The state of Indian cricket

Welcome to our second discussion on Wicket to Wicket. Our first was on the use of technology in umpiring, and you can read its archives here. This one is on the state of Indian cricket. The participants of this debate are Ashok Malik, Devangshu Datta, Harsha Bhogle, Mukul Kesavan and Sambit Bal.

We had conceived of this topic before India began the series against Sri Lanka, and Indian cricket seemed a matter of somewhat greater concern then that it does now. The team was in disarray, unsure of its leader. The Board of Control for Cricket in India was in disarray, unsure of its leader. Fans were disillusioned and fed up.

The Indian team turned a corner against Sri Lanka. Remarkably, Greg Chappell was given the freedom to shape the team as he wanted. For perhaps the first time in Indian cricket's brief experience with coaches, the powers and responsibilities of the coach were aligned. The team played with an intensity that had been missing for months, and there was a greater competition for places in the side than ever before.

But Indian cricket has seen many temporary highs before, and its problems go beyond its team. That is precisely what we will try to explore in this discussion. What are the things that ail Indian cricket, what are the dangers that it faces, and what can be done about all these things? Harsha starts the discussion off tomorrow by sharing his views with us, and I hope you'll be listening.

Also, comments will be enabled throughout the rest of this conversation, but moderated. Any comments that are off-topic, abusive or ad hominem will not get through. But disagreement and debate is welcome.