Post the disastrous T-20 World Cup campaign in the UAE, the new-look Indian Team under a different coach and captain finally found something to cheer for against New Zealand at home in the T-20 series. Sadly, only a handful was gung-ho about the feat as the current home series could not have been more ill-timed. To put things in perspective, one only needs to imagine India instead of Australia as one of the finalists in the clash against New Zealand to grab the coveted T-20 trophy. Three days after the final in Dubai, a short bilateral series between India and Kiwis only reveals the poor strategy that is becoming a hallmark with regard to India’s Future Tour Programme (FTP). No wonder some current Indian superstars and the outgoing coach have ascribed to workload management and exasperating bio bubble life for the early departure from the T-20 carnival in the UAE.
However, more than the bizarre ways of the BCCI and wretched forms of Rahane-Pujara in Tests, a new Covid variant is causing a lot of concern for Indian cricket. The B 1.1.529 variant, named Omicron by the WHO, is wreaking havoc in South Africa, where India’s senior team is poised to play a full-fledged series in December-January 2021-22. Also, India A team is already in the sub-Saharan country locked in a fierce battle with Proteas’ A team and bringing them back safely is no less an arduous task.
It is still not clear whether India’s senior team will travel to South Africa at the beginning of December and even if the tour goes as scheduled strict quarantine rules and new restrictions will only add to the ever-increasing fatigue over bio bubble environment among players, a major irritant among them. The new Covid threat has snowballed into a major catastrophe that has cast a shadow over the Ashes series to be held in Australia, where two cases of Omicron have been detected.
Talking about the Ashes, starting from December 8 onwards, apart from the fear of the new Covid variant, several other issues have dogged one of the biggest rivalries in the cricketing world. Firstly, the allegations by a Pakistan-born cricketer Azeem Rafiq about the existence of rampant racism in the Yorkshire Cricket Club. While detailing the behavioral pattern of English cricketers towards players of Asian descent, Rafiq alluded to the involvement of former England batsman Micheal Vaughan in the unsavoury act. This has not only brought back the ugly side of English cricket but also highlighted the reluctance on the part of the authorised officials to act on the matter promptly.
Another episode to negatively affect the Ashes series is the involvement of ex-captain Tim Paine in a sexting episode of the past. Paine had sent some lewd messages to a female colleague in 2017 that fell into the public domain recently. But the wicket-keeper batsman apologised immediately for the incident and took an indefinite break from cricket as well. Sadly, the game in which the ball and bat are supposed to do most of the talking is dominated by matters that are anything but cricket. So, one can only hope for these things to die down soon and the game to be in the limelight for on-field milestones rather than distasteful sagas.
