So finally the unthinkable has
happened and India has lost 2 back to back home test matches against England.
The usual halaboooooo is going around on all the news channels and the knives
are out as far as the Indian team and the performances of some of the key
players are concerned. While everyone is baying for Dhoni’s blood, we need to
put some things into perspective and I would humbly like to suggest some
systemic and some changes in the attitude of the cricket loving fans of India.
While we have lost 10 out of the last 13 tests there are some remedial measures
which need to be taken to bring the Indian team on track.
1 ) Prioritizing of test cricket
is paramount.- we need no rocket
science to understand that BCCI has placed the limited overs format far far
ahead of test cricket. Whether we like it or not but clearly the IPL has been
given way too much importance by the top officials of the board. This is not to
suggest that IPL is not at all beneficial for the game but there are ample
evidences of young and callow Indian players choosing to play IPL for an entry
in the national side. Compared to Australia and England we play
a heck of a lot of meaningless one dayers and
test cricket has suffered as far as India is concerned. All the players
still want to perform and cement a place in the test side but the methods which
are being followed are not going to work in the long run. Even players like
Tendulkar and Sehwag do not want to miss the cash rich league and are being
allowed to take rest in the longer formats of the game (Tendulkar opted out of
the test series in the Caribbean in 2011) while it is all clichéd that test
cricket is the purest form of cricket and it is at this level where the real
character and the temperament of the players is concerned, enough of this eye washing
statements. The administrators need to really prioritize test cricket in India
and for that the first class cricket will have to play a major role in doing
so. Surely a tough season of first class cricket or even a county season stint
for young batsmen and bowlers will do no harm at all. Meaningless overdose of
one dayers should be strictly avoided so that the players get enough time to recuperate
between the tours. Here again the BCCI places financial needs ahead of Indian
cricket betterment. The recent test debacles can also be accounted for the
failure to adapt to the longer format by the batsmen as far as bat speed and
shot selection is concerned. Sometimes I wonder whether the players have
forgotten that test cricket is played over a duration of 5 days and that is
where the temperament and the patience levels of these modern day champions of
the t 20 format is found wanting to great extent.
2) Knee
jerk reactions from all and sundry should be avoided.- yes cricket is not
just a mere sport or a source of entertainment but is almost revered all over
the country. The lack of a sporting culture among the Indian society in general
is the reason for the over the top and knee jerk reactions almost every time
the team loses a major game. Every time India losses a match all the news
channels have lengthy post mortems of the game with their usual so called
cricket ex cricketers and pundits of the
game. Media bashing is not my intention but when I see the levels of such
shameful discussions as a true Indian cricket fan, it makes my blood boil. We
as a society in general are guilty of over the top reactions whether we win or
lose. The players who perform well are hero worshipped to such a greater extent
by the media and the fans all over and
the same player when starts to dip in performance levels is completely brought
down to reality.the hooliganism of the general public on the streets ( I doubt
whether even 1 % of these so called fans even understand the finer nuances of
the game ) who indulge in stone pelting of the players houses and burning
posters of their own cricket heroes is a sign of the lack of tolerance and
sportsmanship. The willingness to accept that even the opposing team is allowed
to play well and the touring teams have started faring better and better every
time they play in the sub continent. As a cricket loving fan we must be able to
take defeat in our stride. Imagine if one of us common people do not perform
our job to the desired level and our houses being pelted with stones and
posters being vandalized. As
professionals even the players are hurt by the losses and just because they are
famous people we should not make them soft targets and victims.
3) Selection process should be made more transparent. If the selection
committee chairman or one of the selectors is not allowed by the board to
attend the press conferences after the team selection then why bother with the
press conferences at all? The secretary
of the board comes to the PC and all he is instructed by the top BCCI officials
to comment is statements like ; I would not like to comment on the selectors
decision and so on then the board is itself allowing the media to speculate and
spread rumours as far as the selection is concerned. Surely the average cricket
fan should have access as to the reasons why a particular player is selected or
not and what has been the basis of the selection. The cricket team captain
should be allowed a say in the selection meetings and he should be empowered to
have the team he desires which will make him more accountable and based on poor
performances for a sustained period of time, he should be subject to the
removal. The selectors who are all former cricketers should select the team
based on the principle of perform or perish. Too often the selection committee
does not take futuristic decisions and passes on the buck of taking the tough
calls on the next selection committee to remain in the good books of the BCCI.
Sometimes the selection is done based on the regional dynamics and the IPL performances are being given preferences over
the first class cricket.
4) Communication between players and selectors- the player to selector
rapport is very essential. There are apparently very few examples in Indian cricket
where a player has had a one on one meeting or discussion over a player’s bad
form or over the impending retirement. The classic case of Sachin Tendulkar is
before us all and the selectors should have discussed with him regarding his
future plans for ODI as well as test cricket. Too often it has happened that
senior players like Laxman, Kapil Dev and others have been humiliated and been
forced to retire.I have absolutely no doubt that whatever transpired between Laxman
and the selection panel must have left a bitter taste among the player leading
him to announce his retirement with immediate effect even though he was
planning to play for the entire season. the current process of selecting 1
selector from each of the 5 zones should be scrapped and a panel of 3 selectors
who are best suited for the job irrespective of
which part of the country they represent should be the ideal way
forward. Too often our selectors select players based on their statistics which
can be very misleading. The selectors should have the balls to pick a talent
and back him to the hilt irrespective of his initial performances. Too often ours
is a result oriented system where short and narrow goals are given priority as
compared to the longer goals.
