This is a mere understatement but the fact of the matter is that Indian cricket is in dire straits. It is a hard hitting fact. The players are one of the reason for this abysmal state of affairs but the BCCI is the bigger culprit because of their non-stop schedule. The sooner the BCCI, the spectators and the players wakes up to this fact, the better it will be for Indian cricket. Let me elaborate in the blog Indian cricket is in serious trouble.
Why am I saying this? India just won the Test series against Bangladesh including the 2nd test thriller. Yet, why am I saying this? There a multiple reasons for this.
First, there is the small matter of not winning any ICC tournament for more than 11 years despite multiple attempts. India managed to reach the finals just thrice. Once in 2015 during the Champions Trophy, the next one T20 World Cup that the team lost to Sri Lanka and the inaugural WTC finals. In none of these finals did the team came even close to winning. We were thrashed soundly by the eventual winners. Neither the board nor the players are able to find a solution for this repeated failure.
There was a period when India were able to field two different team albeit against lesser ranked teams. However, things are unravelling now. Some of the recent performances are startling for the utter lack of any intent.
The successive losses
The WTC finals was severely hampered by rain. Not only a complete day was lost but large parts of day 1, 2 & 3 were affected. Yet, India somehow found the reserves to lose that game. Not to mention the poor team selection with 2 spinners on a pitch full of grass with swinging overhead conditions. Ideally, a 6th batsman must have played apart from Jadeja because on that pitch under those conditions, a 5th bowler was a luxury.
The 2021 T20 World Cup was worse. India did not even qualify for the knock-out round after some insipid displays against Pakistan and New Zealand. Rahul and Rohit hammered the minnows to all parts of the grounds once the stakes were lessened. In New Zealand, the Indian team has consistently encountered a nemesis against whom they do not have any answer.
Next came the Asia Cup where against the team failed to qualify for the semis. Having lost to Pakistan and of all teams to Sri Lanka, they thrashed a hapless Afghanistan who were completely deflated after a nail-biting loss the previous night.
Then the 2022 World T20. Indians were all satisfied after the win against Pakistan but what followed was utter disgraceful. 10 wicket loss in the semi-final against England being the nadir. The team were rightly ridiculed for such hapless performance.
Then the mixed results in New Zealand and Bangladesh
Throughout, there was one particular aspect that really stood out as the glaring weakness. The lack intent at the top of the order and the consistent failure of the top order. Rahul has grown from bad to worse in the space of the last couple of years. Supporters of Rahul will point to his hundreds in England and South Africa. Only Indian batsman to do so. The fact of the matter is that he wasn’t even the first choice opener. If not for injuries to Mayank Agarwal and Gill, Rahul would not even have found a spot in the lineup.
Apart from those hundreds, he did not do anything of note in any other game. Be it Test or ODI or T20. He has been found wanting all the time. The pedestrian start at the top was nothing but a pain to watch. It is only because of some ordinary batting from Pujara, Kohli and Rahane, Rahul’s two hundreds looks like a mountain.
Second, weakness against spin
Against Bangladesh, if it needs Ashwin to win the game with the bat, it really does not reflect kindly on the batsmen. It has become a fashion for an Indian batsman skip Ranji Trophy and other first class games after he starts to play for the country. It is now clearly showing at the highest level. Indians who are generally good players of spin are now struggling against it. Kohli, the more he bats spin, the more he looks like a sitting duck. The twin innings at Mirpur was a pain to watch. The fluent Kohli was replaced by a nervous wreck. It was just a question of time and not if he will get out.
Pujara, though he finally overcame the century drought, is clearly not good at the international level. He was brought back into the team based on some extraordinary run spree in the English County Championship but that only goes onto show how ordinary the bowling was.
Shreyas Iyer, though he remains a suspect against bouncers, showed how to play spin. Without his contribution, India may even have lost the series. All those years of playing spin helped him to navigate the spin friendly pitches of Bangladesh. Other Indian players have lost of art of batting against spin. It is time the BCCI mandates that every player must play atleast 5 Ranji games every year. Fast bowlers can be excused but the batsmen must play.
Wrapping up Indian cricket is in serious trouble
Yes, India won the series against the less facied Bangladesh but the message from the series is loud and clear. The top and middle order is undependable. They can neither bat freely nor can they bat spin convincingly. The immediate future looks quite bleak. The Australian series looks that much tougher. It certainly looks like scores of 400 and above is beyond the ability of these batsmen. Bangladesh lost a winning opportunity but better sides like Australia will not let go of such an opportunity.
Nathan Lyon is an exceptional spinner and the likes of Kohli, Pujara, Rahul and perhaps even Rohit is likely to struggle against him. The chances of India making it to the 2023 WTC finals is fair but against Australia or South Africa at Lords, India does not have much of a chance.
Will the selectors take some tough but necessary calls? Rahul does not deserve a long run and Kohli must be on notice. Spinners with the possible exception of Ashwin aren’t good enough on unfriendly pitches. Fast bowlers may not have much work during the series.
Other blogs about Indian cricket can be read here, here and here