Exclusive to Canada Cricket Online<\/p>\n
This past weekend I dropped by at the new indoor cricket nets in Scarborough because I heard a lot about it and I was really impressed with the facility. While I was there I got a chance to meet and speak in person with an ex-national cricketer Karun Jethi. Until that point I had only heard about him and his controversial stint with Canadian Team but this was the first time I got to speak with him.
\nSo with his permission here is a brief of what we spoke about in Q and A form:<\/p>\n
Q: How was your experience with the Canadian team?<\/p>\n
A: \u201cIt was amazing. I don\u2019t care what anyone has to say about it. I really enjoyed it. I had fun. I played every game as it was my last opportunity so I can perform better. I think I played well and performed in almost every opportunity I got. Not only at home but also overseas. I was also promoted to Vice-Captain. I wanted to play longer but due to certain circumstances I couldn\u2019t and I would not like to speak about that right now\u201d. <\/p>\n
Q: A lot of people I spoke to last summer said you were a good cricketer and a good human being but full of controversies. What do you have to say about that?<\/p>\n
A: \u201cAs I said earlier I don\u2019t want to get in to that right now but all I want to say is that I stood up for what I think was right and I have no regrets about it and I can say proudly that because of so called controversial actions, a lot of youngsters are getting a chance to play for national team\u201d.
\n
\nQ : Have you been playing any competitive cricket since last you played for Canada?<\/p>\n
A: \u201cYes, I have been playing cricket in Delhi. I have a contract with 2 teams over there and I travel at least 3 times a year. For one team I play 3 day cricket only and for the other I play 50 over and corporate T-20. As a matter of fact I recently returned from Delhi after my last trip of the contract. I am starting a new contract in England in June as I will be moving there after my wedding in May\u201d.<\/p>\n
Q: How do you find playing cricket in India compared to playing here?<\/p>\n
A: \u201cObviously even club cricket over there is more professional then national cricket here. I have played a lot of cricket there before I moved. There is no comparison at all. There is a lot more professionalism there compared to here. Players have much more incentives to play for. They work really hard even in practice session compared to here. Over here even the national team practises like they are having a social event\u201d.<\/p>\n
Q: What do you think about the Canadian team\u2019s chances to qualify for the world T-20? <\/p>\n
A: \u201cOur team have a lot of potential if selected and trained properly. Every full member nation has a different team from one days cricket compared to T-20 but Canada has the same team for all 3 formats. Boys should be given enough opportunities to show their calibre. By selection I not only mean the 16 but also the playing 11. For example Rizwan is probably one of the best limited over cricketers in associate world but has never been used properly. Harvir has always performed best in T-20 – I don\u2019t see him in the team lately. So over all if we train well, select T-20 specialists and have actual cricketers who know the game selecting the team then we might pull it off.\u201d <\/p>\n
Q: Compared to when I saw you last in the ground, it looks like you have lost a lot of weight. Any special reason behind it?<\/p>\n
A: \u201cTo be honest since I started my contract in India I felt like a pro. I trained really hard over there and in gyms over here. Over there I was doing the same program that Gautam Gambhir did as we both have the same coach. As I always said if you want your players to act like pros then treat them like one and that\u2019s how I was treated there and it motivated me\u201d.<\/p>\n
Q: Karun from what I understand, you are not only the captain but also the player’s representative for OCA. How do you cope with both responsibilities combined with your contract in India? <\/p>\n
A: \u201cWhere there is will there is a way. OCA has treated me and everyone in the provincial team like humans compared to CC who treats us like garbage. OCA has been behind me from day one because they stand for what\u2019s right. I was appointed the captain and the player\u2019s rep and I accepted both positions with great honour. As far as it goes with me playing in India alongside it, that\u2019s where professionalism comes in to play. So far I have been coping with it well and hope to do so till i can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Q: In your opinion, is the addition of Michael Dighton a plus point?<\/p>\n
A: \u201cWell I don\u2019t know much about Mr. Dighton, but I do know a lot about our player\u2019s abilities, mentality and commitment. According to that I would say, even if you hire Garry Kirsten right now even he won\u2019t be able to bring any change to our team. Our players need match practice not indoor fitness training for marathon runners. If they can\u2019t bat for more than 10 balls then how is that a fitness concern? In India I use to play a game a day and on some days a 50 over in day time and then a T-20 at night. In my eyes a good coach doesn\u2019t create a good team but a good team does create a good coach\u201d.<\/p>\n
Q: You probably had a lot of dealings with the national selection panel, would you like to share your views on them and the selection criteria?<\/p>\n
