Taking Indian Cricket Forward - Part 1

Domestic Setup

India’s domestic cricket setup is a bit tough to understand. You have 15 teams playing in the Ranji Super League. You have 12 more playing in the plate league. That makes it 27 teams.
England is the only other team that has so many teams playing domestic competition.

My point here is not to criticize having 27 teams! But to find out talents you have to make the number small. What will happen if that indeed matures?

Assume that the teams are narrowed to 10 maximum. That will make sure only the best play in the domestic league! Naturally they will hone their skills against the best. Why? Because, you will have only 10*15 = 150 playing in the domestic circuit. This will mean, players always play those who are competent to make the domestic squad.

So what happens to the rest is a serious question. Not without answers though. The point is to have only 10 domestic first teams. Every domestic team can have their second, third and fourth XI and an academy squad to develop players and make progress in every stage they play.

It’s like every state association having players who excel in their state leagues. You just cannot enter into a state team without performing in the local leagues. That is correct and there should be a refined form which should be implemented in the highest level also.

This could be a very unimaginable or a small issue. But the implications of this are more. Consider this. Abhimanyu Mithun, who made tremendous strides in the Ranji Super League made his ODI debut for India and was hammered to all parts by SA. Umesh Yadav, Ashoke Dinda and R Vinay Kumar were all treated like kids by Masakadza and Brendon Taylor.

Compare this with Ryan Harris who returned to International Cricket and took FIVE-FORs in his first two matches against Pakistan. Why is there a difference? It’s this reason mentioned above. Harris who played for South Australia (ONE OF THE ONLY SIX DOMESTIC TEAMS) and later shifted to Queensland, played against the top 90 players in the domestic and understood the game. Compare that with Mithun who bowled to many virtually raw players in the domestic and went into a false sense of security. On the International stage he floundered.

My point is not to point fingers at Mithun. He has done impressively and that’s why he is waiting to come in to the Indian side. But if you think bowling to AB de Villiers is the same as bowling to Pinal Shah, you are in for a shock.

Why can’t India break the defenses of Zimbabwe twice? Yes the bowlers are new but are they incapable? So what does their domestic form point to?
That’s the essence of this blog. Play the best. Come out on top. Get in to Team India, make India proud. Bowl more at MS Dhoni, not in the nets but in domestic league. Get his wicket often, your future is bright.

So how can it be done? Reduce the number of teams. Allow the best to play for the limited number of teams. The rest shall come up from the divisions. India will prosper. Or rather Indian Cricket will.