Indian cricketers, especially, the senior cricketers, once they start to play for India, they completely forget the need to turn up for their state team. There are various reasons for this but it is imperative that they treat the Ranji Trophy, which is the launching pad for all of them, with respect. The Indian batsmen are repeatedly getting exposed at the highest level against both pace and spin in equal measure. Not playing in the Ranji Trophy is having its effect. Everyone, except for the players themselves can see it. The importance of the Ranji Trophy can only be gauged if you play regularly.
Reluctance on the part of the players
This is not a new phenomenon. It has been happening right from the time I used to watch the game. 1980 onwards. Players take regular breaks without any reason. Back in the 80s, I have seen the likes of Kapil Dev, Vengsarkar and a few others, take a break from the remaining international games if India had already won the series. This was despite the fact that they hardly played during that era. Nothing needs to be said about playing Ranji during that era. Cut to the present, nothing has changed either. Infact, it has gone from bad to worse. When was the last time either Rohit or Kohli or for that matter Jadeja or Ashwin turned out for their respective state teams? I cannot recollect.
The problem is that these players and almost everyone else think that once they start to play for the country, Ranji Trophy is beneath their level. They seem to think that the standards that are on offer in first-class cricket are not what will improve their game. The bigger the star, the bigger their aversion to Ranji. This is ridiculous. Wherever you are, it is always better to comeback to the roots.
The lost art of playing spin
Indians are traditionally known to play spin better than anyone else. The great Shane Warne and Muralitharan will vouch for the fact. Warne never enjoyed the same success against India that he enjoyed against every other team. Murali on the otherhand, had one good series in Sri Lanka and apart from that, nothing much to show for it. The rot set in when batsmen of that period, Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman and a few others didn’t appear for their states. Their prowess against spin began to deteriorate ever since they started to treat Ranji poorly. None of them appeared for their states beyond 2003. Atleast, I do not remember. As a result, the Indians lost the series to Australia on turning pitches which was followed by another series loss to England.
In both the series, the opposition spinners spun a web around the Indian batsmen. Supporters might say that it is just 2 series lost in over 2 decades which is not at all a bad record. It must be understood that Kumble, Harbhajan and later Ashwin and Jadeja have proven to be more than a match for the opponent in Indian conditions.
Lyon is much more successful against India than against any other team. The likes of Mitchell Santner are economical. In white ball cricket, it is well known that to tie down the Indian batsmen, bring on a spinner. Far too often, we have struggled to post a good score or chase one because of the inability of the batsmen to play spin. Kohli is a suspect against spin. He is unable to get the ball off the square and as a result, Indians lose valuable overs. Adam Zampa absolutely ties the Indians down.
The art of playing long innings
When was the last time, India scored in excess of 450 consistently? There used to be a time when 400 was the norm, atleast in Asia. Now, even this has come down and 350 is now thought to be difficult to get. The returns of Rohit, Kohli, Pujara & Rahane, all experienced players have ensured that India does not cross even 400 regularly. Jadeja, Pant & Ashwin are required to score to get the score upto this level. This is a sad turn of events. Under Ganguly, Indians used to score more than 400 even in Australia and England but now, scoring 300 in India is being recognised as a good score. Such has been the fall of the decorated batsmen.
If the players play in Ranji, they will once again learn the art of being patient and building an innings. Pujara is the only one who plays in Ranji from time to time but when it comes to international cricket, he gets completely bogged down and does not even think about singles.
Wrapping up the importance of the Ranji Trophy
It is time the board makes it mandatory for every Indian cricketer to play in atleast 4 Ranji games for their respective states every year. They can take rest from playing in IPL but not while playing for their state or for the nation.