Vaibhav Sooryavanshi of Rajasthan Royals (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki) India’s triumph in the T20 World Cup earlier this year did little to disguise a growing problem in the longest format. The side’s Test performances have dropped noticeably and despite improved results in limited-overs cricket under head coach Gautam Gambhir, the red-ball set-up remains an issue. Losses at home to New Zealand and South Africa underlined that India are no longer unbeatable on their own terms and their hopes of making the World Test Championship final now look increasingly unlikely. The Board of Control for Cricket in India recognized this problem and moved to revamp its long-standing Test structure. According to PTI, the Center of Excellence, headed by VVS Laxman, has drawn up a detailed plan to rebuild the Indian red ball with a focus on the next generation. Central to this strategy is a four-day CoE competition scheduled for June and July. The tournament will feature talents like Ayush Mhatre and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and will feature 64 under-25 players. These players will be divided into four teams of 16, with each side playing two multi-day matches on different surfaces to simulate different match scenarios. The aim is to build a consistent pipeline of red-ball players who can serve India over the next decade. As part of the move, coaches and selectors have been instructed to make red ball development a priority at the High Performance Camps in Bengaluru in the coming year. “The India Emerging side will consist of under-25 players only and they will also form the India A squads for the shadow tour. The plan will be made so that chief selectors Ajit Agarkar, head coach Gautam Gambhir are in the picture,” a BCCI source told PTI. “Once the IPL ends, India U-19 and Emerging (U-25) will both tour Sri Lanka for four-day matches. The team will be selected based on tournament performances inside the COE,” the source added. India’s struggles in Tests, particularly their declining effectiveness against spin even at home, has been a key trigger for this overhaul since Gambhir took charge. The new system is designed to address these gaps through sustained exposure to longer format cricket. For selection, 25 U-23 players will be selected by a junior panel led by S Sharath. Another 25 players from the U-23 and U-25 categories will be selected by the senior selection committee based on their performances in domestic tournaments such as the Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, with the condition that these players are not allowed to be part of the IPL. The remaining 14 spots will go to players who have appeared in the IPL, including Mhatre, Sooryavanshi and Sameer Rizvi, completing the 64-man pool. “The idea is to pick 25 after the intra-COE tournament and this core group of cricketers will represent both Emerging and India A in the shadow tours. The management of the BCCI brass and Team India is quite clear – even for the U-19s, they have to focus on the red ball next year,” the source said.
