Is BCCI’s focus on IPL costing India’s Test cricket?

There is an instant chatter if a rookie player does well in the IPL, but the same can’t be said for players performing well in domestic cricket

India reaches two successive ICC World Test Championship finals but fails to be crowned the best team in the longer format. Pundits would list out reasons where India lacked, but the logical conclusion to the post-mortem would be the players' inability to switch to Test cricket after two months of playing the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The IPL got over on May 29 and in eight days’ time started the World Test Championship (WTC) final, as the players flew in from the hot and humid subcontinent to London. One may argue that as professional cricketers they are expected to seamlessly transition to any format, but it is easier said than done.

Test cricket, true to its name, is the real test for any cricketer. Just by arranging intense nets sessions leading up to the big match won't be enough. The mental switch was the key here, which Australia didn't have to worry much about.

Why so? The reason being that except for David Warner and Cameron Green, the rest of the nine players were not part of the IPL. In India's playing XI, Cheteshwar Pujara was the only exception.

India captain Rohit Sharma in his post-match press conference also admitted that it is tough to switch from T20 to Tests in such a short span of time. He too questioned the scheduling of the WTC final. “Why after the IPL final? Why cannot it be March? June is not the only month we should play the final.”

Why not in March? The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) would be the one who should be answering this question, because the International Cricket Council (ICC) has their hands tied with an already packed international calendar.

In the last few years, efforts have been put in by the ICC, the BCCI, and other cricket boards to make Test cricket attractive for the fans. In order to keep the longer format relevant in a time when franchise-based T20 leagues are the biggest draws, the idea of holding WTC finals was introduced in a two-year cycle.

The BCCI may claim it is giving Test cricket preference, but it is the cash-rich IPL that has all its attention. If not so, then why was the IPL schedule not planned keeping an eye on the WTC finals? If this was difficult, the players could have been released early by their respective IPL franchises.

To elucidate the above point: In 2021, India was leading 2-1 in the five-match Test series against England, and the fifth Test to be played at Manchester on September 10 was cancelled a few hours before the toss due to Covid-19 concerns in the Indian camp. The series, which was poised in India's favour, was drawn with England winning the fifth Test, when the match was rescheduled to July 1, 2022.

When the match was cancelled, the BCCI was criticised by former England players who took a jibe and said that the Test could have gone ahead if there was no IPL. The 2021 edition of the IPL had to be stopped midway on May 2 because of the deadly Covid-19 second wave in India, and resumed on September 19. The former English players were probably right to infer the BCCI's intention of prioritising the IPL over a Test match.

The shining spotlight on the IPL has put the Indian domestic circuit in the shadows. There is an instant chatter if a rookie player does well in the IPL, but the same can’t be said for players who have been consistently performing in domestic cricket. In the current Test team there are players who have passed their peak, and the selectors should be looking at the Ranji Trophy and not the IPL to find their replacements.

There are players like Sheldon Jackson, Arpit Vasavada, and Anustup Majumdar to name a few who by now would have relinquished the dream of playing for India and are only content raking up runs for their respective domestic teams in the Ranji Trophy. Then there are the younger crop of players who have been knocking on the selectors' doors with their performances in the last couple of seasons. Sarfaraz Khan (Mumbai), Dhruv Shorey (Delhi), and Prashant Chopra (Himachal Pradesh) were among the top run-getters in the 2022-23 Ranji season. Shams Mulani, a spin-allrounder from Mumbai, with 45 scalps was the highest wicket-taker in the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy, and in the next season finished second in the bowlers' list with 46 wickets. Curiously, his name never made a buzz in the selection corridors for India’s Test squad.

Over the years, brand IPL has grown in stature with record revenue from sponsorship and broadcast deals, but it has been 10 years since India have won an ICC tournament. The men’s cricket team has another shot at redemption later this year with India hosting the World Cup, provided the BCCI realigns its focus and puts its money where its mouth is.

(Sattwik Biswal is a sports journalist with more than 15 years of experience.)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.