Present tense, future bleak for Team India

[rkt.india]

It will not be a hyperbole if one says that Indian cricket team is in its lowest point in fifteen years. The team, which lost eight consecutive away Tests in England and Australia, is now facing the danger of losing a home series against England after their humiliating defeat at Mumbai in ÃÇavourable conditions? ItÃÔ not that India had not lost Test matches in their own backyard in the past one and a half decade. They lost to South Africa, New Zealand and England. Adam Gilchrist-led Australian team even defeated India in India in 2003-04 series. Every time we lost, we fought back harder. Every time we surrendered, we came back stronger. At least we had hopes of resurgence. Never before in the past 15 years did things look as gloomy as today; never before the future seemed so uncertain. Never before was there such negativity. After tasting defeat in England and Australia in conditions which were hostile, it was thought that Indian cricketers would do well on home soil. But that did not happen. In the two Tests that India played against England, apart from Cheteshwar Pujara, Virender Sehwag and Pragyan Ojha, every Indian player struggled. Though in Ahmedabad India played well, the Mumbai Test shook our very foundation and showed us that the future of Indian cricket is in deep trouble. The way England spinners humiliated the Indian batsmen, the manner in which Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen hammered our tweakers on a track which was clearly helping spinners from the day one, shows nothing is going right for the Indian Test team. It was clear that neither Indian batsmen nor the bowlers were capable of scoring runs or taking wickets on the fast, bouncy pitches of Australia or on the seaming conditions of England. But here England spinners proved to be better equipped to use the turning pitches and their batsmen, especially Cook and Pietersen showed that they can play spin better than most of the Indian batsmen. Batting After Rahul Dravid and VVS LaxmanÃÔ retirement, Indian team is in transition phase. The great Sachin Tendulkar is finding it hard to make runs and he is not far from hanging his boots up. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir are not getting younger anymore and they remain the most inconsistent performers in the Indian team, especially outside the subcontinent. Despite Yuvraj SinghÃÔ 70-odd runs in the first innings in Ahmedabad Test in his comeback match, his dismissals in both the innings at Wankhede has again put serious question marks on his ability to succeed in Test cricket. Apart from Pujara and Virat Kohli, no batsman in the Indian team is a certainty anymore. If India has been a power house of spin, it is the Indian batsmen in the last 15 years who established the Indian team as one of the bests in the World. There was no Indian team of the past which could boast of the names like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly. It was a unit which not only shone in India but held their heads high on the hard, bouncy or seaming tracks of England, South Africa and Australia. Among these top five batsmen, only Tendulkar and Sehwag remain in the team now. Since Sachin is almost in his twilight (maybe he is playing his last series) and Virender Sehwag is also finding it hard to score in align conditions, itÃÔ time to find some able replacements for them. The most important thing in selecting a player is that besides looking at his numbers you have to consider how and under which circumstances and conditions these numbers have been gathered. So a century on a lively pitch and against a quality bowling attack is more important than a triple century on a dead track against a lowly team. Why Ajinkya Rahane is being tipped to take over any of the openers in the Test squad is his ability to get runs in any conditions and against any opposition. Pujara has already cemented his place at number 3 and Virat Kohli would bat at number 4 once Sachin announces his retirement. Since Yuvraj Singh has not established his place, it will be a toss-up between Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary and Suresh Raina to fill the middle-order vacancies. Apart from Manoj Tiwary, both Sharma (in ODIs and T20s) and Raina (in Tests) have got enough opportunities but they have failed to deliver so far. Sharma surely lacks attitude to succeed at international cricket while the inability to play good fast bowling has remained the reason of RainaÃÔ downfall. In the batting department IndiaÃÔ future does not look bright. There are currently not many batsmen who are ready to play in the Test team. Pace bowling In the pace department, Zaheer Khan is getting older as well as losing his sharpness. Ishant Sharma is still to prove that he has got back his wicket-taking capabilities. In recent times, only Umesh Yadav has proved that he is a õest class but again he is in his first year in international cricket. We have already seen in the past how fast bowlers in India faded away as soon as they burst into the international scene with much fanfare. Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma, S Sresanth, RP Singh-everyone performed initially but only to be fizzled away after some time. Among the new faces in domestic cricket only Parvinder Awana looks promising. Ashok Dinda, who replaced Umesh Yadav in the Test squad, does not inspire much hope. Varun Aaron has pace but his ability to sustain the rigours of international cricket is under serious threat. Among the other pace bowlers swing bowler Praveen Kumar looked really good in the seaming conditions England when India travelled there last year. But again it will be difficult for him to replicate that feat in the sub-continental conditions in Tests. Things are not at all rosy for India in the pace department. If India need to do well outside the subcontinent, they need to identify some good talented fast bowlers. Spinners One of the biggest reasons why IndiaÃÔ future looks grim is their lack of talent in spin, a traditional force for them ever since they started playing Test cricket way back in 1930s. The situation is so grave that India doesnÃÕ have more than three spinners who can be selected in the Test team. Some people have been questioning the decision to include Harbhajan Singh in the Test squad but the fact is that selectors had practically no option but to take him considering there are no other good spinners in the domestic front who select themselves in the Test team. Apart from BarodaÃÔ left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt, who made a stunning start in his debut Ranji season in 2009-10 by taking 47 wickets in nine matches to lead the Ranji wicket-takers tally, there have been no spinner who set the Indian first class season on fire ever since. But despite the earlier success, Bhatt could not continue his wicket-taking form and slipped away from the selectors radar. Thanks to the lure of IPL these days, there is hardly any wicket-taking spinner in India. JhakhandÃÔ Shahbaz Nadeem, who plays for Delhi Daredevils in the IPL, is among the top wicket takers of the ongoing Ranji season but those who have seen him closely know that he is basically a containing bowler. The other ÃÕalented bowlers, like DelhiÃÔ Vikas Misra, who also represented India in their victorious under-19 World Cup campaign, is struggling to take wickets in this yearÃÔ Ranji Trophy. His under-19 team mate Harmeet Singh, who showed some promise last season for Mumbai, is injured and doubtful for the rest of the season. His Mumbai colleague left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdullah is another bowler who bowls flat and certainly more suited for the shorter versions. There are some bowlers like MaharashtraÃÔ Akshay Darekar, who is a good orthodox left-arm spinner, but he needs more exposure to develop himself as an attacking spinner. One example will be suffice to highlight the lack of talent in spin. Jalaj Saxena, an all-rounder from Madhya Pradesh, was selected in the India A team as a main spinner a few months back despite having very moderate performances in the last two seasons in domestic cricket. Despite so much talk, the pitches for the first class cricket remain hugely tilted towards batsmen. These pitches will never produce quality cricketers. Batsmen will pile on runs but they will struggle in the international arena. Pacers will hardly be able to show their skills and spinners will continue to be belted around the park without much success. So the next two years will be a tough time for Indian cricket team, especially in Tests and more so when they will play outside the sub-continent. But again the future will depend on how we will struggle, react to the losses, identify new talents, and how we overhaul our ÃÑrimitive domestic set-up.

