Manaf Patel (screen grab)
Former Indian fast bowler and current bowling coach of Delhi Capitals Manaf Patel has expressed serious concern about India’s cricketing ecosystem, calling for immediate reforms in the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and domestic structures.Speaking on TOI Sports’ Bombay Sports Exchange Podcast, Munaf did not hold back in his assessment, suggesting that the current system lacks a strong feeder pathway and has inadvertently sidelined specialized institutions. He stressed that grassroots infrastructure including access to physiotherapists, trainers and structured coaching should be strengthened at the state level to consistently produce quality cricketers.
Manaf was particularly critical of the NCA, saying that it has focused more on rehabilitation than the overall development of the players.“Just look at the setup,” he said. “If you go inside the NCA, you’ll understand everything. I’ve been saying this for a long time, it needs to change, 100 percent.”Tracing its origins, Munaf pointed out that the NCA was built in the early 2000s based on Australia’s Center of Excellence model. “In 2000-01, when the NCA started, Raj Singh Dingarpur and others built it on the Australian Center of Excellence model. He brought his coaching manual and implemented it in India. Since then, Australia has updated its manual several times, but we still follow the same 25-year-old manual from 2000. It’s not really developed. Hopefully, with the new Center of Excellence, things can change, but so far it hasn’t,” Manaf said during the podcast. One of his sharpest criticisms was of the current role of the NCA, which he likened to a “hospital”.“Tell me, when I get injured, I go to the NCA. Why? To fit in. It has become like a hospital. You recover, come back, and go right into the team. But who corrects your mistakes? If I’m a bowler or a batsman, it’s not just about fitness, my skills also need to improve,” Manaf said.Manaf also revealed that many players refuse to go to the NCA but refrain from speaking out for fear of the rule.“Players are afraid to go to the NCA, no one really wants to go. But everyone stays quiet because their livelihood depends on it. No one wants to talk because it might cause trouble. However, the higher authorities should know what is right and what is wrong,” he added.Highlighting the structural gap, Manaf pointed to the lack of oversight in India’s vast domestic circuit, saying, “There is no system to track what is happening in domestic cricket. For this, the NCA needs to be more regional,” he said.
