Former offspinner unhappy with cold-shouldering by the board

Prasanna joined ICL after being 'under-utilised' by BCCI

Cricinfo staff

August 26, 2007

Erapalli Prasanna, (second from right) one of the famed spin quartet, claims he was "under-utilised" by the BCCI © Getty Images

Erapalli Prasanna, the former India offspinner, has criticised the Indian board for not utilising his services enough at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore and stated that as his reason for joining the Indian Cricket League's executive board.

"Though I'm based in the same city, my services at the NCA were utilised only up to a bare minimum," Prasanna told PTI. "When [ICL chairman] Kapil Dev spoke to me he told me the league wanted me to fulfil one of its prime objectives - developing good spinners. I found that my objective tallied with theirs. So, I liked the idea and joined the league."

Prasanna said his duties with the NCA this season were restricted to five days each in Nagpur and Kolkata and none at the academy in Bangalore.

But despite having spent only a few days with young spinners, Prasanna said his coaching had positive results. He cited the example of Piyush Chawla, the legspinner picked for the one-dayers against England. "When everybody else shouted that he should be made to play domestic cricket for some more time, only I contended that he needs to be utilised in the top level. And the results are for all to see," he said.

Chawla had a successful India A tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya where he picked up 30 wickets in four first-class games including a 10-wicket haul against Zimbabwe before being called up to the senior squad in England.

"Despite showing results, they under-utilised me. When I raised this issue I was cold-shouldered," Prasanna said. "So, I thought here is a platform [ICL] where I can dedicate myself to the job of developing spinners for India."

Apart from Kapil and Prasanna, former players Kiran More, Sandeep Patil, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Rajesh Chauhan and Madan Lal have also joined the ICL in different capacities. The tournament is expected to be played in October between six teams comprising four international, two Indian players and eight upcoming players. The ICL has signed over 45 Indian first-class players and six international players including Brian Lara and Inzamam-ul-Haq.

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