Test cricket in India - The way forward

Dissection is being campaigned against. It is much maligned, I understand. In schools, children and young adults are encouraged to refrain from practical classes in dissection (biology). In reality that is because animals are sadly extinguished in the name of learning. In sport too, there is dissection. And sometimes sportsmen become the victims of the process. Not at all times is dissection illuminating. But then there is only one thing to do after every game for many people – dissect it threadbare and discuss what could have been. Therefore it is very tempting for us, as fans, to dissect the individual games of the Indian players who have featured in six consecutive away Test defeats. But better still is the process of shining the torch ahead to light up the way, rather than looking behind to see who is catching up and on which stone(s) we stumbled. This, primarily, is one such effort.

Personal landmarks, a waste of media time
The peerless Sachin Tendulkar's much touted hundredth hundred probably weighs more on the minds of millions of fans and media people than on the man himself. Popular cricket columnists now claim that Tendulkar's quest for this statistical gem is bothering the entire team – weighing it down and not letting it perform to potential. Not only are such claims laughable, they are also outstandingly ridiculous for the sheer fact that these are people who have played the game at a very high level. When Virender Sehwag or MS Dhoni is facing down a 140kph delivery from James Pattinson or Peter Siddle, their illustrious team-mate's elusive landmark is the last thing on their mind.

Cricket is a game of moments. Its analysis stretches these moments so much so that individual sagas are made up of them. Batsman putting bat to ball and bowler landing ball on pitch are momentary actions, not ridden with pithy thoughts as is made out. Yes, there is thought process. But the thought process is that of an individual. Every player out there plays cricket because he likes doing so. When motivations are that selfish and simple (and rightly so) the travails or concerns of another do not enter the mind. Tendulkar will get there. What is more, even if he does not his aura and influence on the game will not diminish one bit. And here is the kicker: when and if Tendulkar gets his 101st hundred, the hype and the volume among the media and the people would be lesser than it is now.

Averages, statistics and other lies
Before the series in Australia began, we were fed report upon report as to how embattled Australia's veteran batsmen were. That they certainly were, no arguments about that. The funny thing, though, was that this attention was made out to be a bit unfair in the case of Michael Hussey as he had scored heavily in the previous season.

That argument is inherently hollow. You either want the consistency borne out of experience or the exuberance and wild abandon of youth. Sometimes you even want the right mix. But what a sporting team does not expect is wild abandon and inconsistency from their experienced members. The point is, you can have a youngster go without scoring in six or seven matches and still give him a go, citing his inexperience. However, if a senior, having been there and done that for most of his teenage and adult life, falters for a significant period of time, it cannot be looked at in the same light. People tend to fancifully associate elements of faithfulness, respect and even a sense of duty towards these senior players, who have no doubt been the source of inspiration and sometimes everlasting joy to several thousands of people. More so in India, than anywhere else in the world perhaps. But we live, eat, work and play in the present. We feed on our past, yes, but not for long. Moreover, the present fuels the hunger of the future too.

With this perspective, once you look at India’s six consecutive away Test defeats, it is slightly damning to say the least. We have always bemoaned our bowlers and their ineffectiveness (relative only to the opposition bowlers), while consistently celebrating our master batsmen. It is only fair to reverse polarities now. Our young bowling unit has toiled manfully and has succeeded more times than not. The celebrated batting doyens – Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sehwag and VVS Laxman have not. Dravid, admittedly, was outstanding all through the recent tour of England. It is another matter that he scored all those runs despite a technical fault that he has developed recently. More on that later.

All said and done, the job of these senior cricketers is to ensure unfailing consistency insofar as is humanly possible. If the laxity in rope given to young cricketers extends to, say five Test matches, the sheer experience and know-how of these cricketers only means that they ought to produce results in lesser number of games and keep doing it with more frequency too. This is not something that can be inferred only by numbers and statistics. The day that experience and sheer ability can be quantified is the day the game will lose its charm. There can be science in sport. But sport is not science and thankfully it never will be. In effect, if there is pressure on a senior batsman such as Hussey after just five Tests of low scores, that is rightfully so. The expectations from a seasoned player do not become lesser with time. They always grow. And that is why numbers alone are not an accurate measure of the pressure on each individual.

