The BGT negatives for India

Part one of BGT that focussed on the positives for India can be read here.

There were far too many that it is difficult to even count them in one hand. In hindsight, one wishes that perhaps, Rohit could have stayed at home and taken care of the second child. Since he returned, the team went from one disaster to another. He looked clueless to arrest the slide and his own batting did not inspire any confidence. Towards the end, he had to drop himself from the team because his confidence was shattered though people would like to portray that he was indeed dropped. Whatever it was. The fact is that he just does not fit into the first choice playing eleven. His best days are behind him as a Test cricketer. Perhaps, he can survive for a year in ODI cricket where the ball does not move and the pitches will be as flat as it can be.

Kohli is another who is a complete idiot. Just like Jaiswal, he did all the wrong things on the field but could not back it up with runs. As a result, he became a running joke and a walking wicket. Bowl outside the off, Kohli will certainly nick. In all the 9 innings, he got out in the same fashion which tells the fans that he is too arrogant and self-centred to change. The Australian media and the public had a wonderful time mocking Kohli. If you have not been scoring runs for 5 years, it is better to shut-up and concentrate on scoring runs rather than indulging in stupid mannerisms.

Both Kohli and Rohit, mainly Kohli, if they had any sense of shame, must have retired after Sydney. With the next series in England, it is difficult to see them score runs. Both of them had one good tour of England but nothing else.

Shubman Gill & Siraj

How many more chances do they need? Gill has not touched 40 in 4 years outside India. That is an alarming statistic. When one see Gill walk to the wicket, one can see a lazy, lethargic and uninterested fellow walking to the wicket who would like to be in one of the casinos rather than on the cricket field. Why then is he being persisted with for such a longtime? He must be told to learn the game at the Ranji level and not at the Test level. I do not know who is behind retaining Gill but he is doing a fabulous job.

Srikkanth castigated Gill on his YouTube channel.

“I’ve always maintained that Shubman Gill is an overrated cricketer, but nobody listened to me. He is a highly overrated cricketer,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.

I tend to agree with Srikkanth. More than 30 Tests is fair enough to judge a player. Gill hasn’t done anything worthy to be persisted with despite non-performance. Infact, Gill is a resource wasted. A position that was occupied by Dravid and by Pujara, is now occupied by an incompetent and untrustworthy Gill.

Badrinath, the former Tamil Nadu batsman was even more scathing in his attack.

“If this was Shubman Gill from Tamil Nadu, he would have been dropped.”

As for Siraj, the records will show that he took 20 wickets in 5 Tests. 4 per Test is not a bad return. Dig a little deeper, it will be stark. An average of 31, bowling on some of the fast bowling friendly pitches, if this was his performance, what can he achieve on pitches that do not carry this much help? 100 wickets in 36 Tests is less than 3 per Test. This is the Kohli standard of non-performance.

Where were the bowlers?

The bigger worry is that where are the bowlers? Apart from Bumrah, no one else even scare the batsmen. How is India going to survive? This is a real worrying part. In England, the pitches will be batting friendly. Leave alone 20, will India be able to take atleast 10 wickets? What is the BCCI doing? With billions in the bank and an never-ending stream of cricketers in the country, why is the BCCI unable to find several bowlers? This nation ideally must produce several fast bowlers who are better than Bumrah. The fault lies on the BCCI for wasting the resources.

Jadeja contributed in one innings but apart from that, he did not exist. His bowling is like a cannon fodder on pitches that do not spin. It probably is time to think of Jadeja as an India only cricketer. Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna will have to improve by leaps and bounds. They are nowhere near international bowling standard.

Indian cricket is in trouble

Indian cricket finds itself in a strife. If one were to decide who among the 18 players will definitely be on the flight to England, it is a dismal list. Jaiswal has shown what he is capable though the swing of England is a different proposition. However, it will be insane to drop him. Bumrah is another if he remains fit enough after 3 months of IPL. Nitish Reddy is the only seamer who can bat and he must be there. Rahul for his penchant for the SENA conditions. Pant for obvious reasons.

The rest are not automatic selection. This is a serious concern. Will the BCCI and the selectors act? If it is impossible to select 9-10 players from the current squad on the next tour, the fundamental part has broken down. No bowlers and no batsmen. This is an alarming situation for which the BCCI must be ashamed of. The richest board in the world with never ending stream of resources, cannot put together a squad that can win in England is embarrassing. Mohammed Shami’s graph has grown in his absence but I do not think that he would have made much difference. Shami often bowls magical deliveries that beats the bat regularly but it doesn’t end up in wickets.

Captaincy

I cannot term Bumrah as the find because he has been around for a longtime. However, it is time to think of Bumrah the captain or is it so? Bumrah is prone to major injuries. You cannot afford the captain to miss far too many games. At Sydney, Kohli became the captain on the last couple of days. Kohli, who had relinquished captaincy more than 4 years ago, suddenly found himself on the hot seat. It is not an ideal scenario.

I do not want to go back to Rohit. Perhaps, just perhaps, Ashwin could be persuaded to reverse his decision and become the captain with both Rohit and Kohli dropped from the England squad. Ashwin will not like it but if offered captaincy, as he must have been after Kohli, he could be made to acquiesce. Another option is Rahane. The BCCI must not make any of Gill, Pant or Rahul the captain. Gill must not even be considered for a few years until he shows real hunger.

Wrapping up the BGT negatives for India

The next part will cover Australia and few other things.