla and Binny will also be asked to submit reports but those will be technical ones,” Dalmiya said on Friday.

Things never really fell into place for Bengal, even before the season started. The CAB officials never bothered to address those issues. They let the problems linger till it reached a point of no return.

To begin with, it was the disorganised pre-season preparations. Due to the pressure from various first division clubs, the selectors were forced to choose 40-45 probables. The camp started late in August, and due to the monsoons, it was mainly indoors .

The captaincy issue also complicated problems. The CAB, for some strange reason, initially named Laxmi Ratan Shukla captain for one match. They messed it up even more as the team didn’t have a vice-captain. Prior to the Karnataka match, Dalmiya wanted Deep Dasgupta to lead but Jeejeebhoy and Binny entrusted Manoj Tiwary with the task. Tiwary is certainly the best man to lead Bengal but the manner in which the CAB and the team management handled the issue only led to bad blood within the side.

Thirdly, the CAB’s inept handling of the ICL players, who returned to mainstream cricket after a two-year hiatus. One selector felt that not playing the longer version would make them vulnerable while another felt that they should be automatic choices. A few in the team started feeling that some people walked into the team without any performance to show for themselves.

The Indian Premier League’s influence can’t be overlooked either. An Ashok Dinda or a Wriddhiman Saha now earn double by playing the IPL. “Look at Dinda. He is now a ‘four-over impact’ bowler. Fine, he is playing for India but look at his second spells. He is hardly effective,” a former Bengal captain said.

The CAB has made it a rule to announce team for one match only. Youngsters like Rohan Banerjee and Sourav Sarkar were soft targets.

Some of the selection policies were also baffling. Arindam Das, who was left out by the selection committee from the probables, is now the highest scorer with 413 runs from five matches. Left-arm spinner Iresh Saxena has been a traveller with the side. When he ultimately got a chance to play, he bowled three overs.

If one shot became important in the context of the tournament, it was Shukla’s horrible inside-out scoop off Baroda left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh. Bengal failed to get three points and surrendered the advantage gained after the victory over Maharashtra.

Besides Manoj Tiwary, the current team lacks players who can raise their level of game in trying situations. An India prospect like Wriddhiman has failed miserably batting at No. 3. He looked ill equipped to handle swing bowling. Worse, his temperament in pressure situations is also under the scanner.

It may sound odd but Bengal lacks talented players and doesn’t have proper bench strength.

Last, but not the least, Roger Binny’s presence hasn’t helped the team in any way. A gentleman to the core, he has failed to get the best out of the players.

To add insult to injury, Rusi Jeejeebhoy’s presence complicated matters as he is being alleged to have interfered in cricketing and personal matters of the players.

Unless the CAB finds immediate solutions to the issues, Bengal cricket will only suffer. Any ray of hope at the end of the tunnel is not in sight.