Rahul Dravid’s decision on the disastrous tour of South Africa was that India did not play ‘smart cricket’. Not known as a waste of words, that covert analysis not only conveyed Dravid’s deep dismay, but also prompted an immediate rethinking of personnel, tactics and team-bonding methods.
Losing five matches in a row – across two formats – was a blow, no less, and none added to Dravid’s frustration every day as the team lost a historic, first Test series win in South Africa and then further extended. One ODI series. I’m going to whitewash.
Defeats and setbacks are an integral part of the game, but without taking anything away from a tough, determined South Africa, when a team performs so poorly against a formidable opponent, there is cause for concern. For Dravid, his first assignment – the home series against New Zealand – was not that much of a challenge. The tour of South Africa was an eye-opener. Many problems were emerging which had to be resolved.
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The two-year period since Dravid took over as head coach from Ravi Shastri is a significant one. There are three ICC titles at stake – T20 WC, ODI WC and WTC. In the previous cycle of these events, India did poorly despite wearing the tag of ‘favourite of the three’. In the 2019 ODIWC, the team was knocked out in the semi-finals, failed to make the T20 WC knock-out stage in 2021 and, perhaps most disappointingly, lost to New Zealand in the inaugural WTC final in 2021.
These unfavorable results in large part led to Virat Kohli relinquishing the captaincy – voluntarily or otherwise. Workload management and his own faltering batting form were also important factors, but it would be fair to assume that had the team won two of these three tournaments, Kohli’s position as captain would have been secured.
Though he doesn’t have any major titles to show in his 7-year stint, Kohli’s captaincy record in bilateral competitions is stupendous. Apart from this, he also brought a big cultural and mental change in the dressing room with his aggressive style. Their influence is sure to have a lasting impact which will have to be put to an end. With Kohli no longer at the top, there was bound to be a period of uncertainty which would have to be resolved at the earliest.
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In such a situation, the captaincy and the choice of the players become paramount. The ODI and T20 teams announced this week have expressed their desire for a quick turnaround in the results. The selectors – in close consultation with Dravid and captain nominee Rohit Sharma – have made changes, the most notable of which is the return of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Chahal in the form of a wrist-spinner combo that was not very successful a long time ago.
Senior players like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and R Ashwin (fitness) have been rested, while Ravindra Jadeja is yet to fully recover from the injury. There has been some criticism that newcomer Venkatesh Iyer has been dropped after the South Africa series. This is not a show of distrust towards Iyer. More likely, it’s in an effort to coach-captain the best talent and balance to be able to try other players. Similarly, the Chahal-Kuldeep pairing can’t believe that their place is now confirmed. Both have to show wicket-taking form.
Timely preparation of T20 team is top priority as this year’s WC will be played, but next year’s ODI WC should be planned simultaneously. It’s a help to have as many players as can fit the bill in both formats. For the selectors, Dravid and Sharma, the challenge is to try as many players as possible without compromising on winning matches and series. Continuing defeats can break the morale of even the side which has rich talent.
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The Test squad will certainly be announced on the eve of the series against Sri Lanka, which follows the white-ball competition against the West Indies, but there are likely to be some big changes here as well, given the poor form of the top order in the south. Is. Africa. Has happened. Whether Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are able to stay in their places is the important question. India are ranked precariously in the WTC rankings and need a lot of victories to come back in a strong fight for a place in the finals. Here too, some urgency is inevitable in identifying and trying out players.
The issue of Test captaincy remains unresolved. Will the selectors go for a split captaincy (white and red ball) or give full charge to Rohit Sharma now after Kohli resigns?
Logically, it would be Sharma who was made the vice-captain for the Test matches in South Africa before being pulled out of the tour over fitness issues as well as captaining the ODIs. His climb to the top spot in white-ball cricket has been widely appreciated. His leadership credentials are excellent and this includes some multi-nation tournaments as well as IPL titles. In this role, he has displayed maturity and strategy reflecting his vast experience. He is also India’s best batsman at present, which has made his captaincy more or less indispensable.
Apparently the delay in naming the Test captain has been due to uncertainty over Sharma’s fitness. Obviously, a captain who is in and out of the team due to poor fitness makes the team unstable and weak. But this decision cannot be kept open for long. This dilemma can be easily resolved by talking to sports medicine experts from NCA who have been treating him for some time.
While the recast and the big IPL, before the mega auction, have all been in the limelight, it is the matches that will be played before the cash-rich tournament that are more important. It is the era of resumption and will determine how and where Indian cricket is going.
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