Bring Back English County clubs in front of Youngsters

India's loss to England in the current series is very similar to India's loss against Australia in 1991-92 Test series. Apart from the common factor like matches played away from Indian subcontinent, there are quite good similarities.

1. Australia won 4-0 there. England won 3-1 here, the only difference being the closely fought match in Adelaide, where India could have won in 1992. India pulled it off in Lords here in 2014.
2. Both were against tough opponents, great Test playing nation in form of Australia and England.
3. One test match out of 5 match series ended in a draw.
4. Australia won by thumping margins back then...They won by 10 wickets in 1st match, by 8 wickets in 2nd match, by 38 runs in 4th match and by 300 runs in 5th test..
5. England won the 3rd test by 266 runs, 4th test by an innings and 44 runs, 5th test by an innings and 244 runs.

No doubt, we need to consider the two teams and players who represented the Indian side respectively!!! Taking the margin of defeats and expectations from the sides by Indian fans, the after effects of the defeats are similar. Sachin's two knocks in Sydney and Perth during 1991-92 were enlightening, whereas Kohli's miserable performances in 2014 throws a dark picture for future Indian test cricket. As a fan, we all need some spark, which should make us feel that Test cricket is alive and kicking. I took the example of Australian series to drive home this point. Kohli and Pujara could not pull it off throughout the series.

At the end of a worst foreign test tour, we always had some spark in the past. Be it Azharuddin's elegant centuries, Child prodigy Sachin's attacking 100s against world quickies, Laxman's 167 in Sydney after 3-0 defeat in 1999, Ganguly's Lords Debut hundred, Dravid's lone man effort in England during 2011 - we knew for sure that Test match is still the number one priority for our Indian players. 

I will not do justice, if I mention only the list of Batsmen. Kapil Dev beating the defence of world class test batsmen, Javagal Srinath's spell in Johannesberg, Anil Kumble's spell in Sydney and boxing day effort, Zaheer Khan's match winning spells in England (when we won the test series under Rahul Dravid), Ajit Agarkar's "6 for" against Aussies in Adelaide, Sreesanth's peach of delivery to dismiss Kallis and finally Ishant's match winning spell at Lords in 2014 told us that Bowlers at test level is also ready to prioritise Test matches.

But, why current Indian players are not feeling the pinch ? Is it the Preparation before a Test match ? Is the answer lying in Indian domestic circuit ? Is it the IPL factor ? We can go on and dig deep into each of the points mentioned above and find answers, but according to me, it would not bring a solution to this existing problem. I am thinking that Indian players should be allowed to represent English county seasons and be contracted for a full season. Kohli, Vijay, Rahane, Pujara and Rohit are all talents tuned as of now to play ODIs, where the real test of skills is not tested as it is in Tests. We have to include Suresh Raina too in this list of youngsters. All the greats who excelled in foreign wickets have represented County cricket clubs and have brought laurels to their respective nation.

Bowlers should also get a due share of their travel and participate in English county clubs. This is one stop solution to me, for the bad results that we are showing in Test matches in foreign conditions. Of course, we are open to this idea, as frequent tours to Australia by India A team is happening, but England conditions will tune the players better. Look at what IPL did to all the foreign players with respect to their performance in Indian conditions. If we have to fare well in their wickets, find time to represent English county clubs...

With due regard to Mr. Ravi Shastri's achievements in International circuit and his recent appointment to be the elder brother for Indian team in this messy scenario, I still feel that our board is not addressing the right issue. Once, Mr. Sunil Gavaskar mentioned that Ranji Trophy matches should be changed to produce results more, rather than to teach players to put all their effort for 1st innings lead. IPL has created a bad spirit between BCCI and English board wherein we don't find their players representing IPL teams. Still, they can win a test series in India.

All these factors add to the solution box, but utmost important thing to do is to encourage our youngsters to represent English county clubs and tune their skills better. Sachin, Dravid, Laxman, Ganguly and Kumble would be happy to see it happen and so do we, as fans of this wonderful sport. Let not Money power spoil the minds of youngsters who are thrusted with the responsibility of carrying the torch for Test cricket. As Dhoni rightly points out, it is a Process and we should not judge this current team by Results.

Regards,
MS Prasanth.