Opinion: It is time India chose practicality over prestige
If you're an India fan who is also an avid Fantasy Premier League player, you must have poked around the FPL subreddits over on Reddit. Then you'd have come across this often used adage - "Form over fixtures".
It provides you with advice if you are stuck at a choice between two players. The two players are one, who has a set of easy fixtures but isn't in form and the other who has a harder set of fixtures but is in red hot form. "Form over fixtures" says that you should pick the latter.
Because form is a far better reason to pick a player than their reputation or the reputation of their opponents. It is better than any such factor that the players themselves have no control over. When in doubt, go with the form. Forget the crowd that bellows "form is temporary; class is permanent". Form may be temporary, but it is more tangible and therefore more likely to be beneficial.
And it seems India has forgotten that lesson. That's the basic lesson every fantasy Premier League player learns the hard way. At least after Salah scores a hat-trick against Manchester United away from home. Form over fixtures. Never forget.
This is not the first time India have been guilty of this fault of picking players purely based on who they were and their past history. They choose these players rather than giving the playing conditions and the nature of the pitch the respect that it deserves.
Just this year, in the World Test Championship final against New Zealand, India went with two spinners in the playing XI. They were Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
This was after rain had played a spoilsport on the first day, even before the toss and the teams could be finalized. On the other hand, New Zealand went with five seam bowling options and not a single spinner.
Were Ashwin and Jadeja the best indian bowlers on paper? Yes, they absolutely were. But two spinners in England is an overkill under the best of conditions. But India stuck with them because India wanted the best players in the XI instead of the best playing XI for the conditions.
And in a way that is reminiscent of the team they picked against Pakistan in their 2021 T20 WC opener.
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India opted to have Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the XI, despite the both of them having less than par IPL performances and even before that.
Make no mistake, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is one of India's greatest pace bowlers and swing bowlers ever. But when India already have Shami and Bumrah in the team, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is not a necessity. Especially when someone like Ashwin is waiting on the sidelines.
Hardik Pandya has already been compared to the most successful cricket allrounders of all time and even touted as the "next Kapil Dev". But he has hardly bowled a full quota of overs in the last two years and his form in the IPL has been downright deplorable.
Yes, he is a batter who can send a shiver down the spine of any bowler on his day. But his last 'day' was so long ago that it has slipped out of memory. He was on the team at the expense of Shardul Thakur.
Shardul has proved time and again that he has a knack for picking up wickets even against the run of play with India and Chennai Super Kings. He also came right after winning the IPL trophy too, hence the decision to keep him out was inexcusable.
Pakistan win toss, decide to bowl first.
#WeHaveWeWill
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By contrast, Pakistan went with four spin bowling options, combining to give a mere 44 runs in eight overs. They did a stellar job of choking the indian batting in the middle overs. India, however, had only five realistic bowling options, which proved to be their ultimate downfall.
This is not a recent issue or an issue that exists only with India. But India at this moment simply has too much talent available to squander in the name of history and reputation. The players may simply come good after a couple of chances but at that point it might be too late.
Will Virat Kohli be brave enough to embrace what is practical instead of going with the tried and tested option? That too at the last and biggest stage available for him in his final T20 tournament as captain?