Blackboard CWC 2015: Too many issues for India before World Cup
So it’s been over two months and 9 international matches since the Men In Blue won a game of cricket.
Sometimes they came close, sometimes agonisingly close, sometimes threw it away, sometimes succumbed to pressure and sometimes never made a human chance out of it.
No, before you assume that I’m here to throw my furnitures at the Indian cricket team regarding their recent heroics abroad, as much as I’m tempted but that’s not the case. They escape today, marginally so.
My agenda today is a little far sighted, approximately 382 days away. It is the cricket World Cup 2015, to be hosted by Australia and New Zealand, and to be defended by, erm, us.
I’m writing this specifically to emphasize that “erm” there. And of course, I have enough details to scare you guys a bit more if the boys haven’t done enough already.
The past and the present maths: source of the scare
What happens if you grab your goldfish out of the aquarium and put it on the desk for a minute? It starts trembling, crawling and waving its fins desperately in need of the oxygen it’s used to.
That goldfish is the Indian team outside the subcontinent, on the bouncy green decks, facing an average to a good bowling line-up, exposing the familiar woes; out of sorts, moving in no direction.
No kidding, the current set is brave, brave enough to overcome these, but then my friend, you ought to say that the results are yet to show up. The overseas record since the last World Cup in 2011 has been well, shameful. Yes, big enough word but 4-0 (England), 4-0 (Australia), not making the finals of the CB Series, 2-0 (South Africa), 1-0 (South Africa) and now 3-0 (New Zealand), the list just keeps getting longer and longer and painfully longer.
And you know what’s worse? The schedule coming right up involving tours of England and Australia just threatens to add a bit more to the sorrow.
So brace yourselves, I intend to break down the issues neat and clean. If at all, we are to retain our glory, a serious post mortem is in order.
Opening woes: once resurrected, twice fatal
Shikhar Dhawan
We thought we had this in the bag, damn it.
But thanks for making our heaven drop right back to Earth and now inching towards hell, dearest Rohit and Dhawan. They batted like a dream, not putting a wrong foot forward; it was unreal to think that we found Viru and Gauti 2.0 so soon.
Oh yes, too soon.
Dhawan averaged 24.00 in the 3 ODIs vs South Africa and 6.00 in the 3 ODIs vs New Zealand till he was dropped on the fourth one to make way for Ambati Rayudu.
Not to dwell on the results, but it was his manner of dismissals that would make you frown. Cross seam deliveries at a genuinely quick 140+ pace, short of good length or banged in short. He pulled, it went to the keeper. He pulled, he mistimed it. He pulled, straight to the man on the boundary. Personally a fan of his, I was gutted. He was last person I wanted to put in the Raina-Yuvi category.
Rohit on the other hand, threw it away mostly like only Rohit Sharma can do; fired up by verbal duels or a string of fishing outside off.
So what do you do? Bring back Gambhir and Sehwag? Stick with these two? Make Virat open? Make Rahane open? Make it a combination of experience and youth? Drop Rohit back to the middle order and let Dhawan stay? More options the merrier? Not.
Bringing back Gambhir doesn’t seem like a bad idea after all. He has the experience, he has the anchor as long as he doesn’t wish to poke. Him and Dhawan will do. The latter has some serious sorting out to do though.
Or Che Pujara. He provides the solidity and consistency a Kane Williamson does for New Zealand. I’m not with Virat being made to open, although there is not much difference, the No.3 position has some blood-flesh relationship with him. Why not let the man have it?
Over dependence on the men in charge
Virat Kohli
Just because they don’t disappoint you 99.99% of the times, if you’re banking on Captain and Vice-captain to win you every match, day in, day out, I’m sorry, that’s called burdening.
There are people who would blame it on Virat and Dhoni, saying that they got out at the wrong time. Maybe they did. But for heaven’s sake, what are the nine other men doing? Is it just their responsibility to take you over the line all the time? No, it isn’t. Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni are your trump cards, key players, they’ll set it up, they’ll finish it off but you ought to have another guy or two stepping up, supporting them.