First Test is Not Warm Up. A Former Indian Cricketer Lashes Out. Who is It?

Criticism has been leveled against the Indian cricket team for the manner in which they have approached the all important India England Test series. And the fact that the West Indies tour has not served the purpose of being the warm up to the build up is what has irked former Indian cricketer, Sanjay Manjrekar.

Suresh Raina

It was not a hidden fact that several Indian cricketers missed the tour of the West Indies either by way of being rested or being injured and allowed to recuperate in time for the tour of England. The problem though with this plan , as previously stated, was that it did not give the Indian cricketers, even the experienced ones, ideal time in the middle ahead of a tour against a team that has been equally impressive in their consistent run in the past couple of years and also, given that the no.1 Test rankings could also change hands if India lost the series by a margin of two more Tests.

Given the factors under which many of the leading Indian cricketers would be playing their first Test since India’s tour of South Africa in January, Manjrekar lashed out that India were treating the first Test at Lord’s as a warm up the series. What strengthens his argument is one of the concerns raised earlier when Zaheer Khan, still recuperating apparently, had only one chance to bowl an innings in the tour match against Somerset before being drafted into the first Test at Lord’s.

Looked at it another way, it is quite understandable why India did bring Zaheer Khan into the series without wasting any time. The difference was quite apparent when Zaheer Khan was part of the line up and when he wasn’t, particularly on the Indian tour of South Africa. Naturally India perhaps felt insecure not to have the psychological advantage in having Zaheer Khan who has repeatedly tormented the England Test captain, Andrew Strauss, in particular.

However, Manjrekar is livid that decisions regarding players’ fitness and injury management are not being made the BCCI. In fact what Manjrekar has to say is nothing new because the debates and discussions surrounding the Indian team selection for the tour of the West Indies. There were several questions raised as to why Indian cricketers were allowed to participate in the IPL 4, and that even the BCCI had erred in scheduling the IPL 4 so close to the conclusion of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. In that light, several questions were asked about what was in India’s best interests. Those questions were loud when the team to the West Indies bore little resemblance to the team that set forth for England.

That India have gone into the series against England with barely a tour match that involved a rain affected match against Somerset when they last played a Test match in January has meant that India have not only been away from Test cricket for a considerable period of time, necessitating the need for a warm up to get into the groove, but also, assessing the fitness of players who would participate in the tour of England. That there appears to be an efficient manner in which India have gone into the Test series, playing out rather tragically in the course of the first Test, it is not surprising that there are the voices of a few former cricketers who are unimpressed by the manner in which the tour has been handled.