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Showing posts with label World test championship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World test championship. Show all posts
Wanted: New villains for Indian cricket
And from them, who knows, new heroes could emerge
There was a common belief doing the rounds before the World Test Championship Final: It’s Australia’s for the taking. Whether this had percolated into the Indian team is hard to call. Or maybe not.
Rohit Sharma won the toss and put Australia into bat. Conditions were such, overcast, rather English and all that. But for barely two hours. This has been well documented. The next few hours saw the sun beat down and Australia beat India’s bowling into the ground.
Australia batted India out of the match. Or did India bowl themselves out of the match?
Two years ago, in the WTC Final vs. New Zealand, India remained in the fray for much of the first two innings. Both Bumrah and Ashwin played that Test. Bumrah did not take a wicket in that match. India managed only two in the second innings. Ashwin took both. He took two in the first innings as well.
Neither Bumrah nor Ashwin made it to the WTC 2023 Final. But such is their legend, that it often draws us into the ‘what if’ debate.
In this final, none of India’s top four scored a half-century. Test discard, Rahane did. In that 2021 final too, none of India’s top four scored a half-century. Give it to English conditions or whatever else, but India’s top four have been repeat offenders in two WTC finals across two years. Rahane top scored in the first innings with 49 at five then. Pant in the second with 41 at six.
A somewhat strange set of events have seen the movable pieces in the batting order, Pujara and Rahane return. One has played over 100 Tests, the other over 80. The other top-order batsmen, regardless of form, tend to be a given: that’s the captain, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli.
Rohit’s deputy, Rahul did not play in either WTC Finals. He captained India in Tests, in Rohit’s absence. His Test form, much like Kohli’s, Pujara’s, and Rahane's, has been abysmal in the last few years. The captain has had some of his best Test years with runs, but his fitness remains dodgy. He was unavailable for the South Africa Test series that India lost.
Much of India’s recent overseas Test success has been largely due to Rishabh Pant’s bat.
Shubman Gill appeared in both WTC finals, his returns remained meagre. Gill’s recent form has been on the up. As too his Twitter form. He tweeted a photograph of the Cameron Green catch that led to his much-debated dismissal. Gill’s white ball numbers are first-rate, he’s the toast of the town, his Test batting average is not yet 33. Yet in him, Indian cricket believes it has found a successor to Virat Kohli. KL Rahul made his Test debut in 2014, he has played 47 Tests so far, his batting average is not too different from Gill’s after 16 Tests.
The WTC Final was Rohit’s 50th Test match. He made his Test debut in 2013. Daresay but no Test batsman has been given as much leeway as him. Rohit has 9 Test tons to Rahul’s 7. The last two years have seen Rohit’s returns gallop, his batting average is now 45+.
Both Rohit and Rahul are IPL captains, iconic white ball players.
Is that what India is looking for? Successors? The next big face? A player who plays all formats or a cricketer who can do the job?
While in Gill they may well have found a cricketer who fits the bill, it does beg the question – when will Indian cricket look beyond sucking every drop out of its best across formats? Or when will its top cricketers accept that playing all three formats and the IPL is not doable anymore.
Already the previous T20 World Cup, regardless of Kohli’s magic vs. Pakistan, was one too many for a few of the greats – England’s 10-wicket win against India in the semifinals, was more than an anomaly, it was a pointer at the gap between two brands of T20 cricket – one seeped in the leagues with four overseas players and the other, a fearless Mad Max approach – isn’t that what T20 at its best should be?
Yet India preferred to look back again – in the T20 World Cup, they picked Dinesh Karthik and Ravichandran Ashwin. They continued to be seeped in nostalgia and one last brush with what-if – it’s a wonder India matches aren’t played in sepia.
Is this what prompted them to pick the great Yuvraj Singh for one T20 World Cup too many?
Yet in 2014 as in 2016, as yet again in 2022, what mattered most was, India had defeated Pakistan – that was the narrative, not that India had gone yet another World Cup without winning it?
Commentators that control the great Indian narrative are serving us a set menu on India greats – branded as King and Hitman, as if Indian cricket was a monarchy, and those that are not its loyal subjects are infidels.
