Buoyed by India's continuance at the top of the Test rankings perch, and chastened by widespread criticism last year over a lopsided schedule which saw the longer format pushed to the periphery, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) is now rooting for more Test cricket for the national team.
Thus, after getting South Africa to say yes to a change in itinerary and play two Tests while curtailing the number of ODIs from five to three in the ongoing tour, the BCCI is trying to squeeze in some more Tests this year, even at the cost of sacrificing some ODIs.
To begin with, while India are scheduled to play a 7-ODI series against Australia this year, BCCI is now mulling to host two Tests. It has already informed Cricket Australia (CA) about the plan.
"We're certainly committed to more Tests And we're also keen to honour ICC's Future Tour Programme. We've already requested CA for two Tests and the board is waiting for a reply. Hopefully, CA will agree," a top BCCI official, who didn't wish to be named, told TOI on Friday.
As of now, India will play three Test matches against Sri Lanka away and will host the New Zealanders at the end of the year. But before October, if CA agrees to BCCI's request, the Tests could be played, but only at the cost of a few ODIs. That is because CA only has a 25-day window, which is tailor-made for seven ODIs.
To accommodate two more Tests means extra days - at least 16 days - which the CA doesn't have. So, BCCI may be left with an option of curtailing the number of ODI matches. In that case, the 7-ODI series could be reduced to five ODIs or may be curtailed to three ODIs if CA doesn't agree to extra tour days.
Also, the Australian team think-tank will have to give its consents to play Tests in India first before CA says 'yes'.
With India retaining the Test No 1 ranking after the two-Test series against South Africa, it will be interesting to see if the Aussies accept the challenge of playing Tests in India considering that their track record in this country is average.
If CA agree for three ODIs and two Tests, the series will last for 25-days. "For every ODI you have to keep three-day and if India and Australia are playing five One-dayers and two Test, it means 31 days," the official pointed out.
But seven ODIs and two Tests are perfect for BCCI. After all, it's through ODIs that a large part of the country gets to watch live action, as the matches are hosted on rotational basis. "We have to see how the Australian reply and based on that, we can plan the series," the official said.
