One year of lockdown: Cricketer-turned-coach Sulakshan Kulkarni on the 'sorry' state of domestic cricket

Sulakshan Kulkarni with the Mumbai cricket team

Today marks one year since the nationwide lockdown was declared on March 24, 2020, due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. Just like other sports, Mumbai cricket too bore the brunt, as cricket activities came to an abrupt halt. No player, coach or other official knew that their lives would be adversely affected due to the lockdown.

Former Indian first-class player and Mumbai cricketer Sulakshan Kulkarni talked about the difficult time Mumbai cricket faced during the lockdown period across the nation. Kulkarni went on to address the mental state of players as well as the hardships faced during this period.

Kulkarni said, "In the last year during the first six months of lockdown, it was quite difficult to stay at home. Players had to balance their workouts, gymming and practise sessions at home. This cannot be done on an everyday basis as one would eventually get bored. Working on your fitness levels at home is entirely different from on the field or ground. One does need to carry out his workout sessions outdoors, mainly on the cricket ground. The first six months were pretty harsh on the players. The most important thing is to stay motivated, which was difficult for them."

"Players were out of touch with their game for 6 months - which is a long period. Be it, first-class cricketers or international cricketers - staying away from the game for even a month makes a huge difference," he added.

'Feel sorry for domestic players'

Sulakshan Kulkarni also went on to address the plight of domestic cricketers during the nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kulkarni said, "I feel really sorry for domestic players. With 37 Ranji teams, with a minimum of 25 players per team, (approximately over 900 players overall) were deprived of finance due to the uncertainty of cricket events such as Mushtaq Ali T20 or Vijay Hazare. Many jobs were lost, salaries were cut. (Around 400) Players, apart from contract cricketers under BCCI, were worried about their future."

Talking about the Vijay Hazare tournament, Kulkarni said that since it is a one-day tournament, the players get a 1-day match fee whereas for Mushtaq Ali it is half the fee of one-day.

The support staff which includes the coaches, trainers and physiotherapists also faced trying times during the lockdown.

Measures taken to counter this?

Talking about his approach, Kulkarni said that he conducted many online coaching classes for players. "Since the last 6 months, I have been coaching players online. But for how long a period of time can you carry out online classes? Mental boredom for the players as well as the coach does arise at one point."

Sulakshan Kulkarni has been carrying out 'specialised coaching' for many years and for many players across the globe including the USA, South Africa, England Malaysia, UAE and other countries.

Other states began cricket gradually, with Maharashtra and Vidarbha getting preparations up 2 months prior to the city of Mumbai. However, the Mumbai Cricket Association still faced challenges and could not be granted permission to begin cricket activities just yet. This being the case, players resorted to private practice in their homes.

It was only later on that tournaments such as the Mushtaq Ali T20, Vijay Hazare Trophy, Indian Premier League and cricket tours began.

Sulakshan Kulkarni has played for teams such as Mumbai, Railways, Assam, Vidarbha and MP in the Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Deodhar and Irani & Wills Trophy tournaments.

Kulkarni also shared the field with two of India's biggest legends in cricket - Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar - at first-class level.

Kulkarni was awarded the Best Ranji Cricketer of Mumbai (1995-96), Best Batsman in Ranji (1995-96) as well as the best Wicket-Keeper award for breaking a National record ( 38 victims) during the Ranji 1996-97 season. He also won three Ranji Trophy and three Irani Trophy Championships as a player for the Mumbai cricket team.

Sulakshan Kulkarni also coached the Indian Physically challenged team to the World Series Championship, England, in 2019.