In just approximately a year, the Indian cricket team's fortunes have taken a turn for the worse. It was in April 2011 that Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team lifted the World Cup and the entire nation rejoiced. Since then, India struggled to beat the West Indies, no longer a force to reckon with, in the Caribbean. That was followed by a 0-4 drubbing in tests and a 0-5 loss in one-day internationals in England. This was followed by a 0-4 defeat in Australia, although India managed to salvage some pride in the tri-series one-day internationals.Business Linespoke to Mr N. Srinivasan, President, Board of Control for Cricket in India, on the state of Indian cricket.

Excerpts from the interview:

Last April to now, it is a different scenario as far as Indian cricket is concerned. We were on a roll then, and we could do nothing wrong. Now it is the opposite. What has caused this dramatic change?

I won't say that there is a dramatic change. We haven't done well in overseas tours. However, we had West Indies and England visit us and we won hands down. One can't say there is a complete change. Yes, one has to admit that the results of overseas tours weren't up to expectations. However, you can take heart from the last match that India played against Sri Lanka, where they batted brilliantly.

But, isn't that a small consolation for a team that was No. 1 in rankings, to say that we chased a huge total in one match and won it?

That isn't the consolation. I do admit that the performance overseas hasn't been what we expected. However, we performed better in the One-Day International series than in the tests.

It is historical that we haven't performed well overseas. Is there something fundamentally wrong with the Indian cricket system?

I don't think you can say that. We have had good overseas tours. The earlier tour to Australia was good. The earlier tour to England was also good. I don't think one can generalise and say that our overseas performance is bad. We have won abroad. It so happens that (in) the recent two tours to England and Australia, the results were disappointing. By that token, we have consistently performed well at home. We lost to England comprehensively, but we beat them in India.

Doesn't it then justify the view that India plays well only when the pitch isn't giving the bowlers much help?

I don't think so. As I said, we have performed well abroad. We have done well in the West Indies and South Africa. That isn't a fair comment, although the last two tours abroad haven't produced the best of results. You cannot take that to generalise the Indian team's performance.

Was this expected at all? First the 0-4 defeat to England, and then the loss to Australia…

No, this wasn't expected. We definitely expected to do much better. We will wait for the coach to return and brief us.

The bench strength also doesn't seem to be exciting…

At a time when we don't perform well, all these questions arise. None of these doubts were there 10 months ago. I suppose the cricket establishment has to face this till the team's performance doesn't warrant such discussions.

Most countries don't hesitate to drop senior players if their performance is below par. Ricky Ponting being dropped from the Australian one-day squad is the best example, even though he had a wonderful test series against India. Why is it that we don't tell our senior players enough is enough and always wait for them to hang up their boots?

This is essentially a selection matter. During the England tour, Rahul Dravid performed extremely well. The BCCI administration cannot take a policy on people you referred to as seniors. I believe we sent the best team, both to England and Australia. So, one can't blame one group of people.

Yes, there is the selection committee. But as the cricket board, don't you give directions to the selection committee as to what you want?

No, we always ask for the best team. I don't think anybody said this wasn't the best team when they left for Australia or England.

Will there now be a move to have pitches that have bounce and pace in India rather than spin-friendly pitches?

Yes, we have been looking to encourage sporting wickets, so that our players can get used to fast pitches while at home also. It isn't as if we aren't used to pitches abroad. We regularly send our A team abroad. We will have more tours to countries like England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies.

The last few years we have been sending our teams abroad and we will continue to do so. The combination of the two should give them a better exposure.

There is another complaint that there is too much of cricket being played, because of which players are fatigued, and viewers aren't excited any more…

I don't know what the viewers are saying, but I don't think we are playing more cricket than our competitors.

But then, we don't have the national players playing domestic cricket. When was the last time we had test players playing for their States?

You must look at the timing of these matches. Most of the in-bound tours happen during our domestic season. Most of the time, our international players aren't available because they are actually playing. This is one of the reasons. We are aware of this and we will try to see what we can do to improve this situation.

There is also this notion that some players can take their place in the team for granted…

I don't know what exactly you mean.

That whatever their performance, they are guaranteed of a place in the 14 or the 16, if not the playing 11…

I don't know, but I think the policy has been to select the best team…

Irrespective of current form?

No, it isn't a question of current form. The best available team should be chosen because we want to win.

There is so much criticism against the Board of Control for Cricket in India. That it is against technology in the form of umpire decision review system (UDRS), that it is against more stringent monitoring of players for drug abuse… Is that criticism justified?

I think this is a complete misunderstanding of the situation. As far as drug testing is concerned, the BCCI position is clear. The problem that we had was for out-of-competition testing. The issue was the filing of whereabouts when not in competition. There were practical problems, including security issues for our players. This was explained to ICC. ICC didn't quite see our stand. But then we discussed it with WADA, and a practical solution emerged.

This is a clear case where the BCCI took up the case of the players in the interest of the players and got a solution within what WADA considered was their boundaries. One cannot say that we are relaxing any rules. We are as much against the use of drugs as any other nation.

The case of the DRS isn't that BCCI is against technology, although we can point out to many other games which are equally popular in their hemispheres, and which haven't adopted technology, even though they have access to it.

They have kept the game in the shape it was when it started. We are saying the technology should be perfect. Be it is the ball-monitoring system or hotspot, both have proved to be fallible. I am reading reports that even those countries which were supportive of the DRS are turning sceptical. It is a question of being logical.

You explained BCCI's position as far as drug abuse is concerned, but a player of the stature of Dravid made this speech that players must be prepared for some amount of breach of their privacy for the overall good of the game. Is that a signal he is sending to the cricket administrators?

No. I don't look at it as a signal to the cricket establishment in India. That is the view of Rahul Dravid. But we have taken a position which is consistent with our position of zero tolerance to use of steroids.

The BCCI seems to be at loggerheads with almost everyone — the Sports Ministry, the broadcast rights holder and the team sponsor. What is that due to?

We have no issues with the Ministry of Sports. We have given our views on the Sports Bill as it was proposed then. We had reservations on several parts of the Bill. Our views were only in relation to the Bill on which our comments were called for. As regards the broadcast rights, the matter is before courts. But it was on the basis that there was a contract with the broadcaster, and for good reason, the BCCI terminated the contract. It cannot be interpreted that BCCI is at loggerheads with the broadcaster. If the BCCI enters into an agreement, which specifies payment for the product that is offered, namely, the television rights, then all aspects of the contract have to be honoured. Else, BCCI will have to protect its rights, which is what happened in this case.

The problem with Sahara…

All matters with regard to Sahara have been in the public domain. There are no issues at present. The issue is resolved.

There have been tax demands on BCCI?

It is true that many assessments have been reopened and demands have been raised. BCCI is in the process of replying to all of them. And where necessary, is filing appropriate appeals.

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