MCA to conduct eye test for players before the start of the season

Looking at the importance of hand-eye coordination of players while playing the game of cricket, MCA (Mumbai Cricket Association) is planning to conduct eye tests for the players before the start of the season. Also, the Association is pondering about roping in umpires for the tests to enhance their judgment skills.

Cricket is a game where some players bank on their hand-eye coordination which enables them to play their strokes even without a lot of footwork. The prime example of that has to be Virender Sehwag who terrorized bowlers with his onslaught with the blade with minimal footwork. However, his performance tapered off once his eyesight got weaker during the twilight of his career.

Former Indian cricketer Pravin Amre, who is the head of Cricket Improvement Committee of MCA, is primarily responsible for the idea of players going through the examination. Citing the importance of data from the eyes to the brain, Amre suggested the Association for the move.

Amre’s insights

“I had suggested this idea six months back at the managing committee meeting, where I was asked to present it to the CIC. 80 percent information to our brain comes from the eye, especially in the case of batsmen. We take it for granted that our eyesight is fine, but sometimes there’s a problem with it. The player may be skillful but may be facing this problem. It’s just a tick box,” claimed Amre. He later added that such procedures are routine in the Olympics and must be inculcated into the game.

“All the players in the Olympics go through eye-testing. The first information we get is through our eyes. All our elite cricketers or key players should go for an eye test. We’ll start with the junior cricketers. These tests will not only tell us the problems but also give us a solution about how we can develop a player. The association will have a data on the eyes of each and every player. If someone has a problem (with their eyes), we can work on developing that cricketer accordingly,” concluded Amre.