Why extending the tenure for Ravi Shastri is a step backwards for Indian cricket
The tenure for Ravi Shastri as the coach of the Indian cricket team has been extended till 2021. Is this a step backwards for Indian cricket?
MS Dhoni will not be around soon. And we've seen several times in the past that Virat Kohli struggles in high-pressure situations without the calming presence of someone like Dhoni. Can Shastri step in and guide Kohli in Dhoni's absence?
The results and statistics back Shastri in most aspects. However, we need to take a holistic look at the results. Do they really justify the talent level of the Indian team? Remember, the Men in Blue are in a sport that is played by just nine other countries.
Given the current level of form and quality, this is an easy era for Indian cricket. They have the world's best batsman and best bowler. And yet, they are unable to enhance the trophy cabinet.
The coach needs to provide a road map to solve this problem.
Finishing in the top 3 or 4 is not too difficult a task. Amassing tons of runs or taking a flurry of wickets against teams like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and West Indies doesn't prove much.
Moreover, India has always been a lion in its own den. The competitive edge has always started to unravel in tournaments like the World Cup, the Champions Trophy and pure Test match conditions, and that continues till today.
The conversion rate of the current team has not been that great. And that's where we have to question the role of the coach, and whether he is effective at preparing the team for the last mile.
The number 4 position has remained a black hole. Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul have been fairly inconsistent. There has been a lot of chopping and changing. This is far from a settled team.
There has to be a control mechanism. And the control comes from a mentor or coach. The role Shastri has been playing does not exactly cover these aspects.
Shastri has not been up to mark in phasing in and phasing out players. Wriddhiman Saha is back in the whites even though Srikar Bharat has been doing great in domestic cricket. Ambati Rayudu should have been handled with more sensitivity.
The process of maintaining the pool of players and ensuring their mental conditioning is the job of the coach. India had taken a lot of pace bowlers as net bowlers in the World Cup. Mid-way through the tournament, most of them had returned back to India. This caused a lot of confusiong; the rationale and goal behind all these moves were never aptly explained.
The volatility in the team selection has been an ever-present problem. Apart from the top 3, nobody knows their position in the batting order. Clearly, the players are not being utilized fully.
Kedar Jadhav is a good example of a player who does not know his role at the start of any match. Jadhav barely bowled during the World Cup, and now suddenly we are seeing him bowl in the West Indies series.
A few months ago, the number 4 position was handed to Dinesh Karthik, who is an innings-builder. A month later it was handed over to Rishabh Pant, who is an aggressor. The youngster has continued to play rash shots, and nobody seems to be guiding him on how to temper his stroke-play.
To an outsider, it seems that there is no clear strategy. And there has been no justification forthcoming from Shastri or Kohli about whether there is any structure to these aspects.
You have to wonder whether there will be anyone to guide people like Yuzvendra Chahal or Kuldeep Yadav after Dhoni's retirement. Also, will anyone help Kohli take the right DRS decisions?
A player can be great as an individual, but he needs to lift the team as well. That has not really shown up in Kohli’s captaincy so far. RCB is a good example of that too. Sure, IPL is different from international cricket, but a chink in the captaincy armor usually comes to the fore everywhere. And that chink needs to be ironed out by someone suitable sitting in the mentor's seat.
India needed someone who could analyze the problem and work on the technicalities. But they have decided to continue with someone who doesn't seem to realize there is a problem.
In the current atmosphere of global competitiveness, India ought to be number 1 across all formats. But that can only be achieved if they connect the dots and ask tough questions of the people in charge.
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