BCCI has to decide between Rupee of IPL and importance of Test rankings?

By Rohan Kallicharan

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The moment of unease, for me, came in June at Sabina Park — a full month before India would take the field to defend their No 1 at Lord’s. On the same day that they were commencing battle in the Caribbean, England’s finest were completing a straightforward 1-0 series victory against the visiting Sri Lankans.

There were number of reasons for concern even at this point. How would India’s players react to a full three-Test rubber in the West Indies in such a condensed period of time before coming to England? Even if certain key players were being rested, how would they maintain form and conditioning coming into the series? India were 85 for six at lunch on the first day against a distinctly-average West Indian attack at Sabina Park, making one wonder how this team would fare against a very good English one?

Of course, these and many other questions have been answered over the last three weeks, as England have ridden roughshod over what can at best be described as a very disappointing Indian effort.

The defining moments have been plentiful, and the tourists have been at the receiving end of them all. The first 48 hours set the tone for the series, and it has been a downward spiral from that point onwards.

I think back to three key moments over those first few days:

1. Zaheer Khan limping off with his hamstring injury on the opening days at Lord’s, having caused problems for all of England’s top four.

2. Kevin Pietersen, then on 49 and in all honesty scratching around, plays one around the corner to Rahul Dravid. After several replays, he was given not out because there was no irrefutable proof although most experts agreed that it was probably out. A few hours later, Pietersen had crossed 200.

3. Graeme Swann extracting genuine turn during his first over on the Saturday, this after Harbajhan Singh (fit or not) had failed to get one off straight for two days.

Having said this, champion sides are meant to display the type of character defined in such moments of crisis. The Australians did it on numerous occasions over the years, and I need not remind Indian readers about the West Indies in Mohali on the 1994 tour, when defending a 15-year unbeaten record.

Yet, at no stage have I seen this from India at any point on this tour, and for me that is unforgivable. Having worked so hard to ascend to the top of the rankings, to simply surrender the top spot without so much as a fight is indefensible in the extreme.

Admittedly, fortune has not favoured India during this series. The loss of Zaheer was a crushing blow quickly followed by injury to Gautam Gambhir, as was the prior loss of Virender Sehwag. I excuse the Indian opener for his performance at Edgbaston, as he was probably pushed into the side before he was ready to play.

It is no exaggeration to say that coach Duncan Fletcher and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni have been let down by every facet of the game. The lack of runs speaks for itself, and the bowlers have failed to exert any type of control upon England, consistently bowling both sides of the wicket, seeing catches dropped, or seeing balls fly between gaps in the slip cordon.

Looking at the batting, it seems to me that the Indian batting line-up is still in one-day mode in India, as opposed to Test mode in England. Whilst they are natural stroke-makers, you expect top class players to make the necessary technical adjustments to their games. It is no surprise that Rahul Dravid is the one player exempt of any criticism — he has the best technique of any of the Indian top-order and has batted beautifully.

Even the great Sachin Tendulkar has been culpable, playing at balls outside the off-stump that were not there to be attacked. VVS Laxman has been caught at fine-leg on three occasions. The list of poor dismissals is endless, the most risible being Harbajhan Singh’s decision to play a pull shot from Chris Tremlett whilst trying to survive against the new ball on the final afternoon at Lord’s!

The issue of one-day cricket is certainly one that needs addressing. To an outsider looking in, it appears to me that India’s cricket administrators need to take a long hard look in the mirror, and decide whether India’s cricketing future is to be governed by the Rupee of the IPL, or by dominating the Test rankings.

To the masses of supporters in the UK, India have been a desperate disappointment. It was never more apparent to me than when sitting with a number of senior Indian cricket writers last Saturday morning. On a flat pitch on which England had scored 710, the notion of India batting even into the final session of play on the fourth day was met by wry, unexpectant smiles.

Whilst India have disappointed, there is no doubting the talent available to them. In Duncan Fletcher, they have a high class coach who has succeeded at the highest level. However, he will need to show the ability to adapt to them, just as Gary Kirsten behind him, and the senior players will have to lead the way in doing so to him.

It may also be time for the infusion of fresh blood into this team. The likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are undoubtedly talented, and this talent will need to manifest itself at the highest echelons, in the highest form of the game. Whilst they are doing so, youngsters like Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dawan and the Tiwaries, Manoj and Saurabh, need exposure to first-class cricket in all types of environments.

This Indian side did not reach the top of the world rankings by accident. However, they have looked inferior to England in every way, from professionalism through preparation, to performance. The challenge for them is how they react, because whilst they are far from being the side they once were, the Australians will be watching this with gleeful interest. Their time on this Everest has ended all too quickly, but preparation for the next assault should be already in progress.

(Rohan Kallicharan, son of the legendary batsman Alvin Kallicharan, is a West Indian cricket enthusiast based in the UK who played at under-19 level. He is now a Recruitment Professional who writes about the game in his free time. He is a columnist for All Out Cricket Magazine. He also has own sports’ blog http://hetoreahamstring.co.uk)