Homing in on cricketing idiocy

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Presidentu00a0N Srinivasan gave the impression that he was defending India's 0-3 rout (and the series is not over yet) in Australia by saying India will beat Australia in the next home series.

If that is indeed his defence, India's cricketing misery has just been extended beyond Australian turf.u00a0India under captain Sourav Ganguly and coach John Wright used to take great pride in away success and that gave Indian cricket the much-needed respect which they hadn't quite enjoyed in the past, save for a few overseas series wins.

For the president of the BCCI to talk about India's recent home success in these crushing times is not only unnecessary. Foolish too.u00a0Past home success counts for near-nothing when the team has been embarrassed in their last two overseas Test series. Probably, the mandarins of the Board don't realise the embarrassment and heartache caused to Indians here and abroad. Tickets at big-ticket events abroad are not cheap and Dhoni's men have caused many fans geographical and financial inconvenience.

Indian cricket is a crying shame and inane statements by administrators will not dry those sporting tears. Srinivasan & Co should take a good look themselves and work out ways to usher in better results and thus improve India's cricketing credibility. The first thing they ought to do is to replace Krishnamachari Srikkanth as chief selector. He has been as much a failure as Dhoni in Test cricket recently. The head of the selection committee who merely picks young batsmen without creating a situation where they challenge and more importantly, replace ageing seniors in the playing XI should face the axe too.u00a0

September (when the BCCI generally holds its AGM) should not be the only time to make critical changes in our cricket set-up.u00a0Time's up, gentlemen!