Win and you are right; lose, you are not
This is a syndrome, plain and simple. After more than two decades of following cricket reports, articles and commentary, there is only one thing I have found to be true. No cricketer or team is criticised when the result of the game is a victory. Conversely, sometimes even the best efforts of players and teams are put down when the ultimate result is a loss. For Indian cricket to not only attain that coveted No.1 Test team position but also stay put, this has got to change. The hard words need to be spoken even when the team has won. The nice words have to be said even when the team loses. No two ways about it. This of course is, more than anything, the job of the coach. With all my heart, I hope this happens in the dressing-room.

Let us take a specific example in this case. Dravid stood alone in England. He towered over the rest – facing off against Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan and James Anderson, and everything they had to offer. And he succeeded, match after match. But even as he did that, a fault had crept into his game. Dravid at his best had an initial shuffling movement with his right foot, which brought him in line with the ball. Today, Dravid's right foot moves in the other direction, further down the leg-stump line, most of the time.

This translates to his head being positioned around, or sometimes even beyond, off stump in counterbalance. His surety and balance when handling full-length balls is therefore compromised – especially when the ball is directed at his stumps. Nothing much was said about all this when Dravid was scoring runs. But now, when he is not and is exhibiting an alarming tendency for being bowled, everybody raises a hue and a cry.

If India are to become the best, this has to change. We Indians need to realise that cricket is not science. That one can succeed in sport even if one is not technically perfect. And that one can fail despite the best preparation and the best technique. Such is the beauty of sport. Let us celebrate it, while understanding the need to be open in communication and criticism when it comes to players, regardless of the end result. Team sport is about the journey. The destination is a mere culmination, a media highlight. In the case of a win, the highest point, yes, but only propped up by the several rungs of achievement that people have clambered past with great effort and overriding solidarity.

By the way, don't be surprised if Dravid scores a century in the next game even without changing his current technique. This is exactly what makes Test cricket enchanting. The surfeit of factors involved, and the fact that a Test cannot just be reduced to just one or two angles or numbers.

The way forward
We Indians are an emotional bunch at the best of times. In times of adversity, we become overly sensitive, ready to burst aflame at the slightest provocation. But we (this composite ‘we’ being the fans, cricket board, commentators and media people) have a duty: to recognise and back good cricket and cricketers, with a view to see our national team being the best in the world. Not just touching the peak of that mountain with a wild leap only to tumble down owing to gravity, but putting in the hard yards and fighting their way to the top, sinking in the national colours atop the peak and staying put there for a sizable length of time. To that end, the winds of change are blowing right now. Perhaps this is the right time to blood more youth into the Test squad. Let us remember that it was exceedingly tough for youngsters to break into the Indian middle order only because the celebrated seniors had been amazingly successful and consistent, therefore contributing to victory. Note that that previous statement employs the past tense: 'had been', instead of an 'are'. Nobody is sacrosanct or above being dropped for the good of the team.

Perth is going to be an acid Test. Not just from the cricketing perspective, but also from a selection point of view. If Rohit Sharma replaces young Virat Kohli, we will have fallen back on erstwhile logic and gone along what is the path of least resistance and/or ridicule, as the case may be. If Rohit and Kohli both play, then we would be sailing into what is essentially uncharted waters for Indian cricket. Waters where we help our Test team to fight in the present, while preparing for the future, where we tell our youth that we are prepared to invest trust and time in them. Where we respect them for who they are and are not forever weighing them down by comparing them with veritable living legends.

And let us leave out all discussions of 'fairness', as the Indian sports lover understands the term. Current performance being the only point of interest, infusion of youth into the batting order can only be a logical move. If the younger players are to be found out now, at the highest level, it is for the good of Indian cricket. We can at least look for other options and develop new talent while still holding forth with the senior professionals in the interim. Inducting young players into the XI would not in any way diminish the worth of each one of our batting legends. If any one of them decides to hang up their boots now, they would have already captured an immense amount of good will and mind share among the Indian public, as well as cricket lovers around the world. Our mantra in deciding the squad should ideally be all is fair in love, war and professional sport. Not just this time in Perth. But every single time.