It is a Qayamat ( 10 wicket loss to Pakistan in 2021) se Qayamat(10 wicket loss to England in 2022) journey of the Indian T20 team in World cups. A story of rank ineptitude.
The cricket T20 world cup has brought its heartache but for the first time, I have no sympathy for the team, Captain or the Coach. Sympathy, if any, is restricted to Kohli, SKY and Pandya.
We got everything wrong, reached the semis by luck and some individual brilliance – where we were destroyed by our incompetence.
The pace bowling – Kohli sowed the seed of speed in 2014. He demanded and nurtured bowlers who could bowl real pace. And, a crop of bowlers who could scare batsmen was born – Umran Malik, Prasidh Krishna, Navdeep Saini, Mohsin Khan, Kuldeep Sen to name a few.
Where are they now? Languishing in India, waiting for the next IPL match…And, whom did we take – Bhuvi, Harshal, Shami, Arshdeep – Bhuvi – whose fastest ball was embarrassingly slower than Haris Rauf’s slower one was our spearhead. And, his lack of pace, inability to strike was cruelly exposed- we knew it even before the world cup. The rest (sans Arshdeep) were so effete that we only batsmen’s blunders got us wickets.
The spinners- with large grounds, attacking spinners were India’s best bet. Unlike in India/ Dubai, mishits would go to fielders in Australia – not soar over them.
When the Kulcha combo was at its peak, we used to put a spin choke and win matches in the middle overs. The combination of Axar, Ashwin – opposition must have salivated at the prospect of facing them. Ashwin was a bowling caricature and Axar a bowling ignominy. Where were Chahal, Kuldeep (even out of form was better than Ashwin), Bishnoi, Chahar?
For a country that prided in its spin talent, we had the worst spinners.
The batsmen – Rahul looked confused and tired and Rohit begged the question – why has he not yet retired… SurVir did light up the tournament for India but, they were always fighting with their back to the wall after false starts.
DK Vs Pant – it should have been neither DK nor Pant. DK cannot hit on bouncy tracks and Pant cannot score when the field placement is widespread. Instead of choosing Samson we chose Pant/DK – neither scored where it mattered when it mattered.
The captain and the coach – we won ICC trophies when our captains were young and the fittest in the team – think Kapil, Dhoni. A 35 year old Rohit could never inspire his team to stretch itself. And, a listless, laconic Rahul looked lackadaisical and lethargic. While tests could be a thinking game, T20 is an energy game. Between the two of them – energy was at a premium – not to be found.
And, the selection?
This tendency to commit suicide while selecting teams for the marquee events is a peculiar Indian trait.
Remember Vijay Shankar who was drafted in as 2 down in the ODI 2019 world cup?
Remember Varun Chakaravarthy in last years T20 World Cup?
While in the Kohli era, there were a few blemishes – in the Rahul/Rohit era – the team itself was a blemish – KL Rahul, Bhuvi, DK, Pant, Harshal, Ashwin, Axar, Shami – you cant have a team of 30 plus unfit players who succumb under pressure.
Each of these players had failed when it mattered in previous crunch games. But, they were there- playing the semis!!! Sadly, representing a nation of a billion plus Indians for whom Cricket is the biggest passion, religion, binding force.
Rahul Dravid, for all his individual brilliance and greatness is a poor Captain/ Coach. Remember the 2007 ODI world cup? Or the Asia Cup ? He is great at nurturing talent but poor at making them cross the line.
Rohit – holder of so many IPL Toffies (sorry Trophies) is not cut out to lead a team in the high intensity T 20 space.
BCCI owes India an explanation on why it chose these two and the how it chose a team that never had a chance to win!
Maybe time we asked Elon Musk to take over BCCI?
