Indian Domestic Cricket to the fore again but for how long?

As the Vijay Hazare Trophy, named after the great who was the captain when India first won a test in 1952, drew to a close, the focus on domestic cricket holds importance considering the latest developments. After two back-to-back series defeats against New Zealand at home and Australia overseas, India for the first time since its inception, finds itself out of the World Test Championship final. The BCCI has asked the international players to make themselves available for domestic cricket when issuing a 10-point guideline. The mandate though is welcome, raises several questions.

For one, India's reverses started with the defeat against New Zealand after an ill thought out move to bat first on a sticky Bangalore pitch in the first test of the series. While the entire series panned out as if it was set in a specific pattern with India scoring a mammoth 462 in the second innings of the first test, albeit in a losing cause, and a mere 831 runs in the remaining 5 innings. Though there were occasional displays of brilliant batting against Australia, the only real fight was from the fast bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah without whom the score line would have been a 5-0 drubbing. The Indian batting failed collectively - the exception being K L Rahul who batted with substance, Y B Jaiswal who was consistent to a large extent and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Virat Kohli probably needed to show more restraint, though it is debatable to call it a weakness - some of the pitches were venomous throughout. The disappointment was written on his face whenever he got out nicking. Rohit Sharma looked totally out of sorts after he had to bat lower down the order. As questions are being asked about their abilities within six months of winning the T20 World Cup, Indian players would obviously have realized the vagaries of the system and the fan base.

At this point in time, nobody from the list of the top 15 run getters from Ranji Trophy season 2024-25 seems to be knocking at the doors of test cricket and the fans will have to wait and watch to see how stars like Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma would turn up to perform. Though the clamor from the former players put BCCI under pressure to issue the mandate, it is also a fact that comparison between players of different eras is best avoided. The durations of test series were much longer earlier, which meant that players had enough time for not only recovering from niggles but also to forget performances worth forgetting. With the advent of social media, the mental pressure has increased manifold. Added to all these is another sad truth that there is no offseason nowadays and players have to deal with the expectations of IPL owners - be it with or without the connivance of the relevant authorities. Dealing with fatigue assumes more significance than earlier with the sheer number of matches played.

Former stalwarts, including Sachin Tendulkar turned up for their state teams whenever they were available but that generation had a different aura altogether. Fans used to assemble in huge numbers to watch Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Laxman among others, bat. Though the competition levels would definitely increase with international stars participating, the current problem India has with the batting, needs a deeper look. When India won the Border -Gavaskar Trophy in Australia the last time, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Hanuma Vihari batted with the greatest virtue required in test cricket- patience. Pujara averages close to 45 in this Ranji season so far. And the Indian middle order looks solid at home- assuming that the series against New Zealand can be treated as an exception.

The appointment of Sitanshu Kotak as the batting coach is probably one of the first moves in the right direction. Having played 130 first-class matches with more than 8000 runs to his credit, he joins the coaching staff bringing in a wealth of experience. He was also with the India A team before and his leadership experience by virtue of having been the Saurashtra captain must help the think tank. He has also spent years at the NCA as the batting coach assisting VVS Laxman and can be expected to bring in some sanity. While it is still early days for Gautam Gambhir and his team of support staff, murmurs about having foreign coaches such as Ryan ten Doeschate and Morne Morkel continue to grow.

The Vijay Hazare Trophy had international bowlers shining with Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakravarthy leading the wickets table, while the batters' table did not have anyone who could immediately make it to the national side - Karun Nair broke several records and Mayank Agarwal, Dhruv Shorey and Prabhsimran Singh, along with Siddhesh Veer scored heavily but the national one day side has a few vacancies currently and Ajit Agarkar & the selectors wisely and rightly did not press the panic button to make any drastic change for the Champions Trophy.

Playing against stronger opponents makes the next generation more capable and also gives the opportunity to interact with and learn from star players and their methods. But the current set of stars who are used to limelight and venues filled beyond capacities along with first class facilities, would need to adjust with some of these missing in domestic cricket. However, this stint may help them think afresh and going back to the roots and helping the domestic sides which pave the way for our future stars is a practice worth encouraging. Whether this would help them recover their mojo, make Virat Kohli think before hanging his bat outside the off stump or help Rohit Sharma deal with quality fast bowlers in test cricket are different questions that only time can answer.

Cricket being a game of glorious uncertainties, can unveil surprises when they are least expected, from the least expected. Sachin Tendulkar is believed to have been told by a hotel waiter gently that his elbow guard prevented his natural bat swing. That the great batsman had the magnanimity to ponder over such advice in a nation filled with several such advisors and experts without whom Indian cricket would be better off (including the writer of this blog), is a different subject altogether.

The Indian team when met with adversaries under pressure, has managed to emerge victorious more often than not in the past and winning the Champions Trophy should shut the mouths of a lot of critics for the next six months - the mentioned duration is too long for critics to keep quiet in India though.