BCCI to review performance after tour: Srinivasan

Virender Sehwag was unavailable for the first two Tests.

Thoughts of India retaining their No.1 Test ranking have long evaporated; instead they are facing the prospect of their first series whitewash in nearly a decade since the 2002-03 series in New Zealand. Back home,the BCCI have drawn flak for injuries to players at critical points and for pushing them beyond limits with a packed international and domestic schedule.

The board hasnt hit the panic button yet but N Srinivasan,the current BCCI secretary and president-elect,admitted that they will have a detailed review of the players performance in the Test series.

You have to put things in perspective. We missed Zaheer Khan due to injury. Virender Sehwag was unavailable for the first two Tests. Gautam Gambhir had to sit out in the second Test. So we never had a full strength side. With everybody fit,we believe the series would have been a lot closer. Of course,we will review the performance of the cricketers after the tour and will do what needs to be done. But at the moment a tour is going on and a one-day series will follow the Tests. So we shouldnt jump the gun, Srinivasan told The Indian Express on Friday.

When England came here in 2008,they lost all their ODIs and the Test series. Nobody back home crucified them. In sports,there will be victories and defeats,and we have to accept defeat with dignity as well as we enjoy our wins. England have been playing very good cricket and they deserve a lot of credit for that, he said.

Growing criticism

Several former players have been critical about the teams preparations for this England tour and have criticised the BCCI of not giving enough value to Test cricket. Srinivasan rubbished those claims.

Its nonsense. Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game. We are not obsessed with the numbers like a section of the media. But when we reached the top of the Test rankings and stayed there for close two years,nobody raised these questions. Now,just after one bad series,criticisms are flying thick and fast. We must learn to be sporting. Being the No. 1 doesnt mean we wont lose a match or series, Srinivasan said,adding that youngsters too value Test cricket more than IPL despite the big bucks.

Everybody wants to play for India and unless one does well for India he doesnt become a big hit in the IPL. I believe all the players aspire to play Test cricket and do well there,because the performance in Tests matters most, Srinivasan said.

Story continues below this ad

Of late,several senior cricketers have been picking and choosing their matches and the board has been accused of bowing down to player-power. However,Srinivasan says its important to look at the other aspects of the problem. Players can opt out if they are not fit. Theres no point playing without being fully fit. We have said time and again that a player is entitled to skip a match or tour if they are not physically or mentally up to it. We never force anyone to play matches and its a BCCI decision,

he said.