http://zeenews.india.com/exclusive/present-tense-future-bleak-for-team-india_5877.html Umesh breakdown adds to pace pangs

There are few sights better than a fast bowler steaming in to release thunderbolts. But the big worry is their repeated breakdown. Umesh Yadav being ruled out of the third Test at Kolkata with a lower back injury has only underlined how thin India's fast bowling resources are. Umesh, replaced by Ashok Dinda in the squad, sat out the Mumbai Test. Instead of picking Ishant Sharma as the second pacer, captain MS Dhoni chose to field three spinners. Ishant in the wings Maybe Dhoni was not sure of Ishant's fitness for a game of such intensity. After all, the lanky pacer has not played international cricket since undergoing ankle surgery in early 2012. While Dinda is yet to don the whites for India, a quick glance at the other possible back-up pacers does not inspire confidence. Varun Aaron, the fastest pacer in the country along with Umesh, missed the Australia tour due to back trouble and a recurrence of that injury after the IPL has kept him out of action. Karnataka's Abhimanyu Mithun missed Ranji Trophy games against Uttar Pradesh and Odisha with a side strain and a hamstring injury sidelined his skipper R Vinay Kumar against UP. In May, S Sreesanth was ruled out for five months as his toes required two surgeries. Munaf Patel has had a history of fitness concerns; rib injury forced Praveen Kumar to miss the Australia tour. Former India fast bowler and Delhi Daredevils mentor TA Sekar has seen Umesh closely at the franchise. "The human body is not designed to bowl fast," he told HT. "Not a single pacer who bowls over 140kmph will go without injury. Umesh had the same stress fracture in 2009. This time, it is more of a precaution." Sekar blamed the packed schedule for the injuries. "There is lot of international cricket. Plus they play for the Ranji and IPL teams," he says. "A bowler needs a two-month break to work on strength conditioning. And the body only recuperates if you rest." Few options The lack of back-up options worries Sekar, a former long-time head of the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai. "We are not replacing fast bowlers because we do not have quality back-ups. We should have ten bowlers ready to play in the first team." The difference between countries like Australia and South Africa and India is they are more organised. "They have good support staff, physio, medical team and technical expertise during rehab and a lot of data about injured players," explains Sekar. He believes Zaheer Khan's workload should be balanced. "He is not young and is not bowling as fast as he used to, but he has mastered reverse swing. He knows his body well, but the selectors should understand his position and play him accordingly."

