Saturday, August 13, 2011

T20...Really?

The Indian domestic season has changed dramatically in the last four years.
I would follow the Ranji Trophy on Cricinfo and would also read about performances that stood out through the course of the tournament.
Last year, Rajasthan won it. I don't think many people will remember this useless bit of information.
However, most people remember that the Rajasthan Royals won the first IPL.
If players like Manish Pandey had never been the first Indian to make an IPL century, would people know who he was?
At least in Pandey's defence, he hasn't played international cricket as yet.
The BCCI, for the last four years, has been selecting players on the basis of their T20 performances.
It's probably why RP Singh wonders why he is in England at the moment.
Indian cricket has its moments of peaking and plummeting. This period i.e. the last two years have been good for us. However, I see a plummet happening following the retirement of Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman.
T20 is not going to help our cause because despite what Ricky Ponting says, it will not improve a cricketer's performance in test cricket.
I'm not going to criticise Sehwag because he's not had match practice and he's rescued India on more than one occasion across the globe. But what about the others?
You can't even blame them. The BCCI barely pays anything to Ranji Trophy, Irani Trophy and Duleep Trophy players. These guys are better off playing for two months at the IPL and spending the remaining 10 eating at home. It serves their life and purpose.
What the BCCI needs to do is send its emerging players and current players as part of India A and India B groups and get them to train in Australia, South Africa and England. This kind of exposure in sides that have strong domestic circuits.
If they don't then, the test team can continue playing 20 overs and getting out and watching teams make 700 runs in two days. 

No comments:

Post a Comment