INDIA A SETUP

Setting the A standard

by Aayush Puthran • Last updated on

The current working of India A has a year-round programme and a more structured approach towards the improvement of players © Getty

In a familiar city, Ankeet Bawne has found himself in an unfamiliar hotel with the Maharashtra team. "Bangalore has become like a second home now," he says, having become a regular member of India A for almost two years now. With several 'A' matches being hosted in the city and the camps that happen at the National Cricket Academy, in Ritz Carlton he has found the comfort of familiarity, where he ends up spending nearly half the year. As he puts it, "The 'A' team has now become like a family."

The current India A setup is far different from any other development squads that were assembled ever earlier by BCCI. The first such instance was the 1967 All-India Schoolboys tour for England, from where emerged a few Test cricketers in the years to come - as prominent as Mohinder Amarnath and Syed Kirmani, among others. In the later years, there were a few Emerging players' tournaments and 'A' teams that were assembled to face touring international sides in practice games or to take on one-off 'A' teams from other countries.

However, all those were mere temporary setups. A good performance could enhance a player's chances of a national call-up, otherwise they held little significance. None of these came close to the one currently in place with a larger picture in front.

Saba Karim, head of BCCI's cricket operations explained the need for such a setup and told Cricbuzz, "Major changes have taken place since my time, and it's extremely heartening. During my time, we used to have an 'A' tour once in two years. And it wasn't exactly a platform for elevation to the next level. All that has been structured now.

"There is a constructive effort to use India A matches and India A tours to monitor the progress of the players who have done well at the domestic level, to see to it and make sure that they are ready for international level. As and when in the national team, due to loss of form or injury, a player is unavailable, we should have a ready replacement with us."

The current working of India A, with Rahul Dravid at the helm along with Paras Mhambrey and Abhay Sharma to assist him, has a year-round programme and a more structured approach towards the improvement of players as well as what it aims to offer to the national team.

Not only are they persisting with a core group of players, but also have more permanency in their coaching and support staff. The main aim of such a setup was to bridge the quality gap between domestic and international cricket.

"If you have players who can adjust from domestic cricket to international cricket straightaway, it makes your national team stronger," Dravid had said in 2016. "From that point of view, the India A tours are a great bridge as the difference can be big. So, the A tours can bridge that gap.

"We want to win and get good results. But in my opinion, the India A and under-19 tours are not so much about results. They are more about giving opportunities, exposure and developing young players and young people. Coaching is not about just developing cricketers, but it should be an effort to try and develop them as individuals so that they can go on and have meaningful careers and lives."

On the basis of a mutual agreement with the other boards, the India A side, in the last one year has toured New Zealand and England, apart from facing Windies abroad. They have also hosted Australia and South Africa at home during this period. They have won a lot and lost a few as well, but more importantly, it has given young cricketers much-needed exposure to different conditions and a higher level of cricket. In a period of 12 months, they have played cricket with Kookaburra, Dukes and SG Ball.

What this also means is that, as and when these cricketers graduate to play for the national side, they would have been better prepared to travel abroad, something that most of the current Indian batsmen didn't go through as vigorously - which also serves as a part reason for their failures abroad in recent years.

And even at home, with victory not being the target, the conditions are prepared in a way to make it more testing for the hosts - unlike the practice in international cricket, where the pitches are in favour of the home side.

Bawne, who has been with the setup for more than a year, explains how the experience has made him a better cricketer. "In India A, you are playing international sides on challenging wickets. You aren't getting flat wickets to hit. As a batsman, Rahul sir keeps telling, wickets are made so that you challenge yourself, so that when you go overseas you perform well.

"New Zealand and Australia came with 10 international players, South Africa too had a good team. When you play against Test players, you get an idea of what Test cricket will be like. When you play domestic cricket, there will be a gap. Suddenly when you face 145 kmph, you won't know what to do. Now, I'm used to playing that kind of pace and so when Australia came here, I didn't feel uncomfortable."

Abhimanyu Easwaran, a new entrant in the setup, adds, "Apart from playing against better quality attacks and experiencing new conditions, scoring there helps build your confidence, makes you believe you belong to this level."

Not only does this help improve players but also allows for a one-point communication line. Dravid, the head coach of the 'A' team, is in communication with the senior team management and the selectors to know what kind of skills are required at the highest level and prepare players accordingly. While there is criticism over the role he has been offered - where there are no tangible metrics to judge his performance and possibilities of favourtism - the current plans need personnels who can be trusted. For now, he has become a reliable source for passing notes on the soft skills of players who graduate to the national side.

Karim throws more light behind the reason for this change. "That's the bridge we have constructed to ease the players to the national team," he said. "Earlier the gap was huge from Ranji to national level. With India A coming in, that is a buffer for us. That enables players to be tested in challenging conditions - home and away. And that really moulds their game. We are able to guide them properly. So once they reach the national level, they are ready for the international conditions and challenges."

Not only does the 'A' structure try to simulate the preparation and fitness training of the national side but also provide them with upgraded facilities and grounds to play their games. "We want to get these games on television. So we insist that these games are played at international venues, so that these games are covered," Karim explains. "That's the kind of mutual agreement we have with the countries we host. So that when we travel to their countries, we get proper venues, maybe an international venue."

BCCI did have a bit of a blip with hosting Australia and South Africa this year, by deciding to have the matches during the monsoon season. With the games set to be hosted in Visakhapatnam (four-dayers vs Australia) and Vijayawada (quadrangular A series) - two places that witness nearly twice the amount of rainfall as compared to the national average (from both the north-eastern and south-western winds), the venues had to be changed at the last moment to Bengaluru. While the four-dayers were saved, the quadrangulars had to be shortened, leaving both the touring sides short of much-needed practice to achieve their respective motives apart from costing BCCI some additional expense.

However, for India, it was a good series with two of their 'A' teams participating against Australia and South Africa, both of whom had several international players featuring. 31 fringe players played in those games, with India 'B' emerging winners. It also proved to be a platform where the No. 4s and No. 6s were tested. And on the basis of those performances, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav and Ambati Rayudu were recalled to the national side. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was recovering from a back injury too got some game time before playing for India in the Asia Cup.

With the players in the 'A' team doing well for a reasonably long period, it is understandable that their frustration is growing with very little window to get into the national side, unless top players are rested from a hectic schedule or injured. While a strong bench will give the selectors some happy trouble and keep the national players on their heels, the wait for the players in line has been quite testing. Despite their consistent performances - with numbers and victories against quality oppositions at home and away to show, there has been very little of the door opening.

Moving forward, BCCI plans to make India A tours as shadow tours ahead of Test series abroad, like they did in England earlier this year. Thus, every time India travels abroad, the 'A' side will be sent to play in those conditions. One format regulars will also feature in these teams to get themselves some match practice and allow better acclimatization to the conditions.

Otherwise, this setup is primarily for the younger players graduating from domestic cricket or IPL to hone their skills and get used to challenges of different conditions. While the younger cricketers have to go through the 'A' ranks to get into the national side, experienced players aren't required to do the same for an India recall - case in point for now, Murali Vijay and Rohit Sharma.

Satisfied with how the 'A' setup has progressed in the last two to three years, Karim added, "It is brilliant to see the kind of work the entire team has done now. The selectors, the team management, the trainers, NCA, everyone, on a regular basis. And that is how we have managed to push the right kind of players for national recognition."

© Cricbuzz

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