India's loss against England: Don't look back in anger

Bangalore: In To a Mouse, Robert Burns wrote: "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men, Gang aft a-gley (often go awry)". Nowhere is that more true than in professional sport. On a bad day, Barcelona, a team whose style has made it popular even among football illiterates, can see a 15-month unbeaten run on home turf end against Hercules, a side who few outside Spain have even heard of. Australia, then champions of all they surveyed, can lose a Twenty20 match against a Zimbabwe team considered so poor they were exiled from the Test arena. Unknown North Koreans playing The Game of Their Lives can upset Italy at the football World Cup. These things happen. And as much as home advantage matters, followers of Indian cricket have seen enough over the past decade to know that there's no such thing as a home banker. If there was, Australia would never have lost to India on a Perth pitch (2008), where only West Indies had beaten them since 1985. Or think of Durban in 2010, a seamer-friendly pitch where South Africa - victors by an innings at Centurion - were expected to romp home. The problem with most analysis of any Indian victory or defeat is the Cyclops Syndrome. It tends to view things merely from one-eyed Indian perspective. The fact that there was another team playing the match - often with world-class players of their own - is completely overlooked. Instead of admitting that Kevin Pietersen scripted an innings that will be remembered as long as the game's played - like McCabe's 232 or Laxman's 281 - or accepting that Monty Panesar's fingers were touched with magic at the Wankhede, the basic instinct is to pour scorn on MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli. Why let two incredible performances come in the way of a chance to call one of your own players a chump? India played badly in Mumbai. They were well beaten. The spinners were comprehensively outbowled by their English counterparts. The middle order looked as flaky as day-old pastry. These are all facts. But they don't justify the outpouring of angst and vitriol seen over the past 24 hours. A little over a week ago, India won by nine wickets in Ahmedabad. That wasn't a perfect performance either, heavily reliant as it was on Virender Sehwag and Cheteshwar Pujara with the bat and Pragyan Ojha and Umesh Yadav with the ball. This is a team in transition, a team with problems. Did anyone really expect that they would miraculously vanish with one win? If you want to mock certain players, why not then suggest replacements? Zaheer Khan has 294 Test wickets, but only six in the last four home Tests. Spent force? Maybe. But do you see a conveyer belt of pace talent out there? Sreesanth once impressed the likes of Allan Donald. His last worthwhile spell was in Durban in 2010. Ishant Sharma has never lived up to the potential he showed in Perth or in the subsequent home series against Australia. RP Singh is on the Honours Board at Lord's, but nowhere close to the current side. Praveen Kumar, like Tim Bresnan, has suffered after an elbow injury. Yadav and Varun Aaron are crocked. Zaheer at least offers control and the possibility of a game-changing spell. Those on the fringes inspire no such confidence. That's equally true of the spin contingent. Harbhajan was everyone's favourite whipping boy long before he got injured on last year's tour of England. Indifferent form in limited-overs cricket had coloured perceptions of his Test displays as well. There were lines like "poor run for 18 months" from journalists who should have known better, who clearly hadn't watched how beautifully he bowled at times at Kingsmead and Newlands. It's not as though he's keeping out the next Prasanna, Bedi or Kumble either. The selectors have done the right thing by giving a beaten bunch the chance to redeem themselves in the third Test. Remember, they're not going to be playing at Trent Bridge or Edgbaston. They'll be at Eden Gardens, a fortress where India have won five and drawn two of their last seven Tests. Harbhajan has 46 wickets from his seven Tests there. Even if he doesn't play, there'll be enough in the pitch to keep R Ashwin and Ojha interested. "Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go," said Hermann Hesse. India need to let go of Mumbai and think instead of Kolkata, which in recent times has been their City of Joy.

http://sports.ndtv.com/india-vs-england-2012/features/item/199889-indias-loss-against-england-dont-look-back-in-anger

[Nova]

What is this... like 3-in-1 ice cream post?

