PTI

Belfast, Jun 25: On the historic occasion of 75 years of India's Test cricket, batting ace Sachin Tendulkar has advocated the need to develop the game from the grassroots.

Saluting all the great cricketers, past and present, who have made the game what it is, Tendulkar shared his vision for Indian cricket.

"It's extremely important to take the game to the grassroots level. Cricket needs to be taken to remote places in India and, I'm sure, that's one of the major points on the BCCI agenda. That's how this game will get bigger and better," Tendulkar said.

"Players from remote areas simply do not have access to play cricket. They need to be given opportunities to prove themselves by introducing cricket in every nook and corner of the country."

Tendulkar stressed that "if the infrastructure is good, the next generation of cricketers will definitely be more talented and more knowledgeable.

"Cricket is changing very fast and we need to keep pace with time. And when you will have more players playing the game, you will have more players to choose from. That will ensure a good supply of quality players in the long run."

Echoing similar sentiments was the team's cricket manager, Chandu Borde.

"I had the privilege of attending the captain's meeting called by the board and we suggested that the game needs to be taken far and wide," said Borde, the former captain and chief selector.

"We need proper infrastructure for more kids to be attracted to the game. All these years there was a lot of interest in school and college cricket which was the supply line for Indian team. That is now gone."

"Now we have endless number of academies that serve little purpose. They have more or less the same coaching style for every player. It's like feeding the machine to get the same product.'

"I strongly believe that schools and college cricket should be revived. We need to give our kids better ground to play cricket right from school and college level."