BBL takes the heat, but is it really to blame for Australia's Nagpur nosedive against India?
As the Australian cricket team licks its wounds following a humiliating defeat in the first Test match against India in Nagpur, sources within Cricket Australia have been quick to point the finger at the recently concluded Big Bash League (BBL) as a contributing factor to their poor performance. In the past, the Indian Premier League has also faced similar criticism, but such critiques have waned in recent years.
The Australian side led by Pat Cummins arrived in India on February 1 to take part in the four-match Border-Gavaskar series and a subsequent three-match ODI series. Unlike past tours, the Aussies opted to forego any practice games, instead opting to set up a four-day training camp in Alur to hone their spin-bowling skills, even going so far as to engage the services of Baroda spinner Mahesh Pithiya, whose bowling style resembles that of Ravichandran Ashwin.
The Sydney Morning Herald has published a piece titled, "How the Big Bash compromised Australia's tour of India," in which a source is quoted as saying,
"There was a big push for the Big Bash. It was comfortably the shortest preparation time we've ever had for a tour of India."
It is pertinent to mention that the 2022-23 BBL took place from December 13 to February 4 and was won by the Perth Scorchers, claiming their fifth championship title. Some of Australia's top players from the current squad, including Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, and Steve Smith, participated heavily in the latter half of the tournament, with the latter even solidifying his status as an all-format player after scoring consecutive tons for Sydney Sixers.
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