The enticing Sri Lankan landscape acts like a magnet that attracts tourists worldwide. But for its extremely humid weather that makes life a miserable sweaty experience, Sri Lanka would have been among the foremost tourist destinations. When the likes of Kumar Sangakara, Mahela Jayawardene and Mutthiah Muralidharan were taking giant strides, the tourist flow was limited to a few brave men and women, who would visit the island, despite the terror of LTTE stalking the country.
That was a time when some of the most expensive hotels would sell their rooms so cheap that most Indian journalists could afford to indulge in a luxurious stay. A lot of cricket played there may not have been very exciting to watch, but the Sri Lankan team was hard to beat in their backyard and it took India many visits before they could come to terms with those conditions.
India coach Ravi Shastri may be statistically correct when he says that even the best of the past Indian teams did not produce the kind of results which the present team has. In his typical style, that leans more towards extremes, Shastri not only went to the extent of comparing this team with the best in the past but even felt that Virat Kohli and his men are better than them. To buttress his argument, he quoted figures from India’s performances in the past and this series in Sri Lanka, which are better than any Indian team from the past.
Shastri probably had not read a very provocative piece written by Sidharth Monga in Espncricinfo, which sounded more like a dirge for Sri Lankan Test cricket. Monga, a fine perceptive writer, found watching the buses plying on the road that runs close to the Galle cricket ground a more exciting occupation than being present at the boring, one-sided Test match played inside.
The point being made was the meaninglessness of a Test that hardly anyone was watching, even on TV. Given the quality of this Sri Lanka team, which struggled at home even against Zimbabwe, crowds have kept away from this series. India may be on the verge of repeating their Galle performance in the second Test at Colombo as well, but it is not inspiring even Indians to show much interest in the series.
Does this reflect an increasing indifference to Tests or rejection of lop-sided contests? Both, I guess. Test cricket needs context as well as a good contest, which is missing from this series and will also be missing from the two Tests that India is hosting against the same team at the end of the year. An even worse sign is that the Indian board was finding it hard to find takers for hosting the Tests. Most were keen to host either ODIs or T20s, not Tests.
This may have to do with the fact that Sri Lanka no longer is the team it was and the possibility that it may never regain its strength could be very real. The inroads limited-over cricket is making is not new but more disturbing is the slide of one more team into the margins, leaving Test cricket struggling to find quality teams. The fall of the West Indies is now a sad reality. The Sri Lankans may have never achieved those heights but were a very competitive side. If their players too fall prey to the lure of the mushrooming T20 leagues, it would be another blow to the survival of Test cricket.