In continuation of pouring my frustration at the performance of the Indian team, first of which ashamed humiliated and dejected, no amount of words on a paper or in a blog, will be satisfaction, there are still a lot to be said.
The captaincy must be decided immediately. Rohit has proven to be an uninspiring leader. He undertook a successful team after the duo of Kohli and Shastri left their positions and has turned the team into a bunch of nincompoops. Under his charge, India lost the first ODI series against Sri Lanka in 27 years. Lost a first series against New Zealand and were finally, white-washed for the first time. Rohit Sharma has already lost 5 Tests at home in just 16 Tests. Kohli lost just 2 in 7 years whereas Azharuddin and Kapil Dev 4 each. This is a record he will never be able to erase. Rohit himself admitted that he wasn’t upto the mark tactically.
I fully take the responsibility for that as a captain and as a leader as well. I have not been at the best of my abilities right from the start of the series. And yeah, with the bat as well, I’ve not been good enough. And certain tactical errors also, which didn’t go my way. You obviously take chances with those decisions. Sometimes it comes off. Sometimes it doesn’t. And this time around, it didn’t come off, the certain decisions that I took. So, yeah, I was not at my best of my leadership. And probably cost us the series as well.”
Rohit just another player
Be that as it may, it is time to revisit the captaincy rightaway. Rohit is unavailable for the first Test at Perth and he may not play the next one either, due to personal reasons. After this debacle, it is strange that he even wants to take time off. Nevertheless, since he is anyway unavailable for half of the series, by which time the series would have already taken a decisive direction, there is no point in bringing him from the middle of the series. Let Bumrah be appointed as the captain for the full series though, personally, I prefer Ashwin. As Gavaskar pointed out correctly, Rohit can at the most be included as a player and not more than that.
Some obvious horrible decisions
We all know what happened at Bangalore. On a pitch with extra bounce, under cloudy sky, with rain expected throughout the 5 days thereby rendering spin impotent, Rohit chose to drop a seamer and accommodate a spinner. It backfired spectacularly as India were bowled out for a paltry 46. It defies conventional logic. How could someone select a spinner when rain is expected to play a major part during the Test? It either showed arrogance on the part of Rohit who must have thought that he could easily win against a weak New Zealand or it was pure carelessness. Though Rohit himself admitted the blunder, that must not absolve him.
He followed that with another mindblowing decision by sending Siraj as the nightwatchman. It is onething to send a nightwatchman on a placid pitch but to send a rabit with the bat on a pitch that was turning, what chances did Siraj have to survive even a ball? He was dismissed of the very first ball. Nowadays, Kohli himself has become a nightwatchman. Why not send him? What was the need to protect a specialist batsman on a pitch that was turning? If he cannot survive, how can a bonafie number 11 survive?
These decisions are enough to grab captaincy from Rohit and hand it over to someone. These were stupidly amazing decisions.
Action against the board
Alright but who will take the action? I don’t know. The board must be punished for their intent to concentrate only on money. The off-season, which was used as a period during which a player would be able work on their shortcomings, is now occupied by the IPL. The reason India lost both the WTC finals, first against New Zealand and next against Australia is because the players are all extremely tired after a gruelling IPL. At the end, they do not have any energy to look forward to another game. They turn up just for the sake of it. Why doesn’t the board allow those Test players a break from IPL for 6 weeks to travel to England and prepare? Is IPL much more important than the nation?
There is a small matter of nonstop cricket. The players virtually live on a suitcase. Where is the time to rest and rehabilitate? Where is the incentive for them to look forward to winning games when some game is scheduled throughout the year?
Gambhir in a spot of bother
Gambhir was appointed as the coach with a lot of fanfare. He was expected to leapfrog the Indian team into an unbeatable force. His success at the IPL fuelled a lot of speculation. Everything came to a nought last week. This is his second or third unwanted record. Lost against Sri Lanka after 27 years, first series loss to New Zealand and a whitewash. His time is quickly running out. A loss at the BGT, which is very much likely, must surely see the exit of Gambhir. For all his tall words, what he has achieved on the field is miniscule. His tweet of 6 years ago, where he laid at Shastri for being a failure, Gambhir has failed spectacularly.
Wrapping up
I believe that Ashwin can be an excellent captain. His thinking is way beyond his bowling skills. Just like how Australia lost Shane Warne who could have become the greatest Aussie captain, India too will miss out of Ashwin. He must be the captain right from the first Test at Perth. Some might say that he wasn’t selected in the playing eleven for away games. I say that he plays ahead of Jadeja if it means 5 bowlers or play with an additional batsman. Anyway, India needs not one but two additional batsmen given the way their batsmen have been performing.
Other blogs about the series
https://icricketcritique.com/from-euphoria-to-misery/
https://icricketcritique.com/46-was-a-gigantic-hole/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-first-test-debacle/
https://icricketcritique.com/a-proud-record-crashed/
https://icricketcritique.com/a-proud-record-crashed-2/
https://icricketcritique.com/ashamed-humiliated-and-dejected/