Test Failures Prod BCCI Into Action

Two clean sweeps, where India the once No. 1 Test side in the world got blown away in England and Australia in acutely embarassing fashion, resulting in a steep plummet from the top of the Test cricket world, has finally moved the elephantine BCCI adminstration to take some action to try and arrest the fall.  After a gap of about four years, the BCCI is finally making India A tours a priority. 

The last first class match played by an India A team before the recent unofficial "Tests" in West Indies was also against West Indies, but in the neutral territory of England.  India A and West Indies A played a high scoring draw in the summer of 2010 at Cryodon, where Cheteshwar Pujara led the side and scored a double century, but it was so below the radar, that hardly anyone even heard of the match.  Before that India A hosted Australia A and New Zealand A in India in 2008, more at the behest of those boards who wanted their players to get a feel for India conditions before playing actual Test series in India, than any initiative of the BCCI.  

Thus what was a regular feature under the BCCI presidency of Jagmohan Dalmiya, was abandoned as a waste of time and more particulary a waste of money by the BCCI under Sharad Pawar, Shashank Manohar, and N. Srinivasan. 

But now finally the fact is dawning on the BCCI Babus that without a regular program of India A tours the Test team lacks a proper feeder system for new talent.  The money spinning IPL may be great for filling the BCCI's coffers, and for producing "Star" players, but it is a poor preparatory school for Test level cricketers. 

This is especially true for domestic players in the IPL, but not so much for foreign players.  The reason for this is simple.   For Australians, West Indians, South Africans and others, the IPL represents an exciting learning and earning experience.  They get to learn how to play in alien conditions to the ones found at home while making a boatload of cash giving them a nice financial cushion, to pursue playing cricket for their country even more singlemindedly and without the fear of failure (at least financially).  For Indian players, the IPL simply reinforces their skills on low, slow, turning wickets, but does nothing for their ability to play on fast, bouncy, pitches or conditions that assist movement in the air and off the turf while also fattening their bank balances, thus reducing their desire to work hard to succeed internationally.

The hugely embarassing whitewashes in the recent overseas series, which have seen Indian Test cricket become somewhat of a laughing stock around the world, has thankfully prodded the thick skinned Babus of the BCCI to take action, though N. Srinivasan the current Chief Babu, was quoted or misquoted (as he claimed) that losing overseas was no big deal, as India would get revenge at home.  His attitude was to basically surrender without much protest all the hard work of the team over the past half decade and more which had seen India's peformances overseas rise to match their traditionally good home record and which eventually led them to No. 1 ranking in Test cricket.  But if the rise was slow and hard fought, the fall has been fast and ignominous, hence finally some action.   

But even this new found interest in India A tours may be short lived if the idea that the current BCCI head Babu, N. Srinivasan, who also happens to own an IPL franchise, has mooted goes forward.  He has suggested that IPL teams should tour and play first class cricket around the world.  This would grow the popularity of the IPL around the world while also giving Indian IPL "Stars" the opportunity to play proper first class games in foreign conditions.  The added benefit would be that the BCCI would probably get the franchises to pay the cost of such tours.  This is a win-win for the BCCI in that they would get a feeder system into the Test side, and yet not have to spend much from their own pocket, while getting an international audience familiar with IPL franchise teams. Very Machiavellian, or should we say typically Srinivasian... Oh well, if it produces a few good Test prospects it may still be worth it.