#Cricket: Three Lessons
India beat Australia in what is now dubbed as one of the greatest series played by India. I had the pleasure of getting up at 4/5 AM every matchday — much to my wife’s irritation when the alarm rang.
The best part of the series is that rank newcomers were the heroes. Most of the seniors were missing due to injury, and Kohli for paternity leave. Previously unknown names like Natarajan, Md. Siraj, Washington Sunder, Shardul Takkur, etc., are now celebrities.
This was not only a highly entertaining series, but it was also a learning experience in management.
Hypothetically, I wonder if India would have still won if all the seniors were fit and played!
Three lessons I learned from this series
Lesson 1: Juniors can do wonders with the right guidance and training
To give an idea, in the fourth test:
- Indian bowlers (all together) had played ~5 tests and taken <15 wickets
- Australian bowlers (all together) had played 200+ matches and 1000+ wickets
That should sum up the difference between the two teams.
Lesson 2: Preparation decides the performance
One of the few things that BCCI got right is the process of mentoring juniors. BCCI conducts a lot of India A tours with Rahul Dravid as the coach. IPL helps juniors mix with legends and play in pressure situations. By the time they play for India, they have been trained hard for the battle.
Lesson 3: Attitude beats expertise/experience
Most of the junior players came from poor backgrounds and struggled a lot to reach this stage. Juniors have more enthusiasm and energy to learn and prove themself. While they lack expertise and knowledge, it can be gained if one has the right attitude and hunger to learn.
Summary
I am not a fan of how BCCI operates. However, they have done a tremendous job of grooming juniors via India A tours and IPL.
Training is a long term investment and not a burden. Organizations that pay attention to training and preparing bench strength will reap the benefits. Simultaneously, juniors should be ready to go that extra mile in training, reading, assignments, etc., and not rely purely on learning on the job.
