Is Ravi Shastri turning out to be the Indian version of Greg Chappell?
The liquid takes the shape of the vessel. This adage goes hand in hand when it comes to Indian cricket. Gary Kirsten departed following the 2011 World Cup leaving behind a legacy and the footprints which should have ideally been followed on the sands of time. But what followed, was the debacle which made Indian cricket hit rock bottom. In between there were some soothing moments like the Champions trophy in England in the year 2013. Overall the picture remained bleak.
Advent of demolition
The Indian cricket pundits had written off Duncan Fletcher.But, BCCI was thinking otherwise. They created a post which had never existed in Indian cricket and added the chirpy Ravi Shastri to the Indian set up. We waited and hoped for the tables to turn. An overseas victory continued to elude team India in Test match cricket. We came close, but somehow we fell short every single time.
Has the objective set by the BCCI for Ravi been fulfilled? Or, did they even discuss any points before handing him the reigns of Indian cricket? The BCCI emptied its wallet by a whopping seven crores to get Indian cricket back on track. Honestly, the move has failed and the failure has been miserable.
The man who led India to never seen before moments walked away from the whites amidst a tour just before the World Cup. Another great of Indian cricket had revolted a few years back during the tour to Zimbabwe. The two events cannot be correlated only because of the distinguishing persona of these two gentlemen.
Strange Tactics – Chappell Style
Let me not beat around the bush. Let me not play it the Ravi way. I mean business, at least. Is the Indian cricket turning back the clock? Is another Chappell era back on the cards? Conspiracy, rift, strange selections lead us to ponder more and more on the way Ravi Shastri is moulding Indian cricket too. The recent defeats in Bangladesh, the one-off T20 defeat in Zimbabwe and the impossible which happened a few days ago in Galle. The picture turns out to be even sadder when we count in the performances before the World Cup.
Is it just about the lack of talent? The truth is that your best resources fail to deliver if the confidence is low and if the ambience is on the bleaker side. Playing spin has become a nightmare in a matter of few months. The bells of dictatorship have started to ring in the corridors of Indian cricket. Did MS Dhoni smell this way back and decided not to go out on a low? If yes, then his decision was the aptest.
It is like selecting an eleven more because you want them to take the field rather than on the merit of a player. Making Cheteshwar Pujara sit out or taking away confidence from someone like Bhuvneshwar Kumar; to do all this, you are getting a hefty amount too. It is indeed funny. The events that transpired after the World Cup might add fuel to the fire.
Rahul Dravid wasn’t named in the advisory committee. Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar had no idea about their roles. Dhoni’s retirement is a mystery which remains unsolved. The Indian cricket coach is yet to be decided. The dots have not been properly connected. Ravi Shastri juggles between his roles as a TV commentator and a team director. He joins the team a couple of days before the Sri Lanka Test began. Is he getting paid only to watch India play and get shattered?
Somebody has to tell him that his is a field job which requires more of perspiration rather than words. You simply cannot mentor a team without being with the team. Control, ownership and authority are the words which might not go down well with a bunch of boys striving for the country. We have already seen the demolition during the Chappell era. The events henceforth prove that the history is ready to repeat.
Rahul Dravid or Anil Kumble
Dravid would have been the ideal choice to coach team India. If the management wants his role to be confined to the grass roots, then Anil Kumble would have been a fair choice to be the director. He has a fair amount of administrative experience as well.
Every single time we are hitting a new low, Ravi Shastri walks up and reiterates the same old words “Give these guys more time, they will prove that they are the best in the business”. He is correct in a way. The players need to be given more time. Ravi doesn’t deserve an ounce of opportunity to be with the Indian cricket team. He is only fit to be in the commentary box.
The Ravi Shastri dossier of offences has multiplied in the recent tours. It is high time; the BCCI steps in to hand over the reins to someone like Dravid or Kumble.