This is a transition time in Indian cricket: Manohar

Acknowledging it was transition time in Indian cricket, Shashank Manohar, who quit as BCCI President on Monday after completing his tenure, has suggested that senior players in the national team should guide the juniors before handing over the reins. 

"This is a transition time in Indian cricket. We have players who are in the twilight of their respective careers. At the other end of the spectrum are youngsters who are knocking on the doors of the national squad," Manohar has remarked in the BCCI's annual report for 2010-11. 

"Some of them have had stints with the national team, and have proved their worth in the shorter forms of the game. The Board would like to ensure a process wherein the seniors groom the juniors, and hand over the reins to them in due course," Manohar, who quit at the Board's 82nd AGM, has stated.     

Manohar's comments have come in the wake of the team's disastrous outing in England where it was thrashed 4-0 and 3-0 in the Test and ODI rubbers, besides losing the lone T20 International to the hosts.

Manohar has pin-pointed the World Cup victory by the squad led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the highlight of the year and termed the reverses in England as an "aberration". 

"The Indian cricket team created history on 2nd April 2011, winning the World Cup for the first time since 1983. This achievement was the outcome of splendid cricket," he observed.

"The World Cup triumph was obviously the highlight of the year. The Indian team did well against Australia, New Zealand and the West Indies in bilateral series, but lost to England subsequently.

"Considering the team's performance since 2007-08, the defeat in England should be regarded as an aberration. We are confident that the national team will return to its dominant ways sooner than later," he has remarked. He has also noted the progression of lesser known teams in domestic cricket and has pointed out that it indicated the development of the game across the country. 

"On the domestic front, we are pleased to see the progress made by some teams which were considered 'average' not very long ago. This is a pointer to the excellent work done by the Board and its affiliated units in developing the game across the country," he has commented. 

Further singling out the creation of academies to develop specialied skills, Manohar has opined that the future of Indian cricket was healthy. 

"The Specialist Academies for Batting, Pace Bowling, Spinners, Wicketkeepers and Umpires have done a fine job in complementing the NCA, and there is every reason to believe that the future of Indian cricket is in capable hands," he has noted.