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Before l start, it is important that l state my age, profession and a very brief background, so that a perspective, or canvass, if you will, emerges as to my credentials to write on a subject that l am passionate about. Well, l am over 64, a senior retired military officer and a huge cricket aficionado, having played the game as a part of the Services team many moons back. Specifically, l am going to touch upon our humiliating loss to New Zealand in the just concluded test series and in general about what ails the most classical and old format of cricket in India and possibly in other cricket playing nations.
Anyone who follows cricket and has rudimentary, if not intricate and consummate knowledge of the game, would lament the complete lack of application and execution displayed by Indian batters, some of them famed, much acclaimed and vaunted players of the squad, who enjoy the status of demigods in our cricket crazy country. Much has been written by experts and cricket pundits on the subject. I will therefore touch upon only four aspects which merit a serious look by our cricket managers, players, coaches and the rest.
1. Effect of white ball cricket. Test cricket is a long, hard, grinding battle of attrition, rather than a quick ambush or a raid, if l may use military parlance. We saw on occasions, with two or more days to go, some of our acclaimed players, not to mention youngsters, going on for slogs, heaves, reverse sweeps and unorthodox cricket shots, which really have no place in test cricket. In one instance, with ten minutes of the day’s play remaining and the game poised delicately, we lost three wickets, one of which was a most inexplicable run out, attempting a non existent single by a seasoned pro, a veteran of 200 test matches, on his own call. Just before that a well set youngster had played a most uncalled for reverse sweep. Purists watching the game could only look in horror. If the team had ended the day with just one wicket down instead of four, the fate of the match and the series would definitely have been different. There is no gainsaying the fact that that such insouciant and cavalier approach can only be attributed to excessive white ball cricket, T 20 in particular, that is played all over. Pajama cricket seems to have got the better of the more classical form and even seems to be ringing it’s death knell.
2. Inability to play left arm spin. 28 of the the 60 Indian wickets fell to Mitchell Santner and Ajaz Patel, That is proof, if indeed any was needed, of our top players’ inability to play left arm spin. On pitches tailor-made to suit the home team (which has almost become a ‘fair’ practice, with SENA countries preparing fast, bouncy, green topped wickets when playing visitors from the Subcontinent), we were expected to do better. Ironically, our own duo of Ashwin and Jadeja, while effective, were not as penetrating. Washington Sundar, a late addition to the team and a rookie of sorts, did better. So either our new age (and old, sadly) batters learn to negotiate these ‘minefield’ pitches better, or our curators and administrators re-visit the concept of ‘friendly pitches’.
3. Domestic Cricket. A much flogged point, which hardly warrants accentuation. Many of our senior players have been out of the domestic cricket circuit for long. Connected to the factor flagged at # 2 above, our batters’ marked discomfiture in playing spin could be effectively addressed, given the quality of spinners we have in, first class, domestic cricket. Besides, if our selectors and managers could drop Iyer and Kishan for not playing adequate first class cricket, how do they justify the inclusion of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who have played no domestic cricket and whose abysmal form,has been, in my understanding, the major reason for the historical whitewash. Is it because they are big names, megastarsor some such? I leave you to judge.
4. Batting out sessions. A rudimentary analysis of the just concluded series shows that except once (the partnership between Pant and Sarfaraz Khan in the first test), our batters collapsed in a heap and could not bat out sessions. One can attribute this to several factors, amongst which is hubris, bordering on overconfidence after the win against Bangladesh, but it was a pitiful sight. The oft touted lack of application, excessive belief in ability or simply presumption of superiority could be constituents of the malaise. However, it came with a heavy cost and humiliation. Now, with our WTC ranking in peril, to expect a 4-0 victory Down Under to remain in contention is a very tall order. There is little time for course correction. The team is more or less the same. It is on our senior players, both batters and bowlers, to answer the call to arms and restore not only our pride, but the glory of test cricket.
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