You know what? For me, this was a very poor tour of the West Indies for the Indian cricket team. Yes,they won the Test series, and the ODI contest, just about, before narrowly losing the T20Is.But if India want to lay claim to be one of the top sides in the world, they were way below par.
Enough has been said and written on the Test and one-day series, so I will cut to the chase. For me, in the T20Is,India were way below par from the first game. Now, this a is a version in which West Indies are at their strongest. The shorter the game, the better they seem to be, the reason being thata quick impact with bat and/or ball is usually enough to win you the game. In 50-overs cricket and the multi-days game, this does not quite work. And that is why you have to continue to be impactful over a longer period of time and sustain your dominance. Many have slipped between the lip and the cup.
In my humble opinion,Yashasvi Jaiswal is the next superstar in Indian cricket. I follow domestic cricket very closely, and some of the knocks I saw this kid play last season were simply jaw-dropping. After conceding a 150-run lead to South Zone in last year’s Duleep Trophy final in Coimbatore, he got 265 in 315 balls to give enough time and runs to his bowlers to win them the game. Cut to the Irani Cup in Gwalior. A first innings double-hundred was followed by another century in the second innings, with cracks on the pitch wide enough for a 50 paisa coin to go in. And the second innings 144 was off 157 balls, with a strike-rate of 91.71 – simply breathtaking. The next-highest score in the innings was 30, such was his dominance and superiority. After that, we all saw what he did in the IPL, and kudos to the selectors and the management of the Indian team for not delaying his entry into the senior team by having him play more A team cricket. Once you have seen someone this special, fast-track him to where he belongs. An innings of 170-odd on Test debut, and runs in every version, has entrenched himself in the team. The best young multi-format batter at the moment, and someone I’m a big admirer of. And the most intriguing part is that his best is yet to come.
The batting order and the bowling changes were baffling at times. I am not saying this just because India lost the series. Suryakumar Yadav, who can play at any position and has played the finisher’s role to perfection in the past, was made to bat at No. 3. Sanju Samson, who loves batting at No. 3 and has had all his success there, was battedat No. 5. Could they not have swapped places? Playing in position is all about optimising your full potential. It did not happen here. Playing in position is also imperative for your growth as a player. Lionel Messi would not have been ‘The Lionel Messi’ if he had been played at left-back, would he?
Mukesh Kumar is a new-ball specialist, but in the T20 games, he became a solely a death bowler, and was really good. But is he not a better new-ball bowler than Hardik Pandya?You always want your best bowlers to bowl with that new Kookaburra ball to get most potency. AxarPatel did not bowl in one of the games, baffling given that you had played a premier left-arm spinner with Ravi Jadeja not in the side. Much of this was confounding, and I can only pray that it wasn’t match-ups that influenced these decisions. I am alarmed at how often right-arm off-spinners to right-hand batters and left-arm spinners to left-hand batters is considered a complete no-no. The great Muttiah Muralitharan finished with 800 Test wickets, and more than 72 per centwere right-hand batsmen. If you are good, the wickets will come. Data is great, but too much of it clutters the mind.
None of this would come out in the open if India had grabbed that last game and won the series. But there is always some good coming out of losses, and it’s time to introspect. I am sure the people in that dressing room know what is going on, so we wish them well.But you have to get to the bottom of this puzzle, as there is a World Cup to be played, just around the corner.
Also Read: Much Ado About Hardik Pandya and India’s Loss in the Caribbean