The tour would have been ideal for someone like Ishant Sharma to get some less pressure cricket under his belt before the Test series in Sri Lanka © Associated Press

Undoubtedly, India A cricket catches my fancy like nothing else, more than even an odd international tournament here and there. In fact, I found myself tracking the scores of the current A team in England more closely as opposed to the tournament in which the seniors were engaged in, in the Emerald Islands. And hence the observations.

In the first game, Yorkshire fielded as many as three teenage debutants in the match against India A. Obviously, Yorkshire didn’t take this game seriously. After all it was a side show for them and perhaps an unnecessary match scheduled by the ECB. India A being the guests could only expect better competition. If the hosts decided to play spoilsport, then so be it.

But what irked me more, was the India A team make-up. A couple of players in the side had got a promotion without ever playing a single first-class game. Apparently these players were picked on the back of their performances for the India Under-19 and IPL cricket. Representing their respective states and playing against the seasoned campaigners in the Ranji Trophy wasn’t considered important enough while fast-tracking them into the big league.

Representing India A is as close as you can get to playing for the country and is perhaps the last litmus test to assess if you’re ready. The possibility of a player donning India colours without having played even state level cricket, is quiet preposterous. What kind of message would these selections send to hundreds of players who’re toiling hard in the domestic circuit? Wouldn’t they rue the fact that they aren’t U-19 anymore? In fact, age-forging is a serious menace in Indian cricket which ought to be dealt with seriously and immediately. A lot of efforts, including conducting medical tests, have been made to eradicate it but in reality, we have made very little headway.

In my opinion, the only way to discourage kids from cheating is to make age-group cricket less important. Success at age-group cricket should only take you to real cricket i.e. first-class cricket and must not become a ticket to the highest level. In the current scenario, such out-of-turn-selections and getting decent money in the IPL, is encouraging players to remain U-19 for as long as they possibly can.

An U-19 cricketer in England, representing his country, would only make it to the second XI of his county. And if he’s really talented, he might make it to the first XI at the most, but definitely nothing beyond that. He wouldn’t even dream of playing for England A in the same season, leave alone playing for them first before playing for the county. This cricketer has no reason to stay U-19 using unfair means. In fact the longer he stays U-19, the longer it might take for him to break into the big league. Also this system ensures that their domestic structure is not devalued. In fact, most countries, except a few in the subcontinent, follow the same structure.

India A should be used as the platform to judge a player’s calibre one last time or for getting the fringe players back into some kind of form. This tour could have been an ideal opportunity for players like Ishant Sharma, RP Singh and Sreesanth to get some less pressure cricket under their belts before the Test series against Sri Lanka.

The cricket World Cup lacks the novelty of its football counterpart AFP

I was in Zurich when Switzerland defeated Spain in one of the league matches of the ongoing World Cup. The entire city had come to a standstill for those 90 minutes and every positive move of their men on the field in South Africa was enjoyed to the hilt. When they scored the solitary goal of the match, it felt as if the city screamed in unison. And the celebrations became wilder as the evening progressed. The roads were blocked and the trams were stalled, which caused problems for commuters, but no one complained. After all, their country had scored an unexpected win over a stronger opposition in the World Cup.

I couldn’t help but think - why are the cheers back home not loud enough? Yes, we do celebrate our wins in the World Cup, yet not every win and definitely not in this manner. And I’m sure India is not alone in this. Most cricket-playing countries can perhaps never match the euphoria of a soccer-playing nation after a win. So, what’s the difference? Are the people from football-playing nations more patriotic? Or is it the popularity of football worldwide that builds the excitement? It’s neither the patriotism nor the popularity - the reasons lie elsewhere.

Football is mainly a club-oriented sport played in various competitive leagues. Countries don’t play against each other that often and hence, whenever they do, fans are bound to get involved.

