BCCI killing Test cricket: Oz media

[The Outsider]

but i stilll think players arenot doing enough to make a protest.. BCCI is their employer.. so what... they guys are stars.. they make the BCCI powerful.. if SRT, sehwag, dhoni, dravid come out and say they gonna boycott IPL.. the board cant do anything.. they will lose the popularity.. this is where i think the players should take the power and show it to the BCCI.. but unfortunately i dont see tht happening.. when SRT and dravid can came out and said they will not play T20... wat prevents them now from doing the same..? sorry if players are not quite interested in pushing this agenda into BCCI.. we fans can do nothing.. only can sit and rant here..

Perhaps they are doing more than we know - Tendulkar and Dravid are not exactly the kind of people who will wash dirty laundry in public or create media sensations. But having said that you are underestimating the beast that BCCI and IPL are. Even when BCCI was a "do take ka board" 20 years back it had no compunctions in banning Vengsarkar, who was then the Indian captain, for playing some charity matches in the US(or maybe it was Canada). At that time Vengsarkar was one of the best, if not the best batsman, in the world. His career was practically finished when he came back as he was never able to regain that kind of form. Or how they sacked Srikkanth from captaincy after the drawn series in Pakistan - which was called a successful tour in all quarters. He had not scored many runs but his captaincy was universally acclaimed. Only because he was demanding timely and proper payments and some kind of a contract system. And with the addition of the IPL to the equation things have become completely different. It's no longer cricket - these franchises have paid out gigantic amounts of money and are run by some of the most successful businessmen in India. Even if Ambani was to lose a Tendulkar from his side, his sole interest would be to rake in the cash on his investment and he'll find other ways to do it and pressurize BCCI into implementing them.

[riya]

Oz media has every right ot say this.Aus cricket board is trying to popularise test cricket as much as possible wheras money hungry BCCI is after that slog fest.Absolutely disgusting,if they scrap any test series for that bull crap called IPL, i will stop following Indian cricket forever. Hate it absolutely hate it,just when we are number one and there is no test cricket in near future.What bloody heck:wall:

[Fontaine]

but i still cannot understand, why we cant play more test n ext year. IPL is in April, followed by T20WC.. what the hell are we doing after that till November?

Because the cricket calendar isn't one of 12 months and starts and ends differently for different countries (due to seasons/domestic cricket etc). So there is a lot of coordination in a limited amount of time for test series which by their nature can take at least a month to complete. So because the IPL is given an exclusive window of a few months it effectively shortens the cricket calendar for international matches for India and as a result India have a smaller window of time to fit in tests, because the ODI's arent being cut down, and as a knock on effect other international teams are also hesitant to schedule their cricket during the IPL season because they don't want to risk putting their players in a position to decide between IPL and International duties. Already you have cricketers like Gayle etc who play max IPL and forego/skip preparation for test/ODIs and arrive at the last moment for international duties. Not to mention how the BCCI has actively campaigned and bullied the ICC in the past and continues to do so to not schedule international cricket between OTHER countries during the IPL as it would take away viewing audiences. The BCCI doesn't just promote the IPL and back it internationally, but like a bunch of hired thugs they threaten and bully anyone else that dares to interfere or disrupt it. All this from an organisation that isn't a part of the government. You DON'T VOTE for members of the BCCI. Indian players or citizens DON'T choose who goes in the BCCI, selectors and so on. Yet they don't just have a monopoly on the Indian players and national team but are trying to enfore a monopoly on cricket through the cheapiest brand of T20 cricket all for the sake of MONEY.

[Fontaine]

but i stilll think players arenot doing enough to make a protest.. BCCI is their employer.. so what... they guys are stars.. they make the BCCI powerful.. if SRT, sehwag, dhoni, dravid come out and say they gonna boycott IPL.. the board cant do anything.. they will lose the popularity.. this is where i think the players should take the power and show it to the BCCI.. but unfortunately i dont see tht happening.. when SRT and dravid can came out and said they will not play T20... wat prevents them now from doing the same..?

Because every player has a right to earn their equal share and secure their own and their family's future. It's up to governing bodies like the BCCI/ICC to regulate cricket, not players.

sorry if players are not quite interested in pushing this agenda into BCCI.. we fans can do nothing.. only can sit and rant here..

Yes we can. I have never watched a full IPL Match, never attended, never bought any of the merchandised products, branded clothes etc. Every fan can choose for themselves. I would rather watch a dull domestic game where players are actually trying, rather than a bunch of international stars who get paid but show minimum effort in a silly, fake charade. Anyone who actually watches the IPL and believes that international players, especially bowlers are trying their absolute best is just delusional. Pretty much like watching WWF wrestling.

