Counsel cricketers, says Dilip Vengsarkar

MUMBAI: The decision to slap a three-year ban on 14-year-old Musheer Khan by the Mumbai Cricket Association's (MCA) ad hoc committee for flashing at a teammate during a brawl in their hotel room, has elicited a muted response from the city's cricket community.
Many cricketers that TOI spoke with aren't willing to come on record, to either support or disapprove the ban.
Former India captain, Dilip Vengsarkar, however, feels that it's about time the BCCI and the MCA should put in place counselling centres for cricketers, more so after the Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul controversy. Both the India cricketers have been suspended by the BCCI after making Pandya made inappropriate comments about women on 'Koffee with Karan.'
"I don't want to comment on the decision of the ad hoc committee as I was out of India and do not know the details but on the face of it, this ban (on Musheer) looks a bit harsh," Vengsarkar told TOI.
For someone who has played a long innings as an administrator at the MCA, and as a chief national selector, Vengsarkar feels that cricketers need to learn how to handle themselves in different situations given that they come from different backgrounds.
"The BCCI must make young cricketers undergo counselling at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). Similarly, the MCA must also introduce counselling for its young players as many of them come from a humble background," said Vengsarkar.
Musheer, who led the Mumbai Under-16 team in the Vijay Merchant Trophy, was banned by the MCA for allegedly 'flashing' at a teammate during a brawl.
The all-rounder will now not be able to play cricket for Mumbai, or even locally, till January 14, 2022.