The 50-over World Cup will be played this October in India. The usual suspects, barring injury will be there. In the 2019 semi-final, India’s top three made exactly that – 3 runs between themselves. 1, 1 and 1. That’s Rohit, Rahul and Kohli. Dinesh Karthik was there too. As were Dhoni, Pandya and Pant. As too, Vijay Shankar, the surprise inclusion that year.
India did beat Pakistan in that World Cup. As also in the 2015 edition. Where they once again went down in the semifinals.
After a while, it gets predictable: blaming the same bunch, in every ICC knockout match. Why not look beyond?
There once was a batsman called Hanuma Vihari. He was good enough for 13 overseas Tests. He was there in Adelaide, when India went down for 36, he was there in Melbourne, when India went up, and he was there in Sydney, when India drew. He stood there for close to 4 hours, 161 balls. With him, was Ashwin who battled for over 3 hours, 128 balls.
Did India miss these two at the WTC Final the other day? Not really. Planning to win ICC trophies isn’t a thing.
It’s only in hindsight that the captain feels that “20-25 days” are needed to prep for a World Test Championship Final in England.
Over to the IPL bashers: From The Ultimate Test to the ultimate detest.
(Hanuma Vihari’s Test batting average after playing 16 Test matches (13 overseas) is 33.56. KL Rahul’s after 47 Tests is 33.44, after 16 Tests, Gill’s is 32.94. Vihari is yet to make his white ball debut for India. He last played an IPL match in 2019. In all likelihood, he will remain a one-format player. And in that too, picked only for overseas Tests. Because home-track bully and minnow basher is a thing.)
First published at cricket.com here
The big IPL hangover before the WTC Final
Will it be full circle for coach Rahul Dravid or just another Oval?
Two months of relentless travel, uprooting oneself from a hotel room every other day, packing, unpacking, and in-between that, playing cricket too. Staying switched on while playing that amount of cricket isn't easy, it showed in performances that could often be tardy. None more than in CSK’s fielding on the second night of the final.
That the IPL takes a toll is putting it mildly. Some players dig themselves into a hole of fame, delusion; while that one knock or spell skyrockets you into overnight stardom, slated as the next big India prospect by caffeinated commentators; the decline can be unforgiving.
Yet from this bunch of IPL warriors, a select few made it to the World Test Championship Final versus Australia, at The Oval from 7th June, 2023. While the time-difference between India and England is 4.30 hours, the gulf between a Test and a T20 league cannot be quantified.
This was telling on the first day of practice. Every player barring Cheteshwar Pujara was in his IPL jersey. Pujara appeared in his Sussex gear. While coach, Rahul Dravid did his best impersonation of himself as the ‘Indira Nagar ka gunda’ ad, captain, Rohit Sharma offered an explanation: “You see, after the jersey sponsors have changed, we can’t just do it”.
Team India’s jersey sponsors had changed from Nike to Adidas. While this baffled Dravid even more, “What does this even mean?”, an ever chirpy Axar Patel weighed in: "Adidas means All Day I Dream About Sport.”
The first practice session was called off prematurely.
The next session was even worse. All the players appeared in CSK’s yellow jerseys. Apparently, it was a gift from Ravindra Jadeja. Everyone had the number 7 and Dhoni on their back.
At this point, Sachin Tendulkar, who vacations in England during the summers, appeared. After mixing with the players, he proceeded to the café where he started shooting a food video. Tendulkar had become an all-rounder on social media, sharing his posts on Instagram and Facebook, making a clear differential between them, as he did between formats.
Dravid then roped in Tendulkar for a candid talk. Tendulkar started by compelling the boys to enjoy their cricket. “First of all, you must enjoy your cricket. It doesn’t matter what format you play, you must enjoy it.”
Old habits die hard, and this is where Dravid imitated Tendulkar. The boys couldn’t bring themselves to laugh, only when Tendulkar cracked up did they join in reluctantly. This was followed by questions.
Jadeja went first, “I’m finding it very hard to get out of the winning moment, and shift to Test format.” Tendulkar nodded. He advised him not to fight it and go with the flow.
The next visitor was Dinesh Karthik, who reminded everyone he was on media duties. In the last few years, it was impossible to tell whether DK was a player or a soothsayer on air.
