The final of that tournament is scheduled for December 10 in Chennai; a few hours later, India take on England in the first Test at Ahmedabad. Already there is talk of postponing the start of the Test by a day to give everybody time to get to the venue. Some genius in the cricket board obviously didn’t realise that 11 follows 10, and the fixtures were drawn up thus.

The Indian board, currently negotiating (that’s the polite word) with their counterparts in the English board to change the dates of the start of the English season next year so Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen (among others, one presumes) will be free to take part in the IPL, has been paying lip service to Test cricket but has shown little interest in supporting it.

In India, the home of cricket, the rule seems to be: the fewer the overs, greater the crowd support for the game. Thus we have Twenty20 at the top of the pyramid, attracting upwards of 50,000 in the major centres, one-day cricket in the middle capable of attracting around 30,000 spectators but mainly outside the major centres, and Test cricket which, if Nagpur was anything to go by, attracts about ten people. The board’s reaction, as the governing body is curious: throw more energies into Twenty20, and prepare for Test cricket’s funeral.

And it is not just the board. India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni - whose cricketing skill is matched only by his PR skill - takes time out in the middle of an important series, between the first and second one-dayers to inaugurate a stadium in Bhandara in Maharashtra. Well, he (and two others) cannot say ‘No’ to civil aviation minister Praful Patel (the stadium is named after his father). Air India went out of its way to give the players goodies after the World Twenty20 victory, and this is payback time.

There is a touching innocence about a board busybody’s attempt to pass it all off as being in aid of charity. And never mind the dangers of physical injury as the crowd rushed onto the field to swarm the players, or the security risk involved.

And this is the same Dhoni who pulled out of a Test series in Sri Lanka because he was tired of too much cricket.

But who has the moral authority to crack the whip and tell the players that they cannot do certain things in the middle of a series? Imagine the board telling Dhoni he cannot play in Bhandara during a series. He will (or his agent will) merely turn around and ask the board how the governing body can hold an international tournament in the middle of a bilateral series.

Love does make the world go round. Love of money, that is.

I do not see anything wrong in Dhoni and some other of his team mates going to inaugurate a stadium, even in the middle of a series. For a long time, you may call him a posterboy, but I am sure he has the moral affinity to know which is good and safe for him and which is the extremity of commercialism and which is not. So stop lambasting him for not participating in the SL series. You have to understand that he was and is probably the most busiest cricketer in the World. If he really was worried about money, why did he play in the Kitply Cup? Do you know how much they offered? Rememeber this is the same man who allowed Ganguly to captain the last few overs. This is the same man who handed over the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Anil Kumble, even though he captained the side to victory. For a long time, we at last have a sensible captain who has morals, intelligence and a dash of brilliance. Dhoni represents what India might become on the global scale tommorrow. Don't spoil that too.

At first, to state India as the home of cricket is controversial statement. I couldn't figure out the fact that would support his statement. Australian cricket system is far more standard than that of India. Cricket is born in England. All the nine test nation people love cricket as much as any true Indian cricket lover do. Right now money is the only difference between BCCI and Rest of the country. Cricket standard can't be judged by the number of the spectator watching them. Best selling book is sold much-much more than best book. Even Paris hilton auto-biography was the best selling book. So, can we compare her book with that of Shakespeare's books. If we can't compare them then how can we compare 20/20 on the basis of spectator and revenue it generate. We can't delay test match even for a minute for the comfort of one man. Cricket shouldn't be one man or one board's property. If Indian stadium get equipped with modern facility, spectator number will certainly increase, even in test

I am tired of hearing about the big-bad-bully BCCI destroying test cricket. May be purists and journalists should study the concept of supply-demand. For any organization, that is not non-profit, the primary goal is to cater to the tastes of its customers. There are only a handful of teams that play decent test cricket. Test matches are excruciatingly boring and time consuming. T20 in the mean while is glitzy and wholesomely entertaining. After a hard day's work, it was a pleasure to sit and watch IPL games. If purists want test cricket then there are enough of that played across the international calendar.People want to be entertained and there is no better way to entertain crowd than T20. The only reason England & Australia are gung-ho upon BCCI about its T20 policies is because they are threatened about the revenue BCCI generates because of T20. These boards can only dream of such revenue.Yes, at the end, it is the love of money.Dont just blame BCCI&Dhoni!We are not running charity!

TheChanger - are you the agent of MSD? Did you even read what Suresh Menon has to say or you didn't comprehend the meaning of his blog. Do that first and edit your comment.

well written Suresh..who can tie bell on a "cunning" cat when we have so many cats like that. I will stop watching the sport when Test cricket be made to die

Blame the politicians who demanded that three cricketers go to some outpost, not Dhoni. I also do not see anything wrong in a player having the courage to say that he is not 100% and hence should not be on a tour. How many cricketers have the self-confidence to voluntarily take a sabbatical, given you could lose your spot if your substitute performs well?

I think the main point of this article should have been the board's scheduling a 2020 event in the midst of a bi-lateral series. Next time they might as well schedule one during the lunch break of test match if at all to entice more spectators. No point blaming Dhoni for going for that stadium inauguration. Outside the ground we has to play by the ground rules. Else in India we know what might happen.

So much negativity in Indian media. It's not that they went fishing (and missed team meeting) or drinking (and ended up bar fighting ). They did not even do paddling (like Freddie did in carribean, ofcourse drunk). They are just contracted to play, after the game, practising and all the sports thing end, what they do is their decision.

Oh come now Suresh, that was a little low. Not approving my comment just because I was critical of you.

Most comments I agree with. To add to them, one cannot compare a tough test series and an Inaugural exhibition match played against minions. Dhoni would not have even spent 40% the amount of energy he might have spent playing one day in the SL series. You cannot pin him on that. Ministers with pull will take any measure to get glitz and Glamour to their own needs just like the BCCI can do such scheduling to cram a t20 series in the middle of a series.