Australian tour scores mock BCCI: Over the wicket

In Australia's first innings at Adelaide, three of India's bowlers "recorded centuries" and another missed it by four runs. To give away a hundred runs and let two batsmen score double centuries clearly reveals the pathetic state of Indian bowling.

All that the Australians have done in this series is to merely capitalise on the Indian team's inherent weakness. As long as India does not create an environment to produce genuine pacers, all bowlers will continue to be whipping boys of top batsmen on foreign wickets.

The call for coach Duncan Fletcher's head has already begun. Whether it is Fletcher or even his predecessor Gary Kirsten, who is hailed as India's most successful coach, there is only so much a coach can do if his bowlers remain feeble. What it looks like now is that the Indian bowlers, instead of creating fear in the batsmen, are scared to bowl at them. Double centuries and triple centuries can be scored against them with ease.

Critical study

All officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), who dream of India regaining their No 1 rank in Test cricket, need to critically study the scoreboard of all the four Test matches against Australia and ask themselves where they have gone wrong.

While it is a fact that the BCCI officials are all caught up in retaining themselves as the richest cricket board in the world, what they missed out on was strengthening the team. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman are all approaching their last few days in the game... have they thought of any names who can step into their shoes? Why haven't they created a battery of bowlers capable of creating fear among batsmen?

Fast pitches

Take a look at the Australian team. Even before one could ask whether the Australian attack will be as lethal as in the past, they have lined up a battery of pacers who can create havoc with their fearsome pace.

Though T.A. Sekhar, a coach who has mastered the art of moulding good pacers such as the legendary Dennis Lillee, is in India. BCCI officials do not even consult him for advice.

Strangely, almost all Indian pacers, and pacers from other countries as well, consult him privately, but not BCCI.

Reluctance to create fast pitches will continue to deprive India of top class pacers and also create batsmen who fear pacers on foreign soil.

As long as the BCCI lives in a world of glamour and riches, scoreboards with double and triple centuries and innings defeats on foreign soil will continue to mock them.