But it's difficult to let India's batters play leagues abroad, says coach Dravid
ADELAIDE: Alex Hales has played for Melbourne Renegades, Adelaide Strikers, Hobart Hurricanes and Sydney Thunder in Australia's Big Bash League. Jos Buttler has played in the Big Bash since 2013, turning out for teams like Melbourne Renegades and Sydney Thunder.
England's dynamic opening duo chased down India's runs with practiced ease at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday night while India's own top-order found run-making difficult and the pitch a bit difficult.
India, in fact, have struggled throughout to adapt to these early summer Australian conditions, ensuring slow starts in the batting Powerplay, while the familiarity of the English batters with these conditions is evident in their march to the World Cup final.
Leaving aside the economics of the IPL, should the Indian cricket board (BCCI) allow some Indian batters in contention for T20I spots to play in these leagues, at least ahead of big events?
India coach Rahul Dravid, forone, agrees that more familiarity with Australian conditions would have been nice, but feels the demand it would generate for Indian cricketers would lead to the death of domestic tournaments like the Ranji Trophy, which in turn would hurt Test cricket.
"There's no doubt that England (are more familiar with Australian conditions)," Dravid said. "A lot of their players have come here and played (in T20 leagues). In this tournament, it certainly showed. It's tough, it's very difficult (for India players to play in these leagues) because a lot of these tournaments happen right in the peak of our season. It's a huge challenge for us. I think a lot of our boys do miss out on the opportunity to play in these leagues. It's really up to the BCCI to make that decision. But with the demand there would be for Indian players, if you allowed all the Indian players to play in these leagues, we would not have domestic cricket. Our Ranji Trophy would be finished, and that would mean our Test cricket would be finished. We've seen what it's done to West Indiescricket, and I would definitely not want Indian cricket to go that way. Indian boys playing Test cricket is pretty important for the Test game."
Be that as it may, the familiarity with conditions was what tilted the scales in the England top-order's favour in the World Cup semifinal. "When the game started, the boys were saying it's a bit tacky, a bit slower. But they bowled really well, they hit good lengths, they didn't let us get away. At the 15-over mark we were 15-20 short, in the end it looked like we were a lot shorter," said Dravid.
With the ball too, India were poor. Dravid said the lack of swing played into England's hands. "The ball didn't swing here as much as it has in other parts of Australia. Buttler and Hales were fantastic. They just put the pressure on us and never let go. Even when our spinners came on, on a wicket where we thought we could control the game, they counter-attacked our spinners. On a small ground like that, they were always in control."
Buttler agreed playing in the Big Bash had led to increased familiarity with local conditions, just like in the IPL. "It helps, obviously," he said. "Alex would have played as much Big Bash cricket as anyone, and his performance tonight was amazing."
Buttler said the foundation of the win was laid by England's bowlers, especially the spinners, who were allowed to get away with some good overs. "Adil Rashid led the attack fantastically well. The bowlers were outstanding and hit good lengths. To take a wicket early in the Powerplay (that of KL Rahul) was fantastic."
India's domestic cricketers being barred from playing in T20 leagues abroad is a controversial call: it restricts their employment opportunities but retaining the primacy of the IPL, which is the only league where India's top cricketers are currently on view, is important for stakeholders. The issue of making sure players feature in domestic first-class cricket, as Dravid mentioned, is an equally important factor.
In the meantime, there is a World Cup semifinal lost because India's top order and bowlers could not adapt quickly enough to the conditions, while England's did.
