Reports: India explores baseball talent from cricket for Asian Games and Olympics, sports ministry denies claims

In one rare instance, local cricketers from India went on to play Baseball in the United States of America (USA). Two aspiring cricketers, namely Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel were picked from Uttar Pradesh and trained in USA with an aim to represent a franchise in Major League Baseball. The duo were signed for Major League Baseball side Pittsburgh Pirates, a first in Indian sporting history. But the dream of both youngsters was cut short as Rinku turned into a professional wrestler in the US, while Patel flew back to India and spread the word on Baseball. 

A movie was also made on these players, who were just picked for their ability to clock 90mph with Baseball. After 17 years of Rinku and Dinesh’s story, Sports Authority of India (SAI) is exploring the possibility of a talent transfer from cricket to baseball. This is to address the drought in the player pool in two events, where no player was willing to represent the nation in the Asian Games and the Olympics, respectively. 

It is a medal sport and we should at least work towards India’s participation in it. We have a large talent pool in cricket. Many players are very good at the sport but are still unable to make it to the top. So, it was discussed that we could explore the possibility of transferring talent from cricket to baseball and softball,” the committee member told The Indian Express. 

“There is no concrete plan yet. This was just the first meeting of the newly-constituted MOC and everyone will come up with their suggestions in the coming meetings,” the member added.

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In a different twist to the above story, ahead of the Asian Games 2014 in Incheon, South Korea turned to its baseball players in a bid to form a cricket team.

This is completely imaginary, baseball is not even recognised by ministry: Senior official

However, amid speculations, an official from the sports ministry has denied such claims. As per the Economic Times, the news of such discussions during the Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) meeting is baseless and wrong. Moreover, the official also added that the national federation for baseball still remains unrecognized.

"This is completely imaginary. Baseball is not even recognised by the ministry. Why will SAI (Sports Authority of India) get into cricket or turning cricket players into baseball players?" a senior official of the sports ministry stated.