G.S. Vivek and Devendra Pandey on the unfortunate bunch of domestic giants who never got international recognition and have now even missed out on the T20 boom

The irony gradually dawns on us as we speak to Nilesh Kulkarni about him being absent from the Indian Premier League that starts later this month. Three days ago, the man who started his Test career with a first-ball wicket about a decade back turned 35. Questions about IPL’s snub to domestic cricket’s ageing giants are relevant, but uncomfortable as well.
The 34th year of his life was eventful, but certainly not memorable. Kulkarni attempted to be a ‘rebel’ by almost joining the Indian Cricket League, but after a few uncertain steps, returned to the fold. He spent most of the domestic season sitting on the sidelines. At the moment, he merely laughs when told about some unknown junior player, or a modest domestic performer, being picked by one of the franchises.
His fear about stepping on important toes is evident as he is guarded in his assessment of the season gone by and the days ahead. “The last year has been disappointing, I didn’t get a chance to play anywhere,” he says. Probe him further and he merely says, “Chhodo yaar” (Let it be). Though he does add that in case he had got an IPL contract, it would have helped. “At this age, getting Rs 20 to 30 lakh means a lot.”
With just 12 days to go for the big blast-off at Bangalore, there is a small but significant minority — Kulkarni being one of them — not quite excited about the countdown. They are part of Indian cricket’s lost generation. These are the old warhorses of domestic cricket who never got an international outing or got just a brief taste of it. To make matters worse, at the fag end of their careers, they missed out on the Twenty20 boom — not once but twice. They righteously talk about their loyalty to home associations and the big ICL cheques they refused. But they turn sour speaking about being left high and dry during the IPL windfall.
As the cricket fans get excited about getting the first feel of the city-based league with international stars and get blissfully lost in their dilemma to be a Knight Rider or a Daredevil, it’s quite unfashionable to speak about Kulkarni. Or say, Amol Muzumdar, Amit Bhandari, Gagan Khoda, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Sairaj Bahutule and Shitanshu Kotak. These are the stars; who for more than a decade have turned up for their respective state, city or region but their efforts haven’t been significantly applauded, rewarded or even recognised. T-shirts with their names were never seen at retail outlets, there were no promotional videos made of their team, nor have they walked on to the field with a theme song on the public address system.

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