India and the BCCI may have won but cricket loses

In an ideal world, the 10th/11th of September would’ve marked the start of an unparalleled adventure for India in the 21st century. Not only were they looking to seal their second Test series victory this century, they were also looking to reign supreme at Old Trafford – a fortress that visiting teams have often found tough to breach.

Yet, in the current world, discernibly gripped by the uncertainty of COVID-19, hardly anything can be taken for granted, meaning that with history beckoning, India now have to pack their bags, all while harboring thoughts of what might’ve been and of course, how deeply this deadly virus has permeated their team environment.

Thus, it is fair to say that these are unprecedented times have, more than once, impacted India’s cricketing calendar. And, that these unprecedented times, despite all the precautions taken by various cricket boards have still ended up having more of a say than anyone would’ve liked.

COVID-19 has definitely disrupted cricketing calendars lately. Quite often, series have also been postponed or suspended. In fact, India’s T20I rubber against the Sri Lanka in July was on the verge of undergoing a similar fate.

Yet, to the BCCI’s credit, they reined in all their fears, put up a courageous front and fielded an incredibly second-string side. They ultimately lost that series 2-1 but that too fizzled into the periphery because of what India had done to ensure that the show went ahead, despite the obvious and perilous predicaments. India were one injury away from fielding Rahul Dravid, for goodness’ sake.

However, there is another spin to this tale.

Just a couple of months later, when faced with a similar situation, the BCCI and India have adopted to cancel a Test match altogether. That it was the fifth instalment of a gripping series and that it could still have a massive bearing on how the World Test Championship table shapes up only adds to the drama.

To say that this decision was completely unwarranted would amount to blowing things out of proportion because, well, it isn’t. There are significant concerns within the Indian camp, especially in light of how dangerous and long-lasting COVID-19 can be. To be pristinely clear, none of them are dumbfounded in any way.

The problematic aspect, though, is how India have managed to bulldoze their way out of this situation, rather than adhere to the standards that all other cricket boards bar the BCCI have to.

The ECB have confirmed that the 5th Test between England and India, due to begin today in Manchester, has been CANCELLED #EngvInd pic.twitter.com/dRE6FZdPYO

— Vithushan Ehantharajah (@Vitu_E) September 10, 2021

Ideally, even though the regulations of the World Test Championship state slightly otherwise, it seems a little intriguing that India, especially armed with so many players that they could contest a mini-series themselves, were “regrettably unable to field a team”.

Funnily enough, as soon as the news became official, the England and Wales Cricket Board put out a statement suggesting that India had also “regrettably forfeited” the match, meaning that the series would then be levelled 2-2. Within moments, that particular bit was taken out and the BCCI has since confirmed that India had not forfeited the match in any shape or form.

If the Test series was the only thing on the BCCI and India’s agenda, they could well have waited for a few days, allowed things to calm down, gain clarity on who might be identified a “close contact” and then move the series towards the finale it deserved.

Instead, the second leg of the IPL, which was suspended after the bio-bubbles were somehow breached in April and May in India, has been squeezed in from the 19th of September.

India's players will participate in the IPL beginning 19th September

Even if the Test had gone ahead as slated, players such as Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav would’ve had only 3 days to prepare. That, by the way, doesn’t even include the grind the quartet has to go through post the IPL.

The risk of a burnout (both mentally and physically) was anyway something that the top brass had conveniently ignored. Now, the complications that a delayed start to the second leg of the IPL might bring, may have even forced the BCCI to exert its influence and call off the 5th Test altogether.

Again, this seems counter intuitive for a team that is captained by Virat Kohli, who has regularly stated that Test cricket is the gold standard. In the end though, one feels that the IPL has triumphed over Test cricket in the short-term and when a country such as India is professing that idea, it doesn’t shine too brightly on the rest of the cricketing world.

Apart from that, the fact that the BCCI has somehow convinced (could be read as pressurized) the ECB into not forfeiting the match is also quite astonishing.

Update: The BCCI and ECB held several rounds of discussion to find a way to play the match, however, the outbreak of Covid-19 in the Indian team contingent forced the decision of calling off the Old Trafford Test.Details: https://t.co/5EiVOPPOBB

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 10, 2021

Remember, India could have easily fielded 11 fit players for the Old Trafford game, much like they did at against Sri Lanka at Colombo in July 2021. Additionally, England very recently picked an entirely new squad against Pakistan when three of their players who had played against the Islanders had returned positive COVID-19 tests. Thus, there is enough precedent.

But the BCCI and India didn’t choose to do so. And, once that happens, there is hardly anything any other cricket board can do.

The counter argument to that could be that England did something very similar on their tour to South Africa in December 2020 when a string of COVID-19 cases rendered a potentially exciting series moot.

However, it must also be noted that that rubber was being conducted inside what seemed a bio-bubble, meaning that when the bubble was breached, there was simply no way of it being contained.

In India’s case, there has been no bio-bubble this summer. Partly because the United Kingdom is one of the better countries, in terms of its vaccination dosages but also because such an arduous tour would take a mental toll on players, if they were asked to confine themselves to bio-bubbles.

That, though, always came with a caveat – a caveat that hinted that there could eventually be some cases in the Indian camp and one that has ominously reared its ugly head over the past few days.

Virat Kohli and his men were within touching distance of history

Thus, the entire narrative of India flying back home without playing the 5th Test can be looked at from different lenses. While India are certainly right and warranted in raising concerns about the players’ safety and of course, of those travelling along with them, the way that this entire saga has been handled has left a lot to be desired.

From a broader perspective, though, it casts light on how the power dynamic of world cricket might be working and if it is too skewed in the BCCI’s favour at present. If one were to be blunter, it could even be a warning sign for the rest of the world that one entity is holding so much sway over the others.

India and the BCCI almost always get their way and perhaps this episode is just going to stoke that fire further. If it remains sustainable and if it leads to far-reaching consequences is a debate better left for another day.

Yet, for a summer that had seen its fair share of manic moments, it seems a pity that it has come to this. Nature has played its part but India and the BCCI’s administrative muscle may not be too far behind.

Ironically, an occasion that was meant to be the sweetest of them all this English summer has left a bitter or sour taste (depending on your allegiances), with cricket and more specifically, Test cricket being the only loser.