JOIN USShort-changing Test cricket
Long after Marnus Labuschagne's lofted four off R Ashwin had sealed Australia's nine-wicket win in the third Test here, the Holkar Cricket Stadium wore a deserted look. The crowd had disappeared, the volunteers were trickling out and the security personnel sat relaxed, visibly happy with an early finish.
Just outside the media entrance, though, a jersey seller bearing Indian players' names was packing his bag. He had t-shirts to sell for five days but the match was over in less than three days. "Do din ka business loss ho gaya (I lost two days of business)," he said with a smile that hardly betrayed any joy.
Short Tests aren't uncommon in India but there have been far too many of them in the last five years with the ongoing India-Australia series witnessing less than seven and half days of cricket out of 15 possible days. The first two Tests ended in the second session of day three and the final one in just over an hour in the first session of the middle day, making a mockery of the traditional format.
The jersey seller is a minor but one of the collaterals of these early finishes. Broadcasters, season-ticket buyers, vendors, caterers, among others, are casualties of these farcical contests. A Test isn't just a match. There is a whole ecosystem that depends on it. Star Sports had shelled out Rs 6,138 crores to buy the media rights of BCCI-hosted matches for the 2018-23 cycle and they have lost 30 days of Test cricket because of swift finishes. Since the beginning of the current cycle, India have played 19 Tests at home with 10 of them ending on day three. Two have been wrapped up on day two, four on day four with only three Tests stretching to day five.
Broadcasters invest their fortune because India is the biggest cricket market but if they are going to lose two days of cricket for every Test of a marquee series played in the country, they may think twice before investing in the next cycle.
India skipper Rohit Sharma couldn't care less whether a Test finished in two days or three days so long as there was a result, preferably in India's favour. "When the series starts we decide what kind of pitches we've to play on," Rohit said when asked if the players are being put under pressure by preparing rank turners. "This was everyone's call to play on such pitches. I don't think we are putting pressure on our own batters. When we win, everything looks good. Nobody talks about batting. When we lose, these things come out. We've decided we want to play on such pitches. We know the challenge... It can turn around on us but we're ready for it."
You can call it either clear conviction or utter contempt, but this is a big disservice to Test cricket which is already under pressure to survive the onslaught of T20 format. Tests are for five days for a reason and despite attempts by some countries and suggestions by a few former cricketers, its duration hasn't been compromised. Test cricket's soul lies in its prolonged, compelling battle for supremacy between bat and ball.
It can last for a day where one set of skills dominates, leading to ennui but then that's part of Test cricket's allure because it can all change in a session. This phase nicely sets you up for a surprising twist here and a stunning turn there. And so many variables contribute to this riveting course of play. New ball, old ball, wear and tear of the pitch, overcast and underfoot conditions, green top and dry surface... so on and so forth. Only red-ball cricket, with its length, can offer this ebb and flow which tests a player's physical endurance and mental fortitude to the hilt.
Whether seaming or spinning, anything in excess reduces it to a game of lottery. Yes, there's a pressure to win the matches at home and using home advantage is no crime, but why stretch it to a level which your own batters are ill equipped to tackle? If Indore hasn't convinced the Indian team management of this harsh reality, then nothing will.