The new dispensation of the BCCI has been making some pleasant sounds in the past week or so. Of particular importance is the focus on longer formats, and thereby one hopes, restoring the primacy of Test cricket in the country.
The stated objective is to be the number one Test team in the world. Officials in the recent past have been guilty of paying only lip service to this aspect. Now, BCCI chief Anurag Thakur has spelt out some tangible measures that promise more earnest endeavor in making Indian cricket more rounded, rather than T20-centric.
There is nothing wrong in exploiting the T20 format that has caught the fancy of fans everywhere. The IPL is a global success story the BCCI can justifiably be proud of. In a short span of nine years, it is among the most watched and most financially lucrative sports properties in the world despite the controversies.
Yet, it is domestic first class cricket which provides succour to the Test team, and that has not been given the attention it deserves. For instance, the Duleep Trophy, which has a long and illustrious history, was scrapped last season to accommodate the T20 World Cup and other T20 matches in preparation for that.
Happily, Thakur has announced that the Duleep Trophy will not only return next season, but come back revitalised. What he moots is exciting too: a tournament involving four teams without the zonal affiliation of the past, with the best (and prospective) players allotted to these teams by the selectors, and to be played with a pink ball under lights.
Pertinently, the new system brings national selectors into play. This gives the Duleep Trophy not just greater transparency where choosing players is concerned, but also enhances the stature of the tournament. Of course, this depends on how tough selectors will be to get star players involved!
It hardly needs emphasising that domestic first class matches featuring Virat Kohli, M.S. Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma et al would draw in huge crowds. Among those inspired to take the longer format more seriously would be budding cricketers. This is where the monetary benefits to Test cricketers should be rationalised to match that offered in the Indian Premier League.
