Newly elected BCCI president Sourav Ganguly wishes to leave no stone unturned in helping Indian cricket grow as he has approached legendary Sachin Tendulkar to guide and groom India's next generation of cricketers.
As per a report published in IANS, the talks are at very early stages but Ganguly could bring in the batting maestro to spend time with some of the country's most promising young talents.
"The process has been started, but it is too early to make statements on the progress or how things stand," a source close to the matter was quoted as saying by IANS. "But, if all goes as per plan, you could see the likes of Shubman Gill or Rishabh Pant or Prithvi Shaw spending quality time with the legend and discussing not just their cricketing skills, but also the mental side of the game."
"Who better than the man who played international cricket for 24 years to share his experience with the new kids on the block? This would indeed be another masterstroke keeping in mind the future of Indian cricket."
Major discussions over the matter will be regarding the conflict of interest clause which previously prompted Tendulkar to leave his position amidst the Cricket Advisory Committee and secondly, the details of his new role and whether his sessions with players will be taking place at the NCA where Rahul Dravid is already in director of cricket post.
"That will have to be done in a way that while the kids can pick on the brain of one of the best to have played the game, there is also no issue of conflict whatsoever as far as Tendulkar is concerned. These things will need to be worked out," the source added.
On the conflict issue, before taking over as BCCI chief, Ganguly had said he would look into the new constitutional clause as it discourages nation's greats from contributing for the betterment of the sport.
"Conflict is an issue whether you will actually get the best cricketers in the system," Ganguly told reporters. "You are not too sure as they will have other options and if they come into this system and not get to do something which is their livelihood, then it gets difficult to be part of the system. It needs to be looked into."
"If you look at all the appointments that have happened in various forms -- whether it is the NCA or CAC or the appointment of batting, fielding coaches, there has been issue with everything. Then come to commentators or IPL. This needs to be sorted as it is another very serious issue in Indian cricket."
(Inputs from IANS)
