What is Wrong With Indian Cricket?
On the surface everything appears calm. Cricket as a game and many of the players on the national team are household names in India and most of the cricketing world. Indians would tell you that economically India is also the engine of world cricket. For the most part this is true. Advertisement and sponsorship money from Indian companies is vital for the survival of world cricket. The Indian Premier League (IPL) pays more (considering how short of a season it is) compared to all other cricket leagues in the world. But is cricket all about money and fame?
Although full of “world class” players and players who have stats that are completely in a different planet compared to the players in the 70’s and 80’s, the teams of the past couple of decades have not shown a capacity to win clutch games or major tournaments (except the inaugural 20/20 world cup a few years back). A few players have been caught in doping scandals and match-fixing scandals. Bookies from India are a major problem facing world Cricket. There have been many cases of player infighting and open disagreements between the coaches and players. Overall, there has been a lot of style and talk but not enough substance or wins.
What are the issues? The selection process should improve. The selection committee should have individuals who have integrity. Most Indians have lost confidence in the process. The player’s form, fitness, passion to play the game, leadership qualities should be some of the key factors that should be considered before selecting a player to represent the national team. Not the individual’s last name or the state he is from. Appearance and image of the game is important. Although one of the largest textile producing countries in the world the uniform worn by the Indian players are one of the worst when it comes to fit and design. The sponsor’s name “SAHARA” appears more prominently than the word “INDIA” in many of their uniforms. This shows where the priority is.
Domestic cricket is in complete disarray. Very few Indians go see or watch a domestic cricket match. How can a country that claims that it is the center of the cricketing world not have a half decent domestic league? The BCCI should spend a significant amount of money improving the infrastructure and the game in all parts of India and not on gimmicks like the IPL. Going to a cricket match should become part of the fabric of Indian life (just like going to a baseball game is for Americans). Sitting on the couch in the front of the TV in the middle of the night watching a game that is played half way across the world is fine but watching a game in the stadium with a few thousand fans and relaxing with a beer is even more interesting. Of course winning the World Cup by beating Australia in the finals would be even better! The younger generation is losing interest in the game. I remember the days not too long ago (up until the early 80′s) when cricket was a game popular in only a few states in India. Hockey was clearly a much more popular game. If BCCI does not have the priorities straightned out the future of Cricket will be similar to the status of hockey now.
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Category: Sports & Entertainment
“the teams of the past couple of decades have not shown a capacity to win clutch games or major tournaments”…
hmm i would have to disagree here my friend. we won the odi series and a bunch of test in aus (including one in perth). we really give them a hard time in the test series. series win in nz, pak, wi. besides becoming the number one playing test nation. icc champs trophy in sl although we were humiliated in the 2003 wc final. i think u shuld re look at the stats before posting such conclusions..
Welcome to my site.
How many world cups have they won? How many tournaments have they won that included Australia? What is a computer generated data like the #1 test playing nation mean? India barely plays test cricket anymore. The point of the article is that statistics do not mean anything. Winning does. The only significant win for India is the inaugural T20 championship a few years ago.
i dont think u get the point.. do u?? has any other team other than aus one the world cup in the last 10 years?? its not only about the world cups.. its about progressing collectively as a team and giving up consistent performances in tournaments that comes your way.. and u cant blame the team for not playing enough test cricket.. its the board that decides the fixtures and itineraries..
and another thing i would like to point out is that ipl is also part of our domestic cricket. i agree its much about money and glamour.. but i dont think u can deny the kind of exposure that the young lads in it are getting playing with the best in the world..
I think that your expectations are lower compared to mine. I grew watching cricket in the 70’s and 80’s and I saw cricketers who were much less talented and accomplished (statistically speaking) come together and win championships during a period when the quality of the opposition was very good. Since the 90’s there are many “lesser” teams playing and the Indian players are statistically more accomplished! But their trophy cases are empty.
I do not worry about whether anybody else has won anything but I do care about whether India has won anything significant. It is possible that players like Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid, Harbajan Singh, Kumble, Zaheer Khan and Srinath who have dominated Indian cricket during the past twenty years could end their careers without winning a single major championship. That worries me. I do not see anything or anybody on the current team that is capable of reversing the trend.
PS: I normally understand what people are talking about.
well.. over the last 20 years the quality of cricket of the test playing nations has indeed gone up. but its a pity that no other nation has come up to that level and we are limited to watching them during the icc tournaments. leaving that aside; higher expectations from fans has always been a curse for the indian team. i mean whatever the team does, the fans are never be satisfied and they are crucified for even the tiniest of losses.
i agree that a world cup hasnt been there to decorate the shelves but that shouldnt be an excuse for us to turn a blind eye towards other achievements which the team has accomplished in this time span. this is exactly the kind of attitude which needs to change. reading your article one gets an impression that the indian cricket team is an average bunch of lads who hasnt achieved anything significant in the last 2 decades. which unfortunately my friend is a bit of an over statement.
Cricket is won or lost on the field. Fan expectations have nothing to do with it. Other than personal statistics Indian team has been an average team in the past 20 years (Except Australia what is the big difference between India and other major cricket playing nations like Pakistan, England, New Zealand and South Africa? Nothing really.. which means average). Don’t start blaming the fans “attitude” and “expectations” for the average performance on the field. Fans have every right to expect more.
i dont think i should point out to u again what this team has accomplished in the last 10 years and still you call them average? its unbelievable..
australia almost dominated the cricket scene during the years 98-2007. but as of now its a 3 way fight between sa, india and aus to the top. compare this with the position of india in the end of the 2000s.. it would have been quite an effort by this average side of u then to get to this position.
There is Australia. Then there are countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, New Zealand and England. This group is followed by minor players like Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and so on. There are no differences between the countries in the second group.
I am not saying that they have not won anything but they have not won anything to write home about.