On the contrary, cricket is predominately a country v country sport and in order to keep the moolah coming, we have, perhaps, abused it to the extent that it doesn’t hold the same charm anymore. While the cricket World Cup is still a coveted tournament, it lacks the novelty of its football counterpart.

No, I’m not suggesting more leagues like the IPL around the world because a paucity of good cricketers and cricket-playing nations is a huge limitation. You may change the name of the league and the venue but since the players are going to be more or less the same, it won’t succeed.

So, what’s the next best thing? Maybe reducing the number of matches every nation plays or at least getting rid of meaningless tournaments like the one India just played in Zimbabwe. But if even this is not possible it won’t be a bad idea to take a leaf out of FIFA’s book.

Despite being extremely popular, FIFA hasn’t left any stone unturned to take football to the next level by adding new followers. FIFA has organized Fan Fests around the world by hiring a big arena, almost the size of a football field, split into two. On one side they would put up a huge screen which shows the live coverage with an open but carpeted field in front of it for people to watch the game. The other half is utilized to create a small football field with even smaller goalposts for kids. The idea is to encourage parents to bring their kids to the arena and enjoy the experience. While parents enjoy the game, their kids are happy playing it. There’re also food stalls around the arena to make everyone’s stay comfortable.

The ICC can also do something similar involving their sponsors, mainly in countries where they intend to or have already introduced cricket. It is important to make the World Cup a marquee event - one incomparable to whatever the fans are watching throughout the year. It must also be used as a vehicle to spread the game to unchartered territories.Everyone can’t make it to the stadium to watch the game, so it won’t be a bad idea if they’re given a taste of it elsewhere. The ICC has nearly nine months to figure out a plan so that 2011 World Cup doesn’t flop like the 2007 version in the West Indies.

	The narrow gap between two first-class games can make fast bowlers less effective © Cricinfo Ltd

The strength of our fast bowling department or the lack of it is a serious concern and must be, in my view, addressed at once. The writing has been on the wall for quite some time and two consecutive failures, first in the World T20 and recently in Zimbabwe, just reinforced the gravity of the situation.

A lot of critics felt that one of the major reasons behind not winning a single match in the Super Eights of the World T20 was the absence of an extra quick bowler on seamer-friendly conditions in Barbados. And perhaps, it was an apt assessment. Understandably, not many could either understand or approve this rather baffling decision made by the captain. His lack of faith in a rookie could perhaps be the only reason that somewhat explains the move of not playing a fast bowler. I refuse to believe that he couldn’t assess the pitch conditions accurately.

But why was a rookie picked to play in the World T20 anyway? What happened to the players in whom the selectors had invested their trust in the lead up to the world event? Well, obviously, selectors have lost faith in the Ishants and Munafs of Indian cricket. Point taken! But do we have their replacements ready? If the recently concluded tri-series is anything to go by, we are far from it. The second string of fast bowlers looked far from impressive.

That brings me to the million-dollar question—where are the fast bowlers? One look at the domestic season’s statistics would tell you a completely different story. Eight out of the top ten wicket-takers in the country are fast bowlers. And it has been the case for the last few seasons. So, either the standard of batting is extremely poor in the country or the conditions are helping the quicks. In this case, it is the latter, for the domestic circuit is still producing enough quality batsmen who aren’t found wanting even at the highest level. That leaves us with a simple conclusion - the conditions in India favour the quick bowlers! Yes, that’s what is happening in first-class circuit in India.

There’s a genuine attempt to make sporting tracks by the state associations but unfortunately, leaving grass and making it seamer-friendly is their idea of a sporting track. Since the quality of spin has gone down at domestic level and Indian batsmen are at ease against spin, most teams prefer a seamer-friendly track than a turning pitch.