Rohit Sharma, who finds DK both irresistible and irritable, pulled DK’s cheeks so hard it hurt.
Dravid then beckoned Pujara – just like you all are finding it hard to shift from IPL to Test mode, here’s a player, who is faced with a challenge that’s the exact opposite. Pujara offered a weak smile and said that he too had been part of an IPL-winning side with CSK. Though this was true, it zapped most present.
Dravid asked Ajinkya Rahane if as a freshly minted IPL champion he had any words of advice. Prompt in his reply, “Definitely. This is one such occasion where nobody should take the credit from the captain. Mahi bhai is an inspirational leader. Definitely, in Australia, I was able to implement a lot of learnings in our series win there. For which I would like to thank Mahi Bhai.”
Virat Kohli led a chant of Mahi! Mahi!
Recently retired again Rayudu, who was in talks with various leagues and counties, made a surprise entry. In his usual snappy way, Rayudu offered his two cents: “I have never had a problem adapting from IPL to Test cricket.” Everyone was transfixed. Perhaps Rayudu had the answers. Rayudu continued, “I’ve never had any problems adapting because I never played Test cricket.”
RP Singh, known to once arrive surprisingly for a Test match in England, was in next. He said, matter of fact, “I was on my way back from USA, thought I’d check if I was needed or anything.”
This was lost on everyone except Dravid. RP Singh played his last Test match in August 2011 at The Oval. The current venue for the WTC Final. Before this, Singh had played a Test in April 2008.
Dhoni was the Test captain then. He had beckoned Singh into the Test side. Dravid was Man of the series. India had lost the series 0-4. The series was soon after the IPL that year. CSK were the champions then. After the Test series, Dravid played his first and only T20 international against England. He made 31 with three 6s.
It then dawned upon Rahul Dravid, Tests or T20s, perhaps he was the best man to talk about playing in England. He cleared his throat and started to speak.
(However plausible this may sound, this is a work of fiction)
First published on cricket.com
Lowdown on the #WTC Final
Future Tours Programme
Alright, so after much deliberation and research I've come up with what I think is a pretty good Future Tours Programme from 2015 to 2019. The FTP has been drawn up with the following factors in mind:
1.9 test-playing nations play each other in home and away series (T20, ODI, Test) over a period of 4 years.
2.There are separate windows for IPL and Champions League so that players don't have to choose between their national side and their club. However, players have to be available for selection for atleast 75 percent of the bilateral matches their national side is part of.
3.There will be two Twenty20 World Cups (2016 and 2018) and one Champions Trophy (2017).
4.Every country apart from Bangladesh gets to host a major tournament.
5.The FTP will culminate with the Final Four of the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup. The Final Four will be decided based on the points per test (Total points earned divided by number of tests played).
6.Every board contributes a percentage of its total revenue into a pool. The total money is then equally distributed among the national boards. The revenue from IPL and Champions League need not be shared.
World Test Championship
The ICC is proposing to hold a World Test Championship, day/night matches and pink balls to make Test cricket more exciting. I feel that there are many problems with the whole concept.
The first thing is that for most people, matches are only interesting when it is closely fought and their team has a chance of winning. This applies to series and championships too. Any Test Cup would be interesting only if the outcomes are not very predictable.
Unfortunately, that is not the case now. In Test cricket, the gaps between some teams is too wide, even between teams that are closely placed in the rankings. For example, New Zealand would easily thrash Bangladesh, even though they are just one step above them. Australia easily whips most teams, except India and South Africa in recent times.
Test cricket is designed to minimize the element of luck. That is why there are two innings so that one bad effort by the team doesn't get punished - it has to fail twice. The artificial pressure of time is much less than in limited overs cricket. So by design, Test cricket ensures that there are more crushing victories than close matches or upsets.
In a Twenty20 match, the underdog always have a chance by taking risks or by fluke wickets. That is seldom going to happen in Test cricket. Unless, of course, you are going to tamper with things, such as the rules or pitch conditions and so forth.
Test cricket will be better served by reducing Test matches between mismatched teams. Also, there should be Best-of-3 and Best-of-5 contests so that there are no more dead rubber matches and whitewashes. That would improve the quality of cricket being played.
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