All is not well for Team India

Sri Lanka’s win over Australia at Hobart have made life difficult for Indian team. They are all over the Indian media, not for a good cause. Reports of rift between the captain and vice captain is spreading like a wildfire. All in not well for India at this moment.

Ever since India won the World Cup, the cricketing season wasn’t good for India. They were handed over a humiliating defeat by England. Further they were humiliated by losing 8 test matches on the trott in England and Australia. Their time line, on the whole, will be looked balance. But no victories came against a significant opponent apart from a 5-0 ODI result against England at home.

India's Timeline since their world cup victory

With Two matches to go, India are at the do or die state at the on going CB series. India have to win both their games – one each against Australia on Saturday and Sri Lanka on Tuesday. With Team producing poor results, media aggitated the news of a rift between MS Dhoni and top order batsmen of the team viz Gambhir and Sehwag

Each found quoting the negatives of each other

After defeating Australia in the 3rd match of CB series, Gambhir at press-conference said that

 It’s their game plan. I don’t know what was going through MS’s mind, but maybe he wanted to delay it, maybe he wanted someone else to take that responsibility. Someone like me, if I was there, I wouldn’t have taken it to the last over, because I always feel that any runs in the last over is far more pressure than finishing one or two overs before. Even if you need five or six runs in the last over, the pressure is far more on the batting side. We are different human beings, we think differently, we have different gameplans.

Dhoni too, had a dig at the senior members of the team in response for asking to scrap the rotation policy.

It’s not only these three players that we are talking about. We also have quite a few other players who are slow on the field. It will just add on to that, and we will be left with just two or three really good fielders. It’s not that these fielders are bad, but for this environment and these conditions and big outfields, they are slightly on the slower side. They will be exploited. Once the ball goes to them, the Australians or the Sri Lankans will try to exploit the doubles or three runs. It means it will put more pressure on their body because the throwing needs to be good, and the diving needs to be good so they will under constant pressure. So ultimately it will be a pressure game.

When Dhoni was banned for an ODI for slow-over rate, Sehwag had a responsibility to lead team. He had all the 3 players in the playing XI leaving Rohit to warm up the bench. Despite a loss against Sri Lanka, India tried to drew a positive out of nothing. Sehwag took a stunning catch at midwicket to remove Jayawardene. When quizzed by the reporters about Dhoni calling him a slow legs, Sehwag replied

Did you see my catch? We are same for the last 10 years. Nothing has changed

Suddenly, the media sensed a rift around the Indian camp and aggitated to its peak extent. BCCI decided to shut it down at its earlier stage and headed towards Fletcher (Coach,India) to clear the rift, if any. The BCCI Vice President Rajiv Shukla said,

I don’t think there is any rift within the team.It is only speculation by a section of the media. The team is united. So I don’t think there is a problem

But on Friday, neither of the coach, captain or any senior players were at the Press Conference. Instead, the tour manager, GS Walia was present. He clearly dismissed all the reports about the cold war within the team saying that

Immediately when we came back along with Sehwag, I told everybody,” Walia said. “Because this is not a small thing. The nation must know what is happening here. You are the only medium through which the information is passed on to the whole nation. So I conveyed this to them immediately, in exactly the same terms. Everybody was there. All 17. They said, ‘Sir, nothing else. There is no difference, but we will be vigilant in future. If somebody has seen there is a communication gap, we will try to avoid that situation in future.’ So let us now all concentrate on the game.

He was also keen enough not to get into any trouble by quotting wrong against Media. “At a distance, if the president has said it, it is maybe his views,” Walia said. “But I have never said it. I have never blamed the media.“

The whole country knew about the rift. At each and every corner, this has been talked about. Earlier in 2009, when India were touring England for T20 WC, there were news saying that, MS Dhoni and Sehwag have a mis-understanding as Sehwag had hid the fact that he was suffering from a shoulder injury that he got in the IPL semi final against Deccan Chargers. Later, Dhoni dismissed all those reports by making all the players assemble in the press conference.

Dhoni brought all his players to the Press Conference to dismiss the report of rift in 2009.

Should Dhoni again follow his strategy of bringing everyone at the press conference? or will this ever end? One thing for sure, all in not well for Team India.