India review: Another year of hardship

MS Dhoni's sudden retirement from Test cricket at the end of 2014 took up much mind-space but could not override memories of a below-average year for Indian cricket. The only thing his decision overwrote was the manner in which the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) asked the teams bowling and fielding coaches to go on leave during the England tour.

But let us take up the cricket itself first and return to some pages to be able to look at how things panned out for the Indian team in 2014.

The taste of a historic first win in a Lords Test was sullied by six defeats in 10 Tests in 2014. The lament about Indian bowlers inability to take 20 wickets in a Test was heard often and when batsmen like Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli courted successive failures against late swing, the team came to grief in England.

Kohli rediscovered his mojo in Australia with three centuries, including two on his debut as Test captain in Adelaide, but Pujara's decline continued in a spiral. Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane took over as reliable batsmen. Ishant Sharma (38), Mohammed Shami (24) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (19) took wickets but rarely threatened to run through batting line-ups.

The decision of the West Indies cricketers not to complete their tour of India meant that Dhonis men had no chance to improve their record with home Tests in 2014. It also meant that Indian spinners were hardly in the picture in a year in which Moeen Ali and Nathan Lyon exposed some of the Indian batsmen's weaknesses against the turning cricket ball.

That the Indian team is slated to play in Bangladesh before hosting Pakistan (clearly only if the government clears that), South Africa (three Tests, seven ODIs and two T20Is) and Sri Lanka (three Tests) will come as a relief to batsmen and spinners alike and induce some complacency as well. But since India do not pay attention to grassroots cricket, they will languish overseas.

India's loss in the final of the ICC World Twenty20 the only ICC event of the year in Mirpur to Sri Lanka will rankle for the manner in which the team was unable to post a competitive total. Yuvraj Singh, such a master of the limited-overs game, found it tough to deal with wide yorkers in that game.

Viewed against the backdrop of the formats that sandwich ODIs, the Indian team did well to stay in the frame as one of the contenders for the 2015 ICC World Cup as they rallied from a miserable 0-4 start against New Zealand to secure four series wins, including in England.

Yet, in winning 14 of their 24 ODIs, India did not play any against Australia and South Africa nor did they make it to the final of the Asia Cup in Bangladesh where a calm Mohammad Hafeez and the six-hitting Shahid Afridi helped Pakistan shut the door with a one-wicket victory with two deliveries to spare.

Clearly, the World Cup will dominate the years ODI calendar and all of India will be hoping that the team can emulate the West Indian team of 1979 and Australia sides of 2003 and 2007 by retaining the top prize. Australia and South Africa as well as Sri Lanka and Pakistan seem to be preparing themselves well to deny India.

Away from the spotlight of international cricket, India's domestic tournaments (barring, of course the T20 behemoth known as the Indian Premier League) were played without too much attention being drawn to them. Karnataka won a triple crown, claiming the Ranji Trophy, Irani Cup and Vijay Hazare Trophy.

The one place where India had a typical year was away from the field, with more than necessary attention being taken up by the administrators.

The BCCI vice-president from North Zone, SP Bansal, was stripped of all powers by the Delhi and District Cricket Association for allegedly diverting funds to private companies without securing the approval of the executive committee. And its secretary Sanjay Patel was removed from his post as Baroda Cricket Association Secretary.

But nothing held our attention as much as N Srinivasan's troubles since he had to step aside as BCCI president in the face of sustained pressure from the Supreme Court when hearing the case against the boards decision to appoint a two-member panel to look into allegations of betting by IPL team owners in 2013.

As it studied two reports by the Justice Mudgal Committee, which it had appointed in 2013, and heard arguments from both sides, the Supreme Court often made stinging observations against Srinivasan and the manner in which the BCCI is being run. It is likely to make an order this month on his appeal to reinstate him as BCCI president.

That will determine his future and perhaps get the board to shed some of the inertia that has set in. The National Cricket Academy has been languishing without any attention being paid to its evolution. Its ignoble journey from finishing school to rehab centre to neglected institution was quite complete in 2014.

It does not seem to matter much to fans that the boards turnover has crossed Rs 4000 crore. At the moment of writing, its brand image needs a lot of repair work. Hopefully, the BCCI will pick up the pieces in the wake of the Supreme Court order later this month and get on with the task of ensuring that the game remains paramount.