To play or not to play in England

While the primary topic of discussion amongst cricket lovers has been the betting and match-fixing episode, there has been a fair amount of discussion over the last couple of weeks over the non-appearance of Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble for the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Hyderabad because they had to represent Kent and Leicestershire in the English season. Indian team coach, Kapil Dev was one of the first to fire a salvo. He blamed India's never-ending series of international commitments for the poor performances this season. He wanted Sourav Ganguly, Kumble and Dravid to reconsider their decision to turn out for the English counties and instead spend the rest period recharging their batteries.

While Kapil's plea sounds reasonable, there would be some positives to come out of the cricketers' decision to show off their wares in England. For one, they would not have the opportunity to say that excessive cricket has resulted in the deterioration in their performance because they ought to have known that the English season was virtually a week-long affair. Playing in England would also definitely benefit them monetarily.

The April-September season is the duration when there is little happening in Indian cricket unless the BCCI commits itself (and consequently the cricketers) to a half-a-dozen meaningless one-day tournaments in places like Singapore, Kenya, Dhaka and maybe even Disneyland. So Dravid, Ganguly and Kumble would in all probability not miss much on the international front. However it will be very tough for the BCCI get the counties to release the players for a week or so for minor tournaments. Since the counties would have shelled out a sizeable amount of money in procuring their services, they would certainly not want a situation where the cricketers don't turn up.

Playing in England would also help Dravid and Ganguly improve their overall skills as batsmen because they would have to shift rapidly between one-day and Test mode. The conditions in England tend to favour the bowlers till around July or so and that would test their skills. Even though Dravid and Ganguly did very well in England in 1996 and in the World Cup last year, the grind of county cricket will no doubt make them better cricketers. Kumble's case is an interesting one. Spinners generally find the going tough in English conditions. However he took 100 wickets in his last season with Northants in 1995. Saqlain Mushtaq and Muralitharan created waves with their skills in the last season for Surrey and Lancashire respectively. Shane Warne joins Saqlain and Kumble this season when he turns out for Hampshire. It could just be the antidote for Kumble to rejuvenate himself after his disappointing showing in Australia and in one-dayers of late.

The influx of more Indian and Pakistani players this season would also hopefully bring more spectators the games. The ECB would also be very happy if county cricket brought in more money and crowds. It was obvious in the last World Cup that the crowd enthusiasm was much more passionate in the games where India or Pakistan played. It certainly does seem to be a win-win situation for all concerned.