A series no one cares about

I am a serious cricket fan and I also earn a living by writing and commenting on the game. Yet I am not interested in the India-Bangladesh ODI series. That's because I am a sports fan first and a cricket fan thereafter. With the FIFA WC 2014 in progress, easily the biggest sporting show-piece on earth, a series like India-Bangladesh is inevitably going to be a low-key affair.

It is now known that the series struggled to get a broadcaster. Gazi TV, which has the rights to Bangladesh cricket, struggled till the very last minute before Star came on board to bail them out. With India sending a second string side to Bangladesh, the interest in the series has gone down further. While it is known that the series is a payback for the BCB's support in pushing through the India-led ICC revamp plan, one is left to wonder how a series like this impacts the game in the long term.

There is little doubt that players don't feel the same motivation levels to perform, except a few who are wearing the India jersey for the first time. And fans, the most important constituency of the game, are mentally not in it. Everyone is aware that the series is a plug and nothing much will be achieved by playing three One Day Internationals, except allowing the BCB the opportunity of earning some much needed revenue.

Frankly, the game suffers as a result of such scheduling. Put bluntly we don't need a series like this. If we do want to play Bangladesh, we should play them far more seriously than sending a lesser Indian team to just get the job done. That's what will help Bangladesh cricket and will encourage cricket fans in the country to come out and support the series in big numbers.

Moving forward, I will be watching the India-England series with bated breath. It is going to be a serious contest between bat and ball and even if the first Test overlaps with the concluding stages of the FIFA WC, Indian cricket fans are expected to tune in to the live telecast of the first Test match in Trent Bridge starting 9th July.

All said and done, it is about quality. About respecting the game and dishing out quality contests for fans. We are tired of rubbish and we will not consume below-par contests. However much Indian fans love to see the Indian team play, the new age global cosmopolitan Indian fan also loves world sport. Given a choice between India-Bangladesh and Argentina-Bosnia or for that matter Germany-Portugal, they will inevitably opt for the latter. This explains the huge following in India for the EPL, La Liga and the Spanish League. Except the IPL, which continues to capture fan imagination for all its associated glitz and glamour, inconsequential one-day matches no longer draw fans to the game. We have for far too long consumed what has been on offer without opting to pick and choose. Now is the time to do so. With the FIFA option available, it is time to take our pick and choose the best sports action on offer.

England, however, will be different. With India wanting to redeem themselves and wanting to make amends for the horror of 2011, there will be serious interest in the series. Scores of Indian journalists will make the trip and news channels and newspapers will dedicate adequate space to the contest. We are waiting to see if Virat, Pujara and Rohit are up to the English challenge and if Bhuvi and his ilk can match the English fast bowlers in good swing bowling conditions. Even if India struggle in the first Test, it will be a real contest. A quality show that will have its dedicated takers. It is not a hastily put together filler and is neither a pay-back for loyalty in the ICC boardroom.

That's why one feels for Bangladesh. For them a series against India is the single biggest thing of all. And yet here's an Indian team that is hardly the best and the timing of the tour is such that BCB will not be able to make the most of the opportunity. It is time perhaps to stop taking the fans for granted. At least that's the message this series is giving us.