Cricket undoubtedly is the most lucrative sport in India, offering all the riches in the world to players engaged in the sport. However, there are a host of players who fail to make a mark and end up retiring from the sport at 21 or 22 only to leave themselves clueless about their future, owing to their lack of educational qualification.
To address such issues, former India’s legendary batsman Rahul Dravid has always been at the forefront with an aim to equip the budding cricketers with the required skills to look for other opportunities apart from Cricket. And recently, the 46-year old former batsman met with BCCI officials to discuss the program which will be aimed at improving the life skills of young players.
“Dravid and the other coaches here had pointed out the need to start such a process. We are working towards formulating a structure before it is sent to the higher authorities in BCCI to get things going,” Academy Chief Operations Officer Tufan Ghosh told TOI.
As per Ghosh, the system is planning to indulge cricketers in other vocational courses and internship in companies, apart from playing the game in order to have an alternative option besides cricket.
“Most of the cricketers these days are so engrossed in playing the game that they don’t look at any other aspect of life. It has been observed a lot of these young players quit cricket by 21. Then it’s a struggle for them to lead a stable life. We are looking at life coaching, internships with companies and training in other vocational courses and then facilitating jobs for the youngsters,” Ghosh added.
