Is Indian Cricket headed for a West Indies-style downfall?

With Indian cricket going through one of the roughest patches and with experts all over the world discussing and trying to figure out what’s wrong with Indian cricket, may be we should take a sneak peek into history and see what the game has been through. Remember the times of the Prudential World Cup? It’s that period of world cricket that can be echoed simultaneously with ‘The West Indies Domination’. They say cricket is a team game. The end result depends on how the team builds up and performs in the match. But individuals can win matches too, and most often they do. Remember this quote by Mark Taylor? – “We did not lose to a team called India… We lost to a man called Sachin.” That’s why these men are called greats. And imagine if an army of greats was donning the same jersey. Well, that’s exactly what the West Indian team boasted of in the 1970’s and 80’s. The West Indian team went around demolishing oppositions all around the world. Represented by the likes of Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, they were known and feared for their devastating bowling line up, or the ‘Fearsome Pace Battery’ as it was popularly known. A bowling line up that was studded with gems, the kind that shall unfailingly make it to the all time best no matter what the selection criteria are. Not that batting legends weren’t in the vicinity. Sir Viv Richards and many others were the likes that shall always go down in the books of history as all time greats.

By winning the 1975 World Cup, the Windies announced their domination and rule over cricketing world. Following it up with another World Cup win in 1979 and then reaching the finals for the third consecutive time in 1983, they further proved their absolute domination. That was when the legends were at the end of their careers, and the ominous signs started appearing. The last of the fearsome pacers from the Windies, Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose, retired in the 2000-2001 seasons. This after they set the cricketing world ablaze with their fearsome pace and bowling skills over the years and in the meantime, rattling the opposition batting lineups and setting records. This was also that time when West Indian cricket was at the twilight of its golden phase. What followed was a downfall. The once supreme and dominant force of cricket went on to lose 8 consecutive tests and ended up being ranked, rated and counted alongside the likes of Bangladesh and Ireland.

Indian Cricket has a pretty similar tale to narrate. Ever since the emergence of India as super power of the cricketing world after the Prudential World cup victory in 1983, Indian cricket hasn’t really looked back. The late 1980’s (1989 to be precise) and the early 1990’s saw the arrivals of the ‘soon to be’ Legends. With likes of Sourav Ganguly, the God of the Offside and the Tiger of Bengal, Rahul Dravid, the ever so dependable wall, the Very Very Special Laxman, and of course Sachin Tendulkar, the God of cricket in the team, the Indian batting line up was studded with the greatest among the greats of cricket and was popularly known as the ‘Fab Four’. Not that there weren’t quality bowlers in the line up. Who can forget the presence of Anil Kumble, one of the best bowlers and the third highest wicket taker of all times? Since then, Indian cricket has attained every known height of the cricketing world. They became world beaters. Especially since the time Sourav Ganguly took over the reins on Indian cricket, there’s practically nothing that India didn’t achieve. India reached the finals of the 2003 World Cup, became the No.1 team in both Tests and ODIs and then finally won the Cricket World Cup in 2011 (though only Sachin Tendulkar featured in the winning team).  This was the time when India had established their dominance in the cricketing world. But it was also the time when the careers of these legends were at their end. With Sachin Tendulkar, the last among the ‘Fab Four’, retiring recently and with the kind of patch that the Indian Team is going through, one cannot help but wonder, is history being repeated?