Refusing to blame the cash-rich Indian Premier League for the national squad's debacle in Australia, former Test skipper Dilip Vengsarkar on Tuesday said lack of proper planning by the BCCI is the prime reason for the dismal show.
Two other former cricketers, Chandu Borde and Bapu Nadkarni, also refused to blame the IPL for India's dismal show in the four-Test rubber in which Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men have lost the first three games, two of them by an innings, and are in danger of suffering a second successive whitewash overseas.
"IPL is not the only thing that is affecting the performance. The (tour itinerary) is faulty. There were not sufficient games before the start of the series or in between the Tests. The reserves in the team, like Rohit Sharma and wicket keeper Wriddhiman Saha (who are expected to play in the last match at Adelaide) have not played for more than a month," former national chief selector Vengsarka told PTI.
"There is no point playing all four Tests at a stretch. There is not sufficient practice for the players. Everyone in the team should have the chance to play (before the series commences and also in between). It is important to involve people who know the game and have played it at the highest level and not those who have not held a bat in their lives," he remarked.
"Junior cricket, domestic first class cricket and A team tours also need to be properly planned," added the 55-year-old former player who represented India in 116 Tests and 129 ODIs between 1976 and 1992 and is a former vice president of the Mumbai Cricket Association.
About IPL, Vengsakar said it was the event that brought money to the BCCI as was the case with the one-dayers all around the world when they began in the early 1970s.
