Test cricket has to be the priority, not T20: Imran

Calcutta (The Telegraph): The iconic Imran Khan has blamed India’s over-emphasis on Twenty20 cricket for the disaster Down Under and says the focus should shift to Tests.

Speaking at the inaugural Tiger Pataudi Memorial Lecture — a joint initiative of The Telegraph and Bengal Club, presented by Nokia and powered by RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group — Pakistan’s World Cup-winning captain stressed on the need to overhaul the domestic structure.

The Ballroom at the Oberoi Grand was overflowing on Monday evening as Imran kept the audience spellbound for close to 30 minutes dealing with a wide range of topics. From the impact education had on his success as a cricketer and captain to admiring Javed Burki and the late Tiger Pataudi in his early days to the current state of Indian cricket, he delivered an extempore — no notes, no jottings.

“I can only use one word to describe India’s form… Consistent!” Imran said, amid peels of laughter from the audience. “To lose eight Test matches in a row overseas is an achievement! It’s a wake up call for Indian cricket.”

“You need to analyse the causes… A team that won the World Cup and was No.1 in Tests a few months back is in the doldrums… If you want to be the leaders you can’t keep losing. If you pay so much emphasis on Twenty20 cricket, you’ve got to pay hugely.”

“The connoisseurs will rate a player by his Test record and not what he’s done in T20s. Test cricket is the ultimate test of a player and that’s the reason Test records carry value. Talent can excel in one-dayers, but in Test cricket, your temperament and technique is tested besides the talent.”

“India has to decide soon whether it prefers glamour, Bollywood and money to Test cricket. In my 20 years of cricket, I never made so much money as a mediocre player in T20 does today… I’ve nothing against players making money but cricket shouldn’t suffer… You’ve got to balance the two.”

“A youngster can easily get swayed by the frenzy that T20 cricket has developed… Bollywood, packed stands when compared to the empty stands and toil of Test cricket. Little does he realise then that the way you prepare for T20 is hugely different to Test cricket.”

“The problem with India is you can’t take 20 wickets in Tests. If a batsman lacks the defensive ability then… The balance has to be got right. Youngsters should remember that world cricket is judged on Test cricket and not T20.”

[Earlier in the day, Imran told this newspaper: “Dhoni must find match-winning bowlers… I’d always focus on unearthing them… Being a bowler myself, I could understand their psyche. Am not sure if Dhoni, being a ’keeper, understands bowlers.”]

Stressing that his success as a captain was “mainly because of his quality education”, the Oxford-educated Imran said: “Education structures your mind… The reason I was successful because I knew how to handle failures. I became my worst critic.”

Imran recalled an anecdote from their 1979-80 tour to India when they lost the series 0-2. “Zaheer Abbas had been in terrific form in the previous series in 1978-79… But he failed in the first three Tests because of the pressure and his bad form… I was sharing the room with Zaheer and he blamed it on various factors… Finally one day he said, I know the reason, it’s black magic! He was dropped for the next Test…”

Imran also paid rich tributes to the late Tiger Pataudi. “If Tiger hadn’t lost an eye, he would have broken all records. His quality of strokes was amazing… Mere mortals couldn’t play them.”

Imran suggested an overhauling of India’s domestic structure. “Reduce the number of teams and the top-six teams should compete against each other.”

“In Australia, the top-six teams compete with such aggression in their domestic set-up that it instils tremendous competitiveness among the players. I know it for sure, having played Shield cricket there. Anyone excelling in that format will be good for Test cricket.”

“In India and Pakistan, there’s a huge jump from first-class cricket to international cricket. But if you have the Australia model in Ranji Trophy, the results will show… You can also get overseas stars to play… ”