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[LosingNow]

BCCI to seniors: Pick your farewell stage
30 Sep, 2008 0056hrs IST, TNN / Sumit Mukherjee

http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3542191.cms


KOLKATA: Call it Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) or Early Separation Scheme (ESS). You can also give it any other name you please, but the BCCI is committed to offering a clutch of senior players an opportunity to make a dignified exit from international cricket.

The BCCI has already made its stand clear, saying that the senior players should approach the Board with their future plans so that they can be accorded an honourable farewell.

There is no running away from the fact that the likes of Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman are at the fag end of their careers, and every time they fail, individually or collectively, it adds fuel to the 'Seniors vs Juniors' controversy much to the dismay of the BCCI.

These players can now approach the BCCI and ask to be considered for a specific period of time till a certain series before quitting. According to TOI's sources, the BCCI will try to accommodate them as far as possible, provided the time frame is not too long.

For example, if a player wants to be considered for the next two series (vs Australia and England), he will have to formally intimate the BCCI that he would quit after that.

It will be subsequently made public. The selectors will then draw up a plan to groom his replacement to ensure that the transition is smooth.

"This is basically the model that Cricket Australia follows. We all saw how Steve Waugh bowed out. This 'deal' operates on the understanding that they will be picked for the series irrespective of their performances, but they will have to say bye-bye even if they score a hundred," said a BCCI official.

"Look these are all exceptional players and have done the country proud. The BCCI is keen to give them the opportunity to sign off in style," he added.

It is, of course, not obligatory for any of the senior players to queue up before the BCCI, especially if they are confident of holding on to their places on the strength of their performances. However, given the fickle nature of the game, their waning ability and icon-like status in the society, opting for VRS could be a definite option for Kumble and Co.

The BCCI top brass is expected to brief the new selection panel, headed by by Krishnamachari Srikkanth, about this policy before they sit down to pick the Indian Test squad for the first two matches against Australia on Wednesday in Mumbai.

It augurs well for Sourav, who can set the ball rolling by enlisting first with a view to signing off against England against whom he had made his Test debut. Being an early bird could also give him a small window to bargain for a final fling in ODIs.

[CLR James]

Surely this must be a joke!

[dextrous]

Surely this must be a joke!

TOI does not joke

[keep-it-cool]

Joke or no joke, I dont see anything wrong with this.

The player can decide whether he wants to time his farewell ... he is not being forced to do so.

If he does not take up the option, then the selectors (and the team management) have a free hand to decide whether that player deserves a spot in the team or not based on current form.

As long as this option is restricted to the great players and the time frame where they are in the team irrespective of form (I still believe some basic form should also be a criterion there somewhere) is not too long, what is wrong with the approach?

[keep-it-cool]

This is where it came from ..

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/seniors-should-tell-when-they-are-retiring-bcci/365399/

Mumbai, September 24: BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah put the onus on the senior cricketers to inform the board or the selection committee about their future retirement plans to enable a smooth transition in the Indian team.
"The senior players, who can be phased out in two or three years, should make their own (retirement) plans and inform the BCCI or selection committee. Like Rahul (Dravid) had done when quitting India captaincy. Like Anil (Kumble) did when retiring from ODIs," said Shah.

There's been a big debate among Cricket fans about the future of the fab-four batsmen (Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and V V S Laxman) as well as Test captain Anil Kumble following the poor display by them in the last Test series in Sri Lanka, which India lost to the hosts.

Explaining further, the BCCI official who is to step down from his post at the two-day AGM this weekend, said it was not practical in India for the selectors to ask a player about his retirement plans. "It's not possible in India for the selectors to ask players about their retirement plans which may lead to arguments," he said.