Taking Indian Cricket Forward - Part 4

CALENDER

Indian Cricket never follows a fixed International calendar. They decide 2 months before, who they are going to play. This is never a good sign for anyone. There has to be a fixed calendar in which teams should be accommodated every year.

SA was scheduled to play 7 ODIs in February this year. India became No.1 last year and the only way they can retain the spot was to play more tests. What the BCCI did? Promptly asked the CSA to make it 2 tests and 3 ODIs! In these days, you cannot survive in the cricketing world if you oppose BCCI. So CSA consented and we saw the first ever double century in ODIs by the so called “God”. And India retained test No.1 as well.

But why make such a fuss? Why can’t there be a fixed calendar? It might be told by me for hundred times, but bear with me once again. Look at the Australian calendar. Have you ever seen Australia requesting Cricket SL to reduce a 5 test series into 3 tests and 3 ODIs? Oh my “Sachin Tendulkar” (OMG), think of the BCCI’s begging and you can’t resist your outrage. Shameful!

There will be a 3 test series followed by 5 match ODIs between Australia and one country. It will be followed by another 5 match ODIs and 3 tests with another country. This completes the Australian summer. Four years, 8 countries. Every country visits Australia once in 4 years. Nice and simple! This includes the Mother of all battles “The Ashes”.

Can you imagine a situation like this in India? Just answer this question. How many times have Sri Lanka and India played against each other in the last 2 years? You can count the number of hairs in your head faster than finding an answer for this. Absolutely ridiculous! To add to this, India is about to play a tri series in SL with NZ as the third team. Didn’t the same teams play last year? If I’m not wrong, it’s the COMPAQ Cup, the final in which the God scored one of his finest centuries.
Then India is scheduled to play another 3 test series followed by a 5 match ODI series in the Emerald Island. What is the limit? The value of the game is already lost and now after September it will be underground. Too much of something is good for nothing.

You see people opt out of series because they want REST. This thing will not happen if there is a fixed calendar. You suddenly arrange a series, ask the player to play when he is tired, aggravate his fatigue then lead him to isolation. Brilliant! When will these things change?

Now the BCCI has requested CA to agree to a changed schedule involving two tests. Tell me what do you get out of two tests? If a team wins the first test, everything is lost for the other. Had the Ashes of 2005, arguably the best series ever, been a two test contest would you have seen the fantastic foursome of England?

Play two teams every summer, tour a country every winter. Play a lot of domestic games, take adequate rest. You’ll have more fit cricketers then. Will this happen in India?

Last three questions before winding up. 1. What is the probability that India will play SL every day at some point in the future? 2. What is the probability that CA will agree to India’s request to include tests? 3. What is the probability that OMG will soon be OMST? The answer to all is the same.

PS: Please call him Sachin Tendulkar. He prefers it to God. I’ve used it to stress that. Not intentional.