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Get cricket priorities right

That the Indian team currently looks so much better in one-day cricket than in Tests should generate concern, not euphoria. The Men in Blue have scored a world record of 16 consecutive wins-while-chasing (the previous record of 14 was held by Clive Lloyd's West Indies), and have won 18 of their last 24 matches. Over the past six months, a team of multi-dimensional, versatile players capable of holding their nerve and adjusting to challenging situations has emerged. Comprehensive series wins against Sri Lanka (6-1), Pakistan (4-1), and England (5-1) have signalled that India will be a strong contender for the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean. There has been a shift away from individualism; the new Team India is a well-oiled machine of inter-changeable parts where newcomers are welcome and slot in instantly. Much of this recent success might have come in the chase on batting-friendly pitches but the signs are most propitious. Wicket-keeper M.S. Dhoni — a symbol of New India — recently displaced Ricky Ponting as the world's top-ranking ODI batsman, with a 52.76 average and a strike rate of 103 per cent; India has three of the world's top 10 one-day batsmen; Yuvraj Singh has scored a hat-trick of Man of the Series awards; Irfan Pathan, currently the world's third-ranking ODI bowler as well as all-rounder, offers numerous options; Suresh Raina has given intimations of something special; and helmsman Rahul Dravid has led with authority, elegance, and imagination while averaging 45+ as skipper. Vitally, coach Greg Chappell's philosophy of collective responsibility gives Team India coherence, offensive capability, and resilience.

In Test cricket, sadly, India has failed to measure up, clearly slipping from its close-to-world-beating level of 2003-2004. The team has still won five and lost only two of 11 Tests this season; and is ranked number three in the world (the same position as in ODIs). But the two losses were crushing and recalled an old failing. With the series on the line, India's batsmen faltered, batting last, against Pakistan in Karachi, and against an under-strength England in Mumbai. And they were put in this situation because the bowlers lacked sustained firepower and, as though this were not enough, were let down by poor close catching. A middle order in churn, beset with injury worries and form slumps, left India unhealthily dependent on one man, Dravid. It will take quite a lot to bring about a turnaround in Test cricket — considered by a majority of cricketers as well as purists as the game that really matters. Something akin to tabloidisation in the media world has altered the priorities of Indian cricket. Has the cricket administration over-privileged the money-spinning short format — the equivalent of a Beethoven symphony or a Thyagaraja kriti in 11 minutes — to the detriment of the classical offering? And have Indian crowds, by their exaggerated preference for bang-bang cricket, brought this upon themselves? The time to start re-privileging Test cricket is now.

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