Tony Greig, known for his strong views, tells DNA that IPL should not be allowed to become detrimental for world cricket. Excerpts:
How do you analyse India’s performance in the ODIs vs West Indies?
Satisfactory! I wouldn’t say that it’s been wonderful or exceptional. I think India would be concerned by one or two of their batsmen who haven’t performed consistently enough. Rohit Sharma has performed consistently. He is very unlucky that he is not being kept back for the Test matches. I think if I was an Indian selector, I would be saying to Rohit ‘you can stay inWest Indies based on your performance.’ He has performed better than some of the players who are staying back.
How do you rate India’s new coach, Duncan Fletcher,
so far?
Anyone who tries at this stage either one way or other to asses Duncan Fletcher’s performance with the Indian team is very stupid because really, any assessment of the involvement of a coach or player needs time. Fletcher has been there for just five minutes.
You recently said that ICC has to be released from the BCCI’s grip.
My comments have been taken out of context to some degree. There is no doubt that India is the most powerful nation in the world of cricket. The game is in need of sensible leadership. It does worry me in one or two areas where this leadership is tested. The most obvious is DRS. India seem to be preventing the system being used in the world. The majority of teams, players and umpires want it.
BCCI says the system is not foolproof.
The official facts say there is an eight per cent improvement when DRS is used. It’s one decision in every innings. If that is the case, then I don’t understand why it is not adopted. India are standing in the way of it. There have been some suggestions that it is because of Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni. I have seen some quotes from N Srinivasan. No one can tell me if Srinivasan knows more about cricket than the ICC cricket committee, which includes people like Mark Taylor. That’s why I am calling for some sensible leadership from India.
What are the other factors that upset you about the BCCI?
I thought John Howard was the appropriate candidate for the ICC job. ICC had agreed to the protocol that Australia and New Zealand would come up with a candidate and their candidate was Howard. I can understand that Zimbabwe were upset with him because he was critical of Zimbabwe. I find it hard to understand how you can object because he was a politician. Pawar is also a politician.
The bigger worry is that India will now try to change the whole process in respect of the presidency. In other words, next year, it is the turn of Pakistan and Bangladesh and after that it may well be England and the West Indies and then it may be South Africa and Zimbabwe. From what I have heard, India are trying to bulldoze the process so that they change it and next year anyone can be nominated. That seems to me to be an example of India trying to control everything.
You were critical of the IPL.
We have seen some wonderful things as a result of the IPL. It’s really good that the players are getting paid decent wages. There are problems that are thrown up because as we have seen, there is the second Indian team going to the West Indies. I don’t like that because when players say we are playing too much and do not go to a major international tour, then it is not good for international cricket.
So, IPL is creating some good things and some serious problems at the same time. I would be asking the BCCI, are you considering other people at the same time that you are considering yourself. It is very well to have astrong and vibrant IPL but please remember to take into consideration the problems that have happened in the other countries.
Do you mean to say it created problems in smaller boards like Sri Lanka and West Indies?
Not just the smaller boards. I think everybody. Australia have lost cricketers who have retired early. Adam Gilchrist retired because of the IPL. Andrew Symonds left cricket early because of the IPL. There are a few guys from New Zealand. Definitely from Sri Lanka and the West Indies and it will get worse. We have to come up with a sensible argument to make sure that this tournament doesn’t turn out to be detrimental for world cricket.
Are you for or against the creation of a window for the IPL?
That should be a part of the mix. If you give IPL a window, then IPL must give something back. You can’t say to England and Australia and everyone else in the world that you can’t play for two months without giving them some money. That is not fair. Otherwise, everyone in the world will want a window and there won’t be room for international cricket.
So, there needs to be a compromise. I don’t want to sound critical of the BCCI. I want the board to handle the position it finds itself in, in the best interest of the game around the world. I can understand if they want to look after themselves, but this is their challenge. When we look back at their performance, we are going to say they did a good job or they messed it up. When we look back at Dalmiya’s performance, he did a good job. As ICC president, he had changed the finances of cricket and he did it in a way that was good for India and best for world cricket. We have to see what happens next.
Do you think India is the bestteam in the world today?
Which Indian team? The one that is playing the West Indies at the moment? The team that is playing in the West Indies isn’t the best in the world.
The Indian team is winningbig games regularly.
There is no doubt that India are a more balanced team. They are playing well away from home. They have a good captain. It would be interesting to see what the Indian team looks like after the Australian tour. India haven’t got the record of great teams.
I am not sure of the stats but they haven’t reached Steve Waugh’s record, Ponting’s record in consecutive victories. The test of the team will be after they lose good players — whether they have the depth to keep up the success. If you look how big India is, they should have four teams as good as Australia.
Sachin Tendulkar is on the verge of 100th century. Did you ever think it would be possible for a cricketer?
I don’t think you can praise Sachin enough for batting. Buy I don’t understand why he hasn’t supported the DRS. I would also like to see Tendulkar walk. There is only one decision that can’t be detected — an edge to the wicketkeeper. The batsmen have to be proactive and make it easier for the umpire. I think Gilchrist has been the best example of that. We do not want to use the word cheat in cricket but the guys are nicking the ball and not walking.
It’s becoming more and more likely that we start calling those batsmen cheats. Sachin can set an example. Because what Sachin says becomes the right thing. If Sachin says the DRS is good, then it will be used. So Dhoni and Sachin have a tremendous responsibility. I have loved watching him play. It has been one of the great pleasures of my life.
Where would you place the 100th century among other records?
I do not rate that very highly to be perfectly honest. If you play more than anyone else, then you are going to make more 100s than everyone else. I am not all that impressed. When I look at the lists of great batsmen by the records over the years, what upsets me is that there is no Donald Bradman and there is no Len Hutton. Players like Viv Richards and all do not appear on them because they have not played enough. There would have been more batsmen who scored 100 hundreds if they had played as much as Sachin.
(Follow the former England skipper on Twitter @greigtalks)
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