A Rebellion to Test Cricket May be 'Brewing' in India

2008, Chennai:

India is hosting South Africa in a 3-Test series. On the eve of the first Test I find myself in the hotel room of an Indian player. Back after an extended training session in the morning, the player is sipping iced tea. I help myself to a cup of coffee, not the filter coffee variety that Chennai is famous for, but a cup made from the many branded instant coffee powders that are now standard in rooms of 5 star hotels around the world.

We talk cricket, mainly about the tour of Australia last summer, where India lost a closely contested Test series. But the conversation lacks flavour, muchlike my instant coffee.

Then I notice something interesting. My cricketer friend has the logo of the IPL team that's just signed him for a few crores, displayed on the home screen of his mobile phone. We get talking again. He speaks very passionately about the city he would be playing for in the next few months. This conversation has more flavour than Jamaica's blue mountain coffee. So what if he hasn't met any one of his teammates yet? So what if his IPL team is currently just an identity on paper? And so what if his new team's first ever training session is still a month away?

May 2012, Kolkata:

I'm in the city to attend a friend's wedding. The function is in the evening, and I decide to make the most of my free time during the day by fixing up an interview with Wriddhiman Saha. The Bengal wicket-keeper is being hailed as MS Dhoni's backup, especially in the long format of the game, after a very successful domestic season. He is the highest run-getter in the Vijay Hazare Trophy that his team won. He also averages over 100 in the Ranji Trophy this season.

I hail a cab to Rajarhat, Saha's residence. The roads are jammed. "Why so much traffic today?" I ask the driver.

"Don't you know Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is felicitating the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens?"

"Of course," I say, reminded that the Gautam Gambhir-led team had just returned to the city after winning their maiden IPL title. "After dropping you, I too intend to go there with my son. He wants to see his favourite player - Manvendra Bisla", says the cab driver. We cross Eden Gardens on our way. 3 hours before the felicitation is to begin, kilometer long serpentine queues outside the stadium gates are hard to miss. We reach our destination an hour late. I don't feel the delay. The driver's version of 'how the IPL was won' keeps me in good humour.

Rs 410 is my taxi fare. I pay 500. The driver doesn't have enough change to return. I take back the 500, pay him 400 and ask him if he would be kind enough to come up with me to the cricketer's apartment so that I can pay him the remaining Rs 10.

"Cricketer? Which cricketer?" There's excitement in the driver's voice. "Wriddhiman Saha", I say.

A blank expression is all I get in return. "He's played a Test and a few ODIs for India you know," I continue. Nothing from the driver still. After a long pause, "Nah, I'll wait here. You go and get the money."

I return in precisely 3 minutes. The driver has left.

I go back upstairs and ask Saha whether he too is planning to head to Eden Gardens after the interview. "No, I haven't been invited," he replies.

Later in the day, I'm watching news on TV. "A total of 200,000 cricket fans turned up at the Eden Gardens today. Only 67,000 were allowed inside. The ones outside were dispersed by the stick-wielding cops of Kolkata," the newsreader tells me.

Nov 2012, Vadodara:

Baroda have lost their biggest name to a knee injury in the very first game of their Ranji Trophy campaign. It's a crucial season for the all-rounder if he wants to make a return into the Indian Test squad. 5 months and 8 games later,Baroda's 2012-13 Ranji campaign is over. The all-rounder didn't feature in any of those games. Less than 3 months later, the IPL begins. The same player plays 15 out of the 16 games for his franchise that season.

Nov 2013, Vadodara:

Baroda's star all-rounder isn't fit for the start of another Ranji season. In the next 3 months he will eventually play just three 4-day matches for his state side, all as a batsman. He doesn't bowl a single over till Baroda's last game in January. 3 months later, the IPL begins. The same player plays 10 out of 14 games for his franchise that season... primarily as a bowler.

Sep 2013, Noida:

Md Kaif is included in the India-A team to play West Indies-A. It is a surprise selection. He last played a Test for India 7 years ago and has been out of the reckoning ever since. This is his chance to get his foot in the door. I call him for an interview and he asks me to come to a ground he would be practicing the same evening. By the time I reach he's already batting in the nets with a group of 14-18 year olds bowling. I watch intently.

An hour into the batting session, Kaif takes off his gloves and walks out of the nets. It isn't a water break. He waves his hand and calls out for the fastest, most promising looking pace bowler. I eavesdrop. Unhappy with the youngster experimenting with every ball he's bowling, the former Test player speaks to him about the importance of bowling consistent line & length. It serves a dual purpose: a) The young bowler would improve, b) persistent line & length would help the Test veteran prepare better for the challenges that lie ahead of him.

Post the brief chat the net session resumes. The young bowler reaches the top of his run-up, I hear him mutter "B*ll S**t good length. In T20 cricket you just have 4 overs to prove yourself. At this rate I would never get an IPL contract."

Present Day, New Delhi:

I pick up the morning newspaper. The top sports headline reads - "Keep Test specialists out of the IPL: Stephen Fleming."

Fleming is and has been the coach of Chennai Super Kings, the most successful team in IPL history, for 6 years now.

I don't think cricket journalists are "jealous of the IPL" as MS Dhoni would have you believe. I don't begrudge the cricketers their millions. Don't we all aspire to make more money?

But to say the IPL hasn't vitiated Test cricket in India, I'm loath to believe.

There's a reason why most Indian fast bowlers can't bowl in more than 5 over bursts during Test matches, why most Indian batsmen don't have the patience to bat for over 5 hours and blunt the bowlers' resolve, and why most Indian fielders don't have the concentration levels required to stand in the slips for hours on end, waiting for that elusive edge.

IPL is instant coffee. And it's no surprise that instant coffee sells more than the freshly brewed variety across the globe. Personally though, I prefer a French press.