Depth or Over-cricket?

India is the world's biggest cricketing market.A very  However what sometimes goes unnoticed is the fact that India also has the largest cricket playing circuit as well. Hence a pretty big supply of talent which is quite widespread as well.

Take the current scenario. There are 4 IPL teams playing in the Champions League each with a fair share of the Indian stars and second and third rung players. In addition there is NKP Salve Challenger Trophy underway, which has Delhi (minus Shikhar Dhawan) taking on India Red & India Blue teams. In addition to all this there is an India A team taking on the West Indies A team in an 'A' test. That makes seven Indian teams playing across all 3 formats. That number is more than the total number of first class teams in most nations.And before I forget there is a 4 nation Under-19 tournament also underway.

Not too long ago there was an India A playing in South Africa. Another India A was taking on New Zealand A at home. And there was an India Under-23 team playing (and winning) in an Asian emerging nations tournament in Singapore.

Now how do we look at this issue? 

1. Is there excess cricket - even at the second rung international level? Curtailing the domestic calendar may be a solution. 
2. OR that India has such a depth that it can field multiple teams across formats simultaneously and be competitive also?

The Cricketing Circus Goes On and On

India wins the Champions Trophy with an unbeaten record (including warm-up victories).

India goes to the West Indies and promptly loses its first two games in the tri-series also involving Sri Lanka.

Amidst this ever-going treadmill of international cricket, the Indian fan gets exhausted. They did not even get to savor their team's victory and off the team went on its next assignment. And after West Indies, there is a tour of Zimbabwe coming up. A good case can be made for coining a term like over-cricket to describe these unending series of meaningless tours. How does BCCI expect the Indian fan to keep cheering for the team if the circus is never-ending? 

I can understand the perspective of the West Indies board. The economics from an Indian tour make a lot of sense, as described in detail in this article here. But what does the BCCI gain out of it? Isn't over-exposure going to lead to brand dilution? Already, viewer-fatigue has set in so deep that a live match involving India hardly creates any buzz.

Because of the day long delays, I slept through most of the second-half of the Champions Trophy final. But did remember to check the score, the first thing in the morning after getting up. For the ongoing tri-series, haven't even bothered to do that. I do get to know the results through the news but it isn't something that I actually care about. 

The boards and ICC have to work at a better schedule (the current FTP is not the answer). Maybe arrange a Test-playing league along the lines of the Intercontinental Cup. A better revenue-sharing model will also help in containing the overkill & brand dilution. 

Without any perspective the contests are meaningless. Cricket is on the way to becoming Tennis. Marquee events (like Tennis Grand Slams) will be followed by interest, while the others will not be. After all even the die-hard fans get tired of the endless grind.