Another World Test Championship final, and another heavy defeat for India. Something is not right when it comes to such key matches. And, the talk that India have not won an ICC trophy since 2013 only extends.
The choice of the playing 11 or the omission of No. 1-ranked Test bowler R Ashwin, the decision to bowl first under overcast conditions that were just for that one morning, the shot selection of the Indian batsmen, the lines the Indian bowlers bowled allowing Travis Head and Steve Smith to build a partnership and slam contrasting centuries are being debated and dissected threadbare.
Looking back at the WTC final, former India all-rounder and coach Madan Lal told news18.com: “India played timid cricket. India took a very weak decision of bowling first after winning the toss. In such a big final, you must take the challenge of going through two hours in the beginning as you have world-class batsmen who have scored so many runs in the past. Even a total of 300-350 would have put the opposition under pressure. Having chosen to bowl first, India should have bowled well. They bowled too many balls outside the off stump, letting the Aussies to leave alone. A first day’s total of 327/3 meant Australia scored a lot of runs. On the contrary, the Aussies bowled a much disciplined line to get the Indians all out for a 173-run lead and eventually to win by 209 runs.”
Who is Answerable for Dropping Ashwin?, Asks Madan
Lal, the 72-year-old 1983 World Cup-winning Indian team member, questioned the omission of R Ashwin from the playing 11. “Who is answerable for not playing Ashwin? How can you drop your No. 1 bowler? Australia don’t drop their No. 1 spinner Nathan Lyon even for the Perth Tests. Ashwin is a world-class player and the reason that the pitch was green was all nonsense. It was a wrong decision.”
Lal, who played in 39 Tests and 67 ODIs between 1974 and 1987 for a combined tally of 144 international wickets and 1,443 international runs, added that the Indian team should have played one or two practice matches before the WTC final. “In England, you have to play practice matches like actual match scenarios and not 15 to bat, 14 to bowl. You should give the 11 players who are likely to figure in the final ideal match situations. You cannot give excuses of Indian Premier League and hence no time for practice matches. IPL is going to be there. They are going to play in the IPL year after year. They are professional cricketers, not amateurs.”
Lal said that the wrong decisions made by the think-tank should be admitted and not look for excuses. “You must analyse what’s wrong. It is not about ego clashes. It is about discussing Indian cricket, how to go forward. Even the coach and captain are answerable. A lot of the sportspersons take criticism in a positive manner and improve. It is not about one individual but Indian cricket as a whole. We don’t want to be the laughing stock in world cricket. We want to be the top team.”
The Delhi resident said that the way forward to build a winning Test team is to give youngsters proper time at the Test level. Lal said: “I judge Test cricketers by the way they play. They may be doing well in domestic cricket but when it comes to Test cricket, it is a different story. Test cricket is all about batting for 6-7 hours. You have to play consistently against tough teams like England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and even Pakistan, if possible. The youngsters should be groomed against these big sides, not against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. You see quite a few players who have played a lot of cricket for 10-15 years and are now down the hill. How many more can they play? You have to slowly phase the seniors out and bring in youngsters.”
Two former Test players whom news18.com approached for their views did not wish to be quoted. They had their strong views on the Indian team going forward and analysed where India went wrong.
‘Lacking Consistency, Discipline’
One of them said: “The biggest thing looking at the WTC final is self-discipline and self-realisation. We are not bad players. The consistency in performance and the discipline that should come are lacking. Discipline off the field will translate into discipline on the field.”
He echoed Lal’s view in saying the team has to accept responsibility. “If you are not good enough, accept it. Those two wickets on the fourth afternoon (Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara) were uncalled for. The wicket was playing very well, and they played some stupid shots. These are all experienced players. Am sure they must be regretting it but it is too late. Even Virat playing that shot in the last innings, he was nowhere. He was playing so well. You are looking at going ahead, but if you have this kind of line-up, you get carried away and you never know what will happen to Indian batting. You don’t expect Nos. 6, 7 and 8 to score runs. There has to be a sense of responsibility.”
The former player was not in favour of immediate changing of coach and captain for the Test team. “I am totally against changing coach and captain based on this result. We are result-oriented people. We boast when we win, no matter how we win, and talk badly when we lose, even if we go down fighting. Winning and losing are part of the game, how you win or lose is important. Change of guard is not the way. We all should get into some kind of reasoning and logic wherein we should go deep into it and see whether we lost because of the coach or captain and the answer will be different. Don’t go by the face value but go by the intrinsic value.”
Go Back to Old Domestic Format: Raju
Former India left-arm spinner Venkatapathi Raju was of the view that for the Indian Test team to go forward, the old format of Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy on knock-out basis and Irani Cup should be followed. “Ranji Trophy zonal wise like earlier will also help Indian Test players to play in them and benefit the youngsters,” Raju told this website.
The 53-year-old Raju said: “It is all about playing so much cricket. India is the hub, everyone wants to play India for financial, spectatorship, viewership reasons. It has to be monitored. Preparation is very important. The Indian players have no time to play domestic cricket. Most of the Indian players who get injured and return after rehabilitation don’t play domestic matches. Matches are important, whether you like or not, not taking throw-downs.
“We can go back to our old format of Ranji Trophy, zone wise, travel within the zone. Now, there’s not much time in between matches. And every State association has its own T20 leagues. Talent scouting programmes like earlier will give you a lot of options. It had a lot of fast bowlers in hand, a lot of batsmen in hand and spinners also who could replace anybody and be of the same level. It must be ensured that all the Test players should play domestic cricket. At least they should play Duleep Trophy and Irani Cup. This will help the present domestic cricketers and find talent. Domestic matches shoul also be planned according to the ICC itinerary.”
Raju, who played in 28 Tests for 93 wickets and 53 ODIs for 63 wickets, also suggested that the ICC could have a WTC window for two months across two years rather than the current format where all the teams don’t play an equal number of matches.
Create Pool of Pacers: Balaji
Another former India player, L Balaji, was of the view that new resources in the fast bowling unit should be created.
“A bigger pool of fast bowlers need to be created. Beyond the current lot, you can hardly find fast bowlers who are ready for the long-duration,” said 41-year-old Balaji, who is also a television commentator and was a member of the Chennai Super Kings as a player and then as bowling coach.
Balaji said that India were tactically behind, especially on the first day of the WTC final. “The lines the Indian bowlers bowled to Head in particular, they should have used the short balls earlier. Ashwin’s non-inclusion in the 11, not bowling bouncers early on, bowling outside off to Head, the way he played, dictating terms in his first hundred, made a huge difference. That said, almost everybody misread the pitch.”
The former right-arm pacer from Chennai who played in eight Tests, 30 ODIs and five T20Is for a total of 71 international wickets altogether between 2002 and 2012, felt that the unavailability of Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant due to injuries “made the difference between India winning and losing”.
However, he felt India reaching two back-to-back WTC finals was a huge achievement. “You have won overseas matches. You have built the core group. It was just one or two sessions that did not go India’s way. If they went India’s way, it would have been a different result,” said Balaji.