The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is geared up to mark a milestone
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is geared up to mark a milestone. As India plays its 500th Test match against New Zealand in Kanpur from September 22, the Board has made arrangements for a grand celebration.
Former captains have been invited for what is not just a Test match but a landmark event. A specially minted silver coin with “500th Test” embossed on it is going to be used for the toss. While Kanpur has been hosting Test matches for many years, the occasion called for a better thought out venue. Maybe, Mumbai or Kolkata could have fit the bill. A bigger venue would also have made the logistics easier for accommodating more of the cricketing fraternity and in fact, all India capped players.
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BCCI has informed that they have invited post 1970 Test captains to the game. Bishan Singh Bedi though has not been invited. This paper reported yesterday that Ajit Wadekar has not been invited either. It is also difficult to fathom the logic behind inviting only post 1970 Test captains and ignoring previous Test captains. Many of them may be too old or indisposed to attend the Test match, but they should have been invited nevertheless, because they are part of India’s cricketing history.
India’s oldest living Test cricketer and captain, Dattajirao Gaekwad (87) in Baroda, should have been invited even if he cannot make it. Nari Contractor is also not invited and will be conspicuous by his absence. Contractor, a former India Test captain, was part of the historic 1959-1960 Test series in which India won its first-ever Test match against Australia, in Kanpur.
The milestone, surely, will be heartwarming. Yet, it will be good if it matched the grandeur of the Golden Jubilee India vs England 1980 match played at Wankhede Stadium.
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