[MUMBAISKIPPER]

typical aussie hypocrats...just cannot digest the fact that they are no longer no.1 test team in the world.....and if BCCI is killing test cricket then why the aussies play so many one-dayers??..they should cut down on one-dayers and play more tests to promote test cricket..it's like pot calling the kettle black

[DomainK]

IPL is not something that has been created and forced. IPL is a natural progression of a in-demand game in a large arable market. If Modi had not done it, someone else would have. In fact, someone else had started it in the form of ICL, Modi did a better job and emerged the winner. If it was not Modi, it would have been Subhash Chandra. If not him, it would have been someone else. And please note that if we were as weak as we were in the 70s, that someone else would have been a westerner who would have made money in the Indian market. And when something like IPL happens, its governed more by the market forces than by an individual. IPL is not here to groom and grow cricket, it's a profit making business unit and that's what they are doing. And I can tell you that every board in the world would love to own the IPL the way it is. If the Australians took over IPL today, they would not make a single change to it. But the fact is that they could not do it and BCCI could. Most of this talk of save test cricket from IPL is pure hypocrisy from these guys.

[Laaloo]

typical aussie hypocrats...just cannot digest the fact that they are no longer no.1 test team in the world.....and if BCCI is killing test cricket then why the aussies play so many one-dayers??..they should cut down on one-dayers and play more tests to promote test cricket..it's like pot calling the kettle black

Why dont you look at Australias fixture before making yourself look like a moron. Aus are still yet to play one more match against WI. Then, they play 3 matches against the padosis at home and then they travel to NZ to play 2 more tests.

[Celeste]

typical aussie hypocrats...just cannot digest the fact that they are no longer no.1 test team in the world.....and if BCCI is killing test cricket then why the aussies play so many one-dayers??..they should cut down on one-dayers and play more tests to promote test cricket..it's like pot calling the kettle black

Why dont you look at Australias fixture before making yourself look like a moron. Aus are still yet to play one more match against WI. Then, they play 3 matches against the padosis at home and then they travel to NZ to play 2 more tests.

self pwnage :hysterical:

[The Outsider]

IPL is not something that has been created and forced. IPL is a natural progression of a in-demand game in a large arable market. If Modi had not done it, someone else would have. In fact, someone else had started it in the form of ICL, Modi did a better job and emerged the winner. If it was not Modi, it would have been Subhash Chandra. If not him, it would have been someone else. And please note that if we were as weak as we were in the 70s, that someone else would have been a westerner who would have made money in the Indian market. And when something like IPL happens, its governed more by the market forces than by an individual. IPL is not here to groom and grow cricket, it's a profit making business unit and that's what they are doing. And I can tell you that every board in the world would love to own the IPL the way it is. If the Australians took over IPL today, they would not make a single change to it. But the fact is that they could not do it and BCCI could. Most of this talk of save test cricket from IPL is pure hypocrisy from these guys.

Yes, IPL is a market demand creation - don't think anyone would deny that. But BCCI is no bloody corporate organization. It has by it's own admission responsibility to the development of cricket in all it's forms in India. The gutless bastards don't even want to act like a corporate organization and let free market forces rule, do they? And your assumption that Australia and Australian media would have reacted the same way is utterly wrong and has no grounding in facts. On the contrary, there is overwhelming support from the audience, media, and their board for test cricket which comes out in all aspects.

[The Outsider]

typical aussie hypocrats...just cannot digest the fact that they are no longer no.1 test team in the world.....and if BCCI is killing test cricket then why the aussies play so many one-dayers??..they should cut down on one-dayers and play more tests to promote test cricket..it's like pot calling the kettle black

Yeah, as pointed out above the hypocrites are playing 6 tests at home in their season, then 2 in NZ, followed by 2 in England in the time frame we will be watching bhaands like Shah Rukh Khan take over cricket and we cancel one test series after another.

[maggot_brain]

Some really good posts here particularly #15 and #17. The original Aussie article is spot on. I don't really have anything to add that hasn't already been said but I do have one question to ask: what can we do about this? The BCCI is a law unto itself and is not democratically elected by the people. Also the IPL draws in huge crowds while Test Matches in India are in echoing empty stadiums. Personally I'm boycotting the IPL from now on. I just got sick of it last time round. When we exited the T20 WC I wasn't even bothered as I'd overdosed on T20 cricket due to the IPL. T20 Cricket and the IPL in particular is indicative of a wider trend in society as whole - the ascendancy of the crass, the instantaneous and the superficial. It's not just Cricket that's suffering but it is 'just not Cricket'.

