White is the magical cherry

With IPL being an easy stairway to Indian dressing room, not many fancy the red ball cricket

Gone are the days when cricketers would have to prove their mettle in domestic seasons like Ranji, Mushtaq Ali, Duleep Trophy and such, to catch the eyeballs of national selectors. This was all before 2008, the year the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) made its way and arguably changed the course of Indian cricket.

Decade down the line, it could be said not many fancy playing the red-ball cricket. It’s a tedious process. The most recent example being that of India’s T20 bowling sensation, Deepak Chahar, who on Tuesday made a remarkably candid comment on how he switched his focus to white-ball cricket from red, thanks to the ‘fastest and easiest route’ – the IPL.

“If I had to take the Ranji route, then I would have had to play more matches, play a whole first-class season, play Duleep Trophy,” Chahar said, with all honesty, adding: “And that's a longer road."

“But if you do well in IPL, then you can quickly play for India,” Chahar was quoted as saying by PTI. Undeniably, it could be said the 27-year-old made a smart choice. Now with T20 WC in sight next year, the medium pacer is an automatic selection for India in the shortest format – courtesy his bowling performance against Bangladesh, where he recorded best-ever figures (6/7) in history of T20Is.

But, the argument remains whether this easy-way-out approach is ethically fair for India in whites. Whether IPL is stealing the thunder of other domestic leagues. Whether Chahar’s clarity of thought would similarly work wonders for other cricketers.

Legendary cricketer Kapil Dev was termed as a ‘frustrated man’ by BCCI when he had expressed his disappointment over IPL’s introduction. The former captain had argued that the cashrich league would prove to be a deathknell for other domestic leagues.

“No one will want to play Ranji or Deodhar Trophy,” he rued then.

But, in 2019, going by what the cricket expert Boria Majumdar has to say, there’s no shame if a player comes out, confesses and chooses IPL over the Ranji.

Terming Chahar’s choice ‘fair and pragmatic’, Majumdar told Free Press Journal by phone: “For once, somebody said the truth. If today someone tells me you know what, Ranji is more important to me than IPL, my immediate reaction would be: Oh this is rubbish,”

“At least at this point, what’s the priority? World T20 in Australia (scheduled in November next year), and IPL is the medium,” he noted, adding: “Look, make as much domestic league comparisons you want, but at least at this juncture, one cannot deny the fact that IPL is the most important league in India.”

If I had to take the Ranji route, then I would have had to play more matches, play a whole first-class season, play Duleep Trophy. And that's a longer road.But if you do well in IPL, then you can quickly play for India