Better sense seems to have prevailed. India have placed a delayed request for a practice game ahead of the first test against England. It is much needed but it was something neither the Indian team management nor the Indian board seems to have cared about. Also, the World T20 has been moved out of India. Let me write about the Indian team’s delayed request and World T20.
Whenever and wherever the Indian team travels, especially to the SENA countries, it must be mandatory to play 2 proper first class practice games against the local teams. The Indian board never cared about arranging such games in the past. They were intent on arranging for some meaningless games just before an important tour to any of the SENA countries. For eg, the Sri Lankan series just before the South African tour in 2018 or the one before. India landed in South Africa barely a week before the first test and promptly went onto to lose the test and the series.
This has happened before
These were not the only instances. This has happened before every important series. It is so difficult to adjust from the slow and low pitches of India to the bouncy or seaming wickets of England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Yet, no practice games were ever arranged. Mainly because the board never cared about Indian cricket. They were worried only about filling their coffers. They did by making the team play some stupid games just before a week to depart.
However, the pandemic seems to have helped the India team. The pandemic related restrictions meant that the team will have to land in the country well in advance. This results in means weeks of non-activity. Due to that the board is now forced to keep the team engaged by arranging for practice games. The effect of these games were seen in Australia in 2020. India won that series 2-1 after playing a couple of games before the first test. Ofcourse, they lost the first one.
Lack of practice cost the team dear
As for the WTC finals in 2021, India despite landing in England 2.5 weeks before the finals, did not play any competitive cricket. This showed in the loss to New Zealand. The bowlers didn’t know what length to bowl and the batsmen did not how to play swing. The loss seems to have driven some sense into the team management and the board. They have now asked for a couple of competitive game against the local county.
‘We are working through the operations and COVID-19 protocols to ensure we are able to deliver this and will confirm in due course,’ said an ECB spokesperson.
Only problem with this is that it is the middle of the county season plus the inaugural edition of The Hundred that will be played during this time. As such, it remains to be seen whether the ECB is able to come up with a team that can challenge India.
World T20
Finally, good sense prevailed. The World T20 which was supposed to have been held in India, is now moved to UAT & Oman.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said that, as the hosting board, it was looking to create a “spectacle”. “We would have been happier hosting it in India but considering the uncertainty due to the Covid 19 situation and the importance of a world championship, the BCCI will now continue to host this tournament in UAE and Oman. The BCCI is looking forward to creating a spectacle.”
The choice of the venue is interesting. UAE is understandable. Afterall, they have hosted IPL events before and Pakistan is still hosting their games in UAE. However, Oman has been chosen because of IPL. The final of the IPL which will also be held in UAE will be on 14 October and the World T20 starts 3 days later. Inorder to ensure that the pitches are fresh for the World Cup, Oman has been chosen as the venue for the qualification games.
A good decision taken by the BCCI to shift the games out of India.