An ordinary spinner may not survive but an average quick bowler can definitely thrive in India at the domestic level. The SG ball used in first-class cricket, if maintained properly, swings the entire day, which means fast bowlers are never out of action. Bowling longer spells is a good thing but this SG ball adds another dimension to it i.e. bowlers who release the ball are more effective than the ones who hit the deck hard. It’s an open secret that you need to hit the pitch hard to be successful in international cricket unless you swing the ball, like Irfan used to initially. Also, the gap between two first-class games is only three days which leads to two things. One, the bowlers tend to preserve themselves and learn to bowl at a lesser optimum level, say 70% of their total capacity which explains relatively quick bowlers becoming medium pacers in a season. Secondly - the tracks need to be doctored a lot to give them assistance which leads to inflated figures.

Hence domestic tournaments may well be presenting a warped picture of a fast bowler’s performance and hence cannot suffice for an appropriate yardstick to go by while picking one. Then there’s the IPL in which a bowler is tested properly, or so they believe. After all, the pressure of the format and bowling to quality players would separate chalk from cheese. But sadly, that’s not the case. You need to bowl only four overs in two or three spells in a T20 game which is too small a canvas to project the true colors of a player’s temperament and talent. In any case, going for eight an over is par for the course which is almost blasphemous in fifty-over format.

Fast bowling is a physically gruelling job and demands high level of fitness. This is a rare breed which must be protected and nurtured. Identifying your best bowlers from the available options is the first step and then constant mentoring and monitoring is the need of the hour to have a big enough pool to sustain the hectic international calendar.

Have Rohit Sharma's performances finally begun to do justice to his considerable talent? © Indian Premier League

Has Rohit Sharma finally arrived? That’s the question people and pundits ask every time Rohit plays one of his trademark brilliant knocks - mostly in the IPL. But a good knock, or a couple of good knocks, are always followed by a series of low scores and the same people who hailed him start baying for his blood. To be fair to the critics, they’re absolutely right in expecting talent to be complimented by performances on a consistent basis.

We all know Rohit is a special talent and seems to have what it takes to succeed at the highest level. But sadly he’s let his contemporaries steal a march over him. For way too long he’s remained a future prospect, showing only trailers of what, perhaps, could be in store. In my humble opinion, talent without performances is as good or bad as having no talent at all.

Now with two consecutive centuries in the tri-series in Zimbabwe, he has settled the debate for a while. Yes, the runs came against lesser teams but his nemesis was never the opposition but the challenge within. He always looked at ease against the best of bowlers, pace and spinners alike, both at the international level and the IPL. He seems to have more time than the rest to tackle rapid pace and the technical know-how to handle quality spin.

I spoke to a current international bowler recently and he was all praise for Rohit. According to him, Rohit is blessed with a sense of timing and has more time than most people in the current Indian team. Coming from a successful international bowler, the observation carried a lot of weight. Ever wondered what exactly is having more time? Cricket, apart from bowling, is mostly about receiving. You have to be at the right place at the right time to receive the ball and then react appropriately. If you’re even a micro-second late, everything goes awry. Rohit gets into the right positions quickly to execute shots perfectly, which is why he’s never off-balance or hurried.

It was never the talent which was questioned but the temperament. His shot selection has often left a lot to be desired and caused his downfall more often than wicket-taking deliveries. Another incident involving another international fast bowler comes to mind. The bowler in question was starting his new spell and bowled a loosener which was deposited into the stands straight over his head. As expected the bowler cursed himself, only it wasn’t exactly for bowling a loosener but for forgetting the strength of the man on the opposite end. He knew Rohit would pounce on anything loose regardless of it being the start of a new spell. That’s a big compliment coming from an international bowler.

This shows that Rohit has an almost Sehwag-like faith in his abilities and gives little importance to what is being dished out to him. But since every coin has two sides, this has often led to his downfall. His exceptional ability to hit even the good balls takes him ahead of himself and he tries one too many. Result— a long walk back to the pavilion. Hopefully he’s cracked the code for the Men in Blue need him, as much as he needs them, to make a formidable test team even after the 'fab four' retire.