[Celeste]

Yeah' date=' as pointed out above the hypocrites are playing 6 tests at home in their season, then 2 in NZ, followed by 2 in England in the time frame we will be watching bhaands like Shah Rukh Khan take over cricket and we cancel one test series after another.[/quote'] If you look at revised FTP, Aus have included 2 more tests against Bangladesh after 2 tests against Pak in UK. ACB could have easily cancelled the series against Bang citing low profile series excuse. :hatsoff: to ACB for keeping their commitment.

[DomainK]

I understand that we need to play more test cricket. I fully agree that test cricket is the best form of the game and we should be playing a lot more of it. My point is that IPL is not as bad as it's being made out to be.

[maggot_brain]

I understand that we need to play more test cricket. I fully agree that test cricket is the best form of the game and we should be playing a lot more of it. My point is that IPL is not as bad as it's being made out to be.

It's not bad - it's worse than bad. As The Outsider says, it is part of the darkest phase of Indian Cricket since the match fixing scandal.

[Macj]

I understand that we need to play more test cricket. I fully agree that test cricket is the best form of the game and we should be playing a lot more of it. My point is that IPL is not as bad as it's being made out to be.

Its worse, as its taking 45 days off the calendar, and soon after IPL 3 Modi will sell more franchises which means more games which means more days .

[The Outsider]

I understand that we need to play more test cricket. I fully agree that test cricket is the best form of the game and we should be playing a lot more of it. My point is that IPL is not as bad as it's being made out to be.

Maybe you'll find out how bad it is when we play 90 odd games the next season and increase the Champions' League to a one month tournament and 5 years down the line have 2 IPLs. Do you think the corporates who have spent so much in these teams will not want to make 10 times the profit and BCCI will happily oblige by bending over because it will have no choice after the exorbitant money they have charged for TV rights and franchises.

[DomainK]

It's not bad - it's worse than bad. As The Outsider says' date=' it is part of the darkest phase of Indian Cricket since the match fixing scandal.[/quote']

Its worse' date=' as its taking 45 days off the calendar, and soon after IPL 3 Modi will sell more franchises which means more games which means more days .[/quote'] That is because somewhere we believe in fairytale and we wonder why the fairytale alternative is not easily available.

[The Outsider]

The free market supply demand argument is pretty farcical in the case of BCCI and IPL. If they want a free market, let them allow other corporates to set up their own teams and play with anyone they want. The likes of Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman, Sehwag etc. will gladly sign up with those corporates for half the money that the BCCI will pay them as long as they are assured of test matches - because they know that it's the longer version of the game which will set them up in history as sportsmen. They would be more than able to make up for the differential through endorsements. BCCI will be left playing the IPL with cowlashers and trundlers and IPL would die in a jiffy.

[DomainK]

Maybe you'll find out how bad it is when we play 90 odd games the next season and increase the Champions' League to a one month tournament and 5 years down the line have 2 IPLs. Do you think the corporates who have spent so much in these teams will not want to make 10 times the profit and BCCI will happily oblige by bending over because it will have no choice after the exorbitant money they have charged for TV rights and franchises.

It can only spill to an extent. The market forces will push it back to it's position. If it steps outside the line, it will get eliminated. Yes, the corporates will want to make money, but these big guys have learned to respect demand. It comes back to the old saying- capital is ruthless. Money has it's own religion. It's like water- it knows where the lowlands are and it will automatically flow there. That's how the market gets created. These big boys who have invested big in IPL have learned to respect capital and the demand forces. Again, IPL is a natural phenomenon. It's a by product of India's emergence as the biggest market in the world. It will happen, it will grow and then it will shoot up big and then it will settle down to it's own space. Does not matter how bad it looks right now, it's one of the stepping stones for Indian economy. We are thinking too much in short term and that's what is making us feel so bad. It's not so bad in the long run.

[Karan114]

For me, there is no greater feeling in sport than watching India play a Test match. The team I support playing the best form of the game - what can be better? Scumbag Lalit Modi and the BCCI ******s can organize a million and one IPL games and they will still not measure up to even one good Test match. Of course, there are plenty of idiots in India who prefer watching this trash and the BCCI being such a despicably money obsessed organization (with not the slightest interest in the development of the game) will not hesitate to play the IPL all year round soon enough. The BCCI is indeed killing Test cricket, for once the Aussie media is not wrong.