Calcutta: Bishan Singh Bedi, passionate and outspoken by nature, spoke to The Telegraph for over half-an-hour on Saturday.
Trust Bedi, a former captain of India and our very first cricket manager (the equivalent of coach), to call a spade exactly that.
Bedi turns 72 on September 25.
Excerpts...
Q Many believed that India had a good chance of winning the Test series in South Africa, at the start of the year. The same expectation was in the air in the lead-up to the Tests in England. However, if it was 1-2 in South Africa, the bottom line read a crushing 1-4 in England... Your thoughts?
A I'd say India had a great chance not just a good one, but if we had the ammunition by way of the bowling, both in South Africa and in England, the batsmen were found wanting. Like it or not, one has to accept that cricket is a batsman's game. Bowlers win you matches, but big runs are needed on the board... A captain, in this case Virat Kohli, can only be as good as allowed to by the other 10 in his team... It's easy to be wise after the event, but there was more than one occasion when things were mucked up.
Q Head coach Ravi Shastri and Virat have been insisting that the present Test team has been the "best" in the last 15 years... What do you have to say?
A (Laughs) Dil behlane ko Ghalib, yeh khayal achche hain! To say so is to talk through one's hat. In my view, only one player - Virat - can rub shoulders with the greats who played in the last 15 years... Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Zaheer Khan... Others as well. To say this is the best (Test) team in that period reflects a fair amount of hollowness. Indeed... If only this team had the humility to acknowledge that South Africa and England were better... If this has been the best, I shudder to think what would have happened had it been the worst team in the last 15 years!
Q Surely, such claims have to be backed up with performances...
A Absolutely. It has to be on the basis of performance... They talk of being professional, but that doesn't mean earning more and more money. Professionalism must be reflected in attitude, not one's bank balance. The gap between Virat and the rest in terms of attitude is, I'm sorry to say, wide. Do all have the hunger needed to master even the most adverse of conditions?
Q What would be your yardstick to judge the worth of any team?
A Can only be performance. The team management may keep saying 'we were competitive' till the cows come home, but the No.1-ranked team (India) has to win, not merely be competitive. England began the Test series at No.5, so they could have said they competed and won convincingly. The No.1-ranked team has to be winning.
Q Sunil Gavaskar has bluntly said that Virat has much to learn tactically and that his inexperience shows... Fact is that Virat has been the Test captain for almost four years, which isn't a short period. Do you endorse Gavaskar's views?
A I agree entirely with Sunil and admire him for being so forthright... He was there in England... I'd like to add that one never stops learning in life, not just in cricket. Unless you are a good student of the game, and have the willingness to learn, you won't be a good cricketer. Cricket is such a great teacher... You need the Three Ws... 'What do I have to do'?, 'When to do'? and 'Why do it'?... Two spinners were played at Lord's, yet two weren't in the XI at Southampton... This is unrelated to players but relevant in sport... Unless you are a good servant of the game, you won't be a good administrator.
Q The many minuses notwithstanding, did you spot pluses?
A If I missed out, do let me know. You too were in England for the first two Tests... One cannot live in the past nor build castles in the air for the future... I'm disappointed with your fraternity, the Media, as most seem to be eating out of the palms of the team management. What about courage of conviction?
Q What has worried you the most?
A Of late, I find Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja being undermined and those who play white-ball cricket getting prominence... Selections for Test cricket cannot be based on how X or Y performs in the IPL... I don't wish to single out individuals.
Q Going forward, what changes would you like?
A I'm nobody to suggest... The Board has enough professionals to do that. However, when will the support staff be held accountable? Or, will the buck always and only stop at the captain? Surely, Virat cannot be deciding everything on his own.
Q The fear is that under-prepared wickets will be on offer during the two-Test home series against the West Indies and, as public memory is rather short, the janata may quickly forget England and hail performances against a weak visiting team. That too on made-to-order surfaces. What do you have to say?
A (Laughs) We will once again become good travellers, albeit at home! Public memory, indeed, is short and the players are larger than life figures.
Q Last one.... The IPL has become a favourite whipping boy...
A It has already caused enough damage... I'm not against the T20 format, but I'm opposed to the national team being picked on the strength of performances for franchisees. In effect, club cricket... To add, I hate this business of players on contract assured of a fixed sum, which is high, even if they don't play. Why is it not mandatory for all India players to play a certain number of matches in domestic competitions? Domestic cricket, not the franchise-based IPL, needs to be the proverbial breeding ground for the generations to come. The ones who make it to the top shouldn't push away the ladder which helped them get there. Uss seedhi ko to na thukra do... Play the Ranji Trophy, play the Duleep Trophy... Respect the ladder which has taken you to the top.
