Lack of preparation visible in India's defeat

In the end it doesn't even matter. This may be the iconic line from a song by the American rock band Linkin Park but the Indian Test cricket team may well have this as its tagline. It tried so hard, got so far but had to fall to lose it all.

For the second edition in succession India did exceedingly well to reach the World Test Championship Final, the only team to do so. On both occasions, however, it had to swallow the bitter pill of loss. Could the script have been different if the BCCI paid a little more attention to the team's needs ahead of a marquee match? Given how India went down fighting till the last ball of the match, a little more preparation time for the red-ball format could have made a world of difference to their fortunes.

Consider this: Nine members of India's playing XI for the World Test Championship Final were actively part of the Indian Premier League. Wicketkeeper KS Bharat was in the Gujarat Titans squad but didn't get a single match in the T20 league while Cheteshwar Pujara was plying his trade in County cricket for Sussex.

Australia, on the other hand, had two of their main batters - Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne - slogging it out in the premier English domestic cricket. More importantly, barring David Warner and Cameron Green, none of the other playing XI members was part of the IPL. Skipper Pat Cummins and fellow paceman Mitchell Starc, sure-fire picks, had pulled out of IPL players' auction, opting to focus more on Test cricket, while most others didn't find favour with the franchises. Australia, however, are none the worse for it.

Untouched by T20 habits, Australians have appeared, by some distance, better prepared for the WTC Final than their Indian counterparts - especially the batters. Having clobbered attacks in the white-ball format on pitches that were bowlers' slaughterhouses, Indian batters have found the transition tough in completely contrasting conditions.

It is one thing to face one or two top-class international pacers for about eight overs on absolute belters and in conditions where swing is minimal and seam is almost absent. But it's quite another task to take on four tall fast bowlers on a pitch where some balls nip back (Shubman Gill and Pujara will vouch for it) sharply and the odd ball bounces awkwardly (ask Virat Kohli).

The Indians knew this was exactly the challenge they were up against but weren't prepared for it adequately. No matter how great a batsman you are, it's not easy to unlearn the habits of two months in about a week's time. That too in "nets". Kohli had been beating the hell out of leather in IPL, playing all comers on the front foot. On Thursday, he was so committed on the front foot against Starc that he couldn't get out of the line of the rising ball.

That said, the blame can't be pinned on players alone. Unlike foreign superstars, India's big guns can't take a break from IPL lest they earn the ire of the Board of Control for Cricket in India which at no cost wants to compromise on the profile of the tournament. It's not just the BCCI, even the broadcasters and the franchises will not agree to Kohli or Rohit Sharma skipping an edition or a few matches in order to prepare for a Test match because they aren't just cricketers but are a brand in themselves. They attract fans and sponsors, and raise the profile of their respective teams.

It's a pity that a team that does all the hard running over a two-year cycle to qualify for the final doesn't give itself the best chance to win it. And this is unlikely to be rectified any time soon.

The first WTC cycle began in August 2019 but a disruption due to the Covid outbreak meant the inaugural edition had to be rejigged so far as the qualification process to the final was concerned. The second cycle began in June 2021 and concluded towards the end of March. Unlike the last cycle, there was no certainty over the second finalist until the final lunch session of the fourth Test between India and Australia in Ahmedabad (March 13). A week after the final Test of the cycle between New Zealand and Sri Lanka, IPL 2023 kicked off.

The 2023-25 cycle commences on June 16 with the Ashes and is officially scheduled to end in February, but the ICC has already decided to host the upcoming WTC Final in June at Lord's because the timing of the match rules out most countries as potential venues due to inclement weather. The ongoing final too was scheduled to be held at Lord's but due to sponsorship issues, it was shifted to The Oval.

That brings us to the question: Why only England to host the WTC Final?

That the first edition of the WTC Final was held in the land where the game originated was understandable. There was a historical significance to it. But to continue to hold it in England suggests the game, despite the end of imperialism, is still a slave to colonial mentality. Since the ICC has been accommodative of BCCI's extended IPL window which is set to expand even more, is the Indian Board also sort of compelled to give in to certain decisions by the global body even if it means compromising on the team's preparedness for an important ICC event?

While the BCCI's commitment to preserve the sanctity of Test cricket is unquestionable, it should extend the same to the Indian team as well. It's cruel to make them play two months of IPL in India and expect them to be ready for a Test match in about a week's time against the No. 1 side in the world in difficult conditions. Is there a way around it? For sure. But for that, tough decisions must be taken, as former head coach Ravi Shastri said the other day, including, if necessary, taking a hard-line stance with the franchises.