[rkt.india]

What is this... like 3-in-1 ice cream post?

why make 3 seperate threads when they will eventually be merged somewhere in other thread?

[MCcricket]

http://www.mid-day.com/sports/2012/nov/281112-Vengsarkar-laments-very-sorry-state-of-affairs.htm It is an alarming decline we have seen in last two years, Dhoni , Cheeka and co have reaped the benefits of good work done by previous selectors and coaches, captains and wasted it all away, all in all an amazing decline, no vision, Dhoni playing his cronies, no new talent coming in, rame recycled players, no accountability, captain needs to go first that is the root cause then, we need a strong captain and coach with a vision like Dada.

Vengsarkar laments very sorry state of affairs Former India captain and chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar says there should have been some changes in the squad for third Test, but Indian cricket doesn't have enough options November 28, 2012 Mumbai Harit N Joshi Amidst the gloom of India’s crushing defeat at the hands of Alastair Cook & Co in the second Test at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, former captain and chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar stepped out of his crease to slam cricket administrators and selectors. Keeping faith in under-performing stars, Sandeep Patil & Co made only one change to the squad for the third Test at Eden Gardens from December 5: Ashok Dinda for injured pacer Umesh Yadav. Team India coach Duncan Fletcher and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni arrive for the selection committee meeting at the Cricket Centre yesterday The selection panel was to pick the squad for the third and fourth Test (Nagpur) and the two T20 Internationals against England, but named the squad only for the Kolkata Test in Mumbai yesterday. Vengsarkar, who was chairman of selectors from October 2006 to September 2008, said Indian cricket is in a ‘very sorry state.’ “Of course, there should have been some changes for the third Test, but where are the options,” he asked. “Our cricket is in a very sorry state. The cupboard looks empty. There are no ideal replacements for those who are not performing well. So, unfortunately the selectors have to continue with the non-performing players in the team. It’s a grave issue,” Vengsarkar said. Selection committee chairman Sandeep Patil. Pics/Atul Kamble The Indian spin trio of Pragyan Ojha, R Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh looked out of sorts as compared to their England counterparts Monty Panesar (11 wickets) and Graeme Swann (eight wickets) during the Wankhede Test. Harbhajan, who made a comeback to the Indian Test team after last year’s England tour, was completely off-colour, claiming two lower order batsmen wickets — Stuart Broad and James Anderson. Where was Fletcher? The former India skipper took on the cricket administrators: “There is no grooming process in place for the fringe players. It is baffling to see such lackadaisical approach from the administrators. The team’s preparation for such an important series was very poor,” said Vengsarkar, who has a significant presence in the history of India vs England cricket with three consecutive centuries (1979, 1982, 1986) at Lord’s. Dilip Vengsarkar Coach Duncan Fletcher was also not sparred by Vengsarkar. The Zimbabwean’s 19-month stint with the Indian team since taking over from 2011 World Cup-winning coach Gary Kirsten has been far from being impressive. “Where was he?” fumed Vengsarkar. “Why wasn’t he there during the Ranji Trophy matches and warm-up games? He should have been watching the fringe players’ performance.” The Mumbai and India stalwart backed Ajinkya Rahane to get a spot in the playing XI during the ongoing Test series. “If someone fails to perform even in the third Test, then Rahane should definitely get a look in. He is ready for Test cricket,” signed off Vengsarkar. SharePrint Email

[BeautifulGame]

How very convenient of a former selector to defend current selectors saying there are no options

[rkt.india]

There are plenty of option. You will never get like for like replacement or a readymade Tendulkar or Sehwag. They must look at options in first class cricket. They wont emerge from the sky.

