Why More T20Is When Tests and ODIs Are India’s Priorities

Gautam Gambhir (L) with Shubman Gill (R). (PC: BCCI)

India are set to lock horns with the West Indies in a five-match T20I series, which begins at Lucknow’s Ekana Stadium on October 6. It is a quick turnaround for the Men in Blue. Just two days ago, the T20I side was in Japan, competing in a high-stakes match against Pakistan, which they won in a last-over thriller. The ODI series also came to a close on the same day in Mullanpur, with West Indies winning. Now, they have to play five T20Is against the West Indies.

At a time when the focus is firmly on two formats — Tests and ODIs — playing a five-match T20I series makes little sense. The Test team are currently fifth in the points table, and every match from here on becomes a must-win for them. There is a particular emphasis on qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) final, which will be played at The Oval next year.

With the next major white-ball event set to be played in Africa next year being an ODI World Cup, the focus of the team management, captain and selectors is to build a larger pool of players from which they can select their 15. Setting aside the debate over the future of ODI cricket — whether it is dying or can survive — the 50-over format is being prioritised.

This brings us back to the same point: if the ODIs are important, then what is the need to play five T20Is, especially against the West Indies? No disrespect to the two-time world champions, but there is no hiding from the fact that they are not as strong as they were between 2012 and 2016. Like the West Indies series, playing three T20Is against Afghanistan also made little sense.

If it had been a five-match ODI series against the Men in Maroon, it would have allowed Shubman Gill to try out a few more things. After all, these bilateral series before the World Cup are where teams try to work out different combinations and experiment with different strategies.

Against New Zealand, the Indian team will also play five T20Is and five ODIs. Here, five ODIs fit perfectly. But again, what is the point of a T20I series, especially when the team is playing more 20-over games than 50-over games in the year? When the next T20 World Cup is two years away, what is the need to play the format so much in the lead-up to an ODI World Cup? What objectives will you tick off by playing T20Is? These are the questions that should be asked.

One understands that T20 is the most popular format and, hence, it is being played the most. But that has to change in order to give players some time off, during which they can prepare for the upcoming Test and ODI assignments.

Last year, after losing the Test series to South Africa at home, Gill highlighted the need for time to prepare for a Test series.

“I think it’s important to at least have some bit of preparation, some time [to prepare],” Gill had said. “Especially when changing from white-ball format to red-ball. So this was one of the things that I was very keen on, and I think we’ll take some action and we’ll keep it in mind to be able to prepare well before the start of any red-ball series. Maybe it would be easier to have a little loose calendar.”

Gill talked about having a ‘loose calendar’. Not once, but on several occasions since then, he has spoken about the need for a free window between series in order to get some preparation time. The Test and ODI captain has a valid point.

A demanding schedule has taken a toll on the players, with Gill repeatedly calling for a less hectic calendar. But despite making the case time and again, his plea seems to be like shouting into the wind.

The post Why More T20Is When Tests and ODIs Are India’s Priorities appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.



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