The World Test Championship lost and lost quite convincingly. Why would India even qualify for such games only to crush the hearts of millions of supporters? The post game comments of both the coach and the captain make people even more angry because of the stupidity of it. Rohit Sharma wants a best of 3 finals, Dravid and Rohit blame the bowling on the first day and Rohit wants a win of 20-25 days preparatory period before the finals. A load of nonsense. Let me review the finals.
Let me start with the coach Rahul Dravid
It is still a pity that Dravid hasn’t resigned from his post. His CV as a coach is pretty ordinary. Just the one series win against Australia, albeit on some questionable pitches, Dravid’s CV does not make for good reading. If he applies for the position for some other country, no one would even shortlist him. Yet, he is clinging onto the post presiding over one debacle after another.
“It wasn’t a 469 wicket,” Dravid told Star Sports, after Australia wrapped up a 209-run victory. “On the first day, last session, conceding 157 [for no wicket] was disappointing. We knew the lines and lengths we needed to bowl; the lengths weren’t bad, but we went wide with our lines, gave a lot of room to Travis Head, he capitalised and we fell behind.”
The bowlers were coming off of a tight IPL schedule where they bowled only 4 overs per game. Shami was involved till the very last game. The IPL tamasha went on for 2.5 months during which bowlers would have adapted to a certain line and length. It just is not possible, even for professionals to change the line and the length that quickly in the finals. Ideally, there should have been atleast a couple of practice games so that the bowlers would have gotten used to the red ball.
One might say that the Australians too didn’t play any preparatory game but none of the Australian bowlers were involved in IPL. They had every opportunity to practice with the red cherry. They know the English conditions like the back of their hand. Much better than Indians.
Short turnaround
Dravid knew pretty well the short turnaround time after IPL and before the final. Shouldn’t he in the capacity of the coach, instructed BCCI to pull out all the bowlers a month before the finals? If the BCCI was unwilling, shouldn’t he have resigned stating that he will not be able to work with bowlers who are tired?
What about the batsmen? Why didn’t he blame them? The conditions were sub-continent like according to every commentator on the last day. Yet, the team was bowled out before lunch. The batsmen have been failing time and again in major games. The T20 World Cup against England, last WTC Finals and so many others. I am not saying that the bowlers were splendid.
Fight? Where was it?
“The good thing was we were behind for two days in this Test but didn’t give up and fought well.”
Another gem from the coach. Where was the fight? If Kohli had hit any of the opponents or any of the umpires or even had a go at the stump mic, there would have been a fight. Otherthan that, there was absolutely no fight shown by the Indians. Was Dravid sarcastic? That is the only way to interpret his comments. In his playing days, he never flinched from any challenge. The innings at Durban, Headingley were all legendary but now, from which angle did Dravid saw the fight from the Indians is beyond me.
The BCCI too tweeted along similar lines that the team fought hard. Seriously BCCI? You never care about how the team performs in international cricket or understand the hurt of every Indian. All you care about is money.
Rohit’s preparatory duration
“But in an ideal scenario, yes, I would prefer if we have 20, 25 days to prepare for a game like this.” This fellow knows that the finals will be tough and that it will be played in England on greentop and yet, he didn’t have the nerve to inform the BCCI of a longer preparation. He himself didn’t find the need to excuse himself from the last couple of weeks of the IPL and prepare for the finals. This clearly shows that neither Rohit nor the board nor the players care about international cricket anymore. They are happy to play in the IPL for a shorter duration. Manjrekar has written in his autobiography that Mumbai players are much more passionate about their Ranji team than while playing for India. Rohit is only carrying that torch.
Best of 3 finals
Next comes his gem. Best of 3 finals.
“But honestly, in a big event like this, you need to have fair opportunities to both the teams. You know, a three-match series would be nice, but it’s about finding that window where it can be fit in.”
Finals can never be a 3 game affair. As Cummins rightly pointed out, Olympic medals are won with just one final and not the best of 3. India faltered in preparation. They didn’t care about winning the international game and were happy to be part of the hit-and-giggle IPL. The WTC 2021 loss must have hurt them enough and it must have spurred them to win in 2023. The fact that it didn’t mean only one thing. Playing for India is the least of their priorities. It is unfortunate that Indian cricket has sunk to this low.
Wrapping up Rohit, Dravid, the team and the board
It is time they understand that it is the supporters who have made them. They are earning millions because of supporters like us. We want our national team to win at the highest level. If we are fed up of the so-called fighting performance, we will stop watching the game. Every Indian will hope that some other sport or multiple sports captures the imagination of the public and as a result, funds from the BCCI will be diverted to those sports by the sponsors. The day that happens will be the day Indian cricket will think of winning consistently and at all times.