Ravi Nyayapati
Amidst the buzz of the Indian Premier League (IPL) reaching a climax, cricketing history was made in Europe as Ireland hosted Pakistan in Dublin for their inaugural Test Cricket.
On June 22, 2017, Afghanistan and Ireland, representing all of the island of Ireland, were granted full membership of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Right to Representation
A full member has the right to send one representative team to play official Test matches. As such, Afghanistan and Ireland joined an exclusive club that also includes New Zealand, the West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and India, along with founder members South Africa, England and Australia.
While Ireland has had a decent cricketing depth during their many years of Test status lobbying, Afghanistan’s journey has been an inspiration and full of courage.
Given the political turmoil of the recent past, and the displacement of many of its people, the Afghans have taken the cricketing world by storm.
They are to make their first Test appearance in June against India.
Pressure on Test Cricket
The inaugural Test match was played in 1877 between Australia and England at Melbourne.
In 1926, India, New Zealand and the West Indies were admitted to the ranks.
Ironically, India did not play its first Test match until 1932.
The last country to be given a Test status was Bangladesh in June 2000.
As glorious as this club sounds, there is pressure on Test countries to be of a standard capable of competing with the powerhouses of the game.
A vast mismatch of depth and capability has given rise to increased divided opinion on the need for a two-tier Test system.
A classic example of Test incompetence is glaringly evident with ‘newbies’ Bangladesh who suffered twenty-one consecutive losses over a five-year window before claiming a win over lowly ranked Zimbabwe in 2015.
Their first overseas win came in 2009 over West Indies, who were fielding a depleted unit after internal organisational squabbles.
Bangladesh vs India
Bangladesh has played 106 Tests with a mere ten victories to boast, half of which have been against meek Zimbabwe. They have managed to beat England and Australia at home, each on one occasion. This is credible but, in the age, a highly commercialised sporting ecosystem, there is a lot of criticism and intolerance of this success rate.
To Bangladesh’s credit, they have done better than India did after their introduction to the foray. It took India 20 years to register their first win.
However, this was an era where Indian cricketers needed ‘day jobs’ for sustenance, while playing Cricket for passion and pride. It was in the 1970s that India gained strength and depth to compete at an elite level.
The Power of money
Over the last two decades, increased commercialisation of the sport has resulted in an infusion of professionalism for the sport in the sub-continent, giving rise to India’s dominance.
Bangladesh owe their gratitude to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for their promotion as a Test nation. They also enjoy substantial commercial and financial support in Cricket from their mighty neighbours.
However, the difference in results between the two nations lies in capitalising on opportunities presented.
Bangladesh have failed to build a framework which fosters and develops growth in players whereas India has banked on this commercial injection to propel their game to new heights.
The Afghan Debut
Afghanistan could not have asked for a bigger stage to launch their Test arrival.
Some of their players are already playing in the IPL and doing rather well.
In view of their player performances of late, especially in the Sub-Continent, they pose a genuine challenge when they debut against India at Bangalore’s Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Kohli’s option
India have made an unusually early announcement on the team composition to take on the Afghans. As expected, batsman Ajinkya Rahane will take charge given the imminent absence of regular captain Virat Kohli.
Kohli has opted to play county cricket for Surrey as a lead-up to the India-England series starting in August 1, 2018.
This is a welcome move, and very thoughtful on Kohli’s part as he attempts to rewrite the chapters on Indian tours overseas. He led the Test side impressively in their last outing in South Africa, but the team lacked finishing touches to grab a series victory.
Kohli is hell bent on changing this and seeking greater glory.
The Test Squad against Afghanistan
Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Karun Nair, Wriddhiman Saha (Wicket Keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma, Shardul Thakur.
Photo :
Virat Kohli (left) with Ajinkya Rahane (right)
(Picture Courtesy: PTI).