[ravishingravi]

It is hopelessly bleak. But when you mke bad choices and have misplaced priorities you have to face the consequences.

[daindian]

Top wicket taker so far in ranji is shabaz nadeem a spinner Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[DomainK]

No one would have called India's future bleak after the first test. Our future was secured then, in the hands of the new generation of batsmen and bowlers. One bad test and everything changed.

[The Outsider]

No one would have called India's future bleak after the first test. Our future was secured then, in the hands of the new generation of batsmen and bowlers.

I've been saying the future of Indian cricket is bleak for the past year and a half, and I am sure there are plenty others as well.

[ravishingravi]

No one would have called India's future bleak after the first test. Our future was secured then, in the hands of the new generation of batsmen and bowlers. One bad test and everything changed.

I would have. Seeds were sown right after the WC win.

[Number]

No one would have called India's future bleak after the first test. Our future was secured then, in the hands of the new generation of batsmen and bowlers. One bad test and everything changed.

We are expected to go through a rebuilding phase so it will have ups and downs but all around negativity should be avoided and people should remain hopeful and wait. Although corrupt and powerful captain and board chief and dummy selectors are big worry and should go asap.

[rkt.india]

It is not lack of talent it is the system' date=' selectors, coach, captain, currently Indian cricket has more talent then we ever had, in terms of fast bowlers, young talented batsmen, but no one is taking notice.[/quote'] This. People expect to get exceptional talent like SRT which are once in a generation players.

[MCcricket]

It is not lack of talent it is the system, selectors, coach, captain, currently Indian cricket has more talent then we ever had, in terms of fast bowlers, young talented batsmen, even spinners but , no one is taking notice, we have hardly seen any changes in the test , odi, t20 squads, we are seeing the same quota players and recycled failures, Unadkat, Aravind, PK, VK, Bhajji,Tendulkar, Yuvi, Zak, Gambhir needs to play domestic, same for Ishant,. What aren't Pankaj, Gony, Suyal, Shami, Rayudu, other young talented batters and spinners given a chance on A tours, ODI, T20 SQUAD AND WHY AREN'T WE REMOVING THE NON PERFORMERS IN THE TEST SQUAD. The only good thing about the debacle in England and Australia are the A tours, but then the selections are defeating the purpose, Australia, England have improved in cricket recently because they have their priority right, they are identifying and picking up young talent, Indian selectors, especially Cheeka and co, Dhoni, Fletcher are to be blamed big time for the mess we are in, not bench strength, no team options, a captain who has his priorities wrong and clearly has ridden his luck and has no class in captaining and playing test cricket for India

[putrevus]

It is all about expectations how can people expect this Indian team with so many changes and so many dead woods to perform on par to the teams which had Dravid, Laxman, Kumble and co in their prime. It was wrong on Ganguly and that Idiot Manjerkar many like them who before the series were talking as if winning at home was given and it meant nothing to Indian cricket. Dhobi again proved how dumb he is as captain first for overestimating his own spinners and underestimating other team.It back fired spectacularly. All he needed was to look back and see how crucial was Zak and other fast bowlers were in all wins recently at home by asking for the turning tracks which totally negates the reverse swing edge which India has against almost every team when playing at home. Zak and co might not have run thru the batting orders but they always played important role in picking up vital wickets.Even in first test it was seamers who gave the important breaks.

[Number]

All he needed was to look back and see how crucial was Zak and other fast bowlers were in all wins recently at home by asking for the turning tracks which totally negates the reverse swing edge which India has against almost every team when playing at home.

True. Zak and at times Sree and Ishant bowled well to win us test matches in last 3-4 years. Dhoni is overelying on spinners, puts them under pressure to be honest.

[Needforspeed]

Its not as if there are no options. You hava to try out new players. Not all are going to succeed..but unless you try out a few how are we going to know who is going to succeed? Instead we persist with the tried and tested failures. Even after a defeat like the Mumbai one, Dhoni sticks to his usual style of never changing a losing combination. Yuvraj Singh is nowhere near to being a Test cricketer. It time to politely ask Tendulkar to retire and phase out Sehwag and Gambhir. There is still talent out there. Our U-19 team is one of the best in the world. The first step in the rebuilding process is to kick out Dhoni and ask Tendulkar to follow Ponting's example.