A: \u201cWell to be honest I have only met a few selectors during my days and I was not impressed with them. I don\u2019t know what qualifications are required to be a selector because players with avg. 6 in 30 games are in the team but then you have me with an avg. of 44 and I still don\u2019t know why was I dropped from the squad? As far as Selection criteria is concerned, there are none. A player can be dropped for no reason and at same time picked for no reasons either. Upon dismissal from the team, players should know the reason so they can improve on their mistakes and try to make a solid comeback but with lack of communication once players are dropped they seldom get a chance again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Q: If you were asked by Cricket Canada to make one change to their current structure, what change would that be?<\/p>\n
A: \u201cI would like to change the whole system but if I have to change one thing then it will be the domestic structure. ICC is investing a lot of money in associate world and probably we are the ones who are abusing it the most. I mean, look at national team, they are at the bottom of Intercontinental cup table. They were the worst team in Caribbean T-20. We should have better day\u2019s cricket and a semi-pro T-20 league and players should be playing matches almost on daily basis instead of only on Saturday and Sunday. I know people have bills to pay so they need to work instead of play cricket every day, but then if this is the case then they should play weekend cricket to socialize not to make the national team. There is no domestic day\u2019s cricket so how do we expect our team to compete in longer format, forget winning it\u201d.<\/p>\n
Q: Karun if your phone rings tonight and it\u2019s the selectors asking you to join the squad. What will your response be?<\/p>\n
A: \u201cI don\u2019t think after this interview as usual my phone will ring but if it does then I will be glad to join the team as any cricketer would love to represent their country at the top level. I am actually counting on performing really well in England and hoping to get that phone call sometime down the road and if I don\u2019t then my point that I have been trying to prove for the longest time that they select the team to please each other not to win will be proven\u201d.<\/p>\n
Q: How is the on and off field relationship between players and specially yours with them?<\/p>\n
A: \u201cI can\u2019t speak for how it is now but back when I was a part of the squad, it was awesome. Most of us were like brothers, like a family. At least I thought that way. My relationship with the boys was amazing. We had fun on and off field and when the time was there we stood by each other. But then again you\u2019ll always have one or 2 bad apples who only care about their own spot so they will say or do anything to keep it\u201d.<\/p>\n
Q: You said a couple of times that you are moving to England and will be signing a contract there. Which team are you signing it with?<\/p>\n
A: \u201cMy agent from India who is also the agent for a lot of Ranji Trophy players is talking to a few teams right now. I spoke to him last night and he said that he had narrowed it down to 2 teams, so I am not sure right now about which club I\u2019ll be joining\u201d.<\/p>\n
Q: What do you think can be done to promote cricket in Canada?<\/p>\n
A: \u201cWhen you watch international cricket matches, you observed the crowd? That crowd is there to see players who are popular perform, not officials giving interviews or press conferences. Players have to be promoted on off field basis because their popularity will bring in crowd and that crowd will bring in media and that media will bring in sponsorship. Instead of President or VP et al. promoting themselves in different events, they should be sending players to do so because once the public start to recognize our cricketers then they will be coming out to watch them play. As I have always said, if you want our players to act like pros the treat them like one\u201d.<\/p>\n
Q: If you are offered an opportunity to sit down with the national board and bury the hatchet, would you do so?<\/p>\n
A: \u201cTo be honest I personally still don\u2019t know that what was the reason for them to drop me because I\u2019m sure it was not the performance. I did have a chat with a VP during the Canada v\/s Kenya game and I was told to write a letter of apology to the board and from there onwards they\u2019ll consider my future. I asked him for what the board like me to apologize for and I received no answer. If I get a chance to sit down to bury the hatchet, I would be happy to do so because I\u2019m an athlete and I want to play for my country\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Exclusive to Canada Cricket Online This past weekend I dropped by at the new indoor cricket nets in Scarborough because I heard a lot about it and I was really impressed with the facility. While I was there I got a chance to meet and speak in person with an ex-national cricketer Karun Jethi. Until […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2580"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2580"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2580\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2581,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2580\/revisions\/2581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}