[Brainfade]

I've been saying the future of Indian cricket is bleak for the past year and a half' date=' and I am sure there are plenty others as well.[/quote'] It's time to stop pretending that we must all care about success in test cricket. And stop waxing eloquent about how test cricket is "real cricket," like the rest of it is fake in some way. Real cricket is what most Indian fans want to watch and, like it or not, it is not test cricket. We oldies can complain all we want, but the tide has turned for good. We are a dominant very good 50-over LOI team, a mediocre T20 team, and an abysmal test team. Given that our up-and-coming players have greater financial incentive to pursue the LOI formats, it is time for us oldies to embrace them. The cricketing powers-that-be must continue to push for excellence in 50-over LOIs and for for greater success in T20s. Test cricket is just a filler, and I am not going to expend any emotional energy on them! Bring on the ODIs!

[The Outsider]

It's time to stop pretending that we must all care about success in test cricket. And stop waxing eloquent about how test cricket is "real cricket," like the rest of it is fake in some way. Real cricket is what most Indian fans want to watch and, like it or not, it is not test cricket. We oldies can complain all we want, but the tide has turned for good. We are a dominant 50-over LOI team, a mediocre T20 team, and an abysmal test team. Given that our up-and-coming players have greater financial incentive to pursue the LOI formats, it is time for us oldies to embrace them. The cricketing powers-that-be must continue to push for excellence in 50-over LOIs and for for greater success in T20s. Test cricket is just a filler, and I am not going to expend any emotional energy on them! Bring on the ODIs!

You are a person working in the academia who has presumably sacrificed millions of dollars to be able to sit in that lab straining yourself over some result which might end up having no "practical" use and write up a paper which might end up being read by a grand total of 100 people. Or what about the joy you get in explaining a concept of genetics to some 20 year old who might go to the library and check out a book on it, instead of nursing his hangover on a Saturday morning? What's the monetary value of satisfactions like those? And I am not asking or expecting anyone to sacrifice the money and fame associated with limited overs cricket, just that those who choose test cricket over it would earn extra respect. Should I as an oldie embrace T20 and ODI as the main formats? No, I would much rather watch and follow some other sport or do something I enjoy more rather than follow garbage in the name of following cricket.

[Brainfade]

You are a person working in the academia who has presumably sacrificed millions of dollars to be able to sit in that lab straining yourself over some result which might end up having no "practical" use and write up a paper which might end up being read by a grand total of 100 people. Or what about the joy you get in explaining a concept of genetics to some 20 year old who might go to the library and check out a book on it, instead of nursing his hangover on a Saturday morning? What's the monetary value of satisfactions like those? And I am not asking or expecting anyone to sacrifice the money and fame associated with limited overs cricket, just that those who choose test cricket over it would earn extra respect. Should I as an oldie embrace T20 and ODI as the main formats? No, I would much rather watch and follow some other sport or do something I enjoy more rather than follow garbage in the name of following cricket.

First, this is sport, not real life. Even in real life, I tend to be a "blue-collar" academic with a focus on mentoring students in lab/life skills that will find them a job in the biomedical industry, or a seat in health-profession school or grad school. I am a strong advocate for basic research (stuff that folks like you do), and enjoyed it immensely when I did it. But, being at a strictly undergraduate, teaching-first college, I even have the luxury of being able to do research that focuses on practical skill-building. But, I digress ... Your post made me think about the origins of this opinion in my head. Here it is: I am not a fan of cricket itself. I am a fan of *INDIAN* cricket, and it is agonizing to watch my team lose. Given the recent successes in ODIs and continuously abject failures in tests, I have concluded that the shift towards the ODI is inexorable and irreversible. Now, is that really a bad thing? Not being a puritan, I don't think it is. Here's why: 50-over LOIs and T-20 cricket (esp. the IPL) provide more accessibility and opportunity for the average cricketer to make a good living. So, why push a less lucrative option on them as the means to ultimate cricketing success just because a few ivory tower fans like it the way it was in 1980? The new paradigm is as anti-elitist as it gets, and that alone tips the scale for me. And then throw in the fact that I simply do not have the patience anymore to watch or keep up with the 5-day match (or 3.5 days in India's case), test cricket has simply become a drag. I still have some interest left and celebrate Indian-team successes, but don't agonize when we lose.