What Still Plagues The Indian Cricket Team?

The Asia Cup victory has erased the Indian team’s woes of the 4-1 Test series loss in England and the ongoing series against West Indies, which is expected to be a one-sided affair in favour of India, will make the cricket lovers forget the team’s shortcomings in the continental event held in UAE.

Despite the elite status of the Indian team, many areas in longer and shorter versions of the game need to be addressed.

Keeping the future in mind, we may consider the upcoming Test series in Australia and the 50-over World Cup as the two significant assignments for the Indian team in the next one year.

Test series losses in South Africa and England showed that the Indian team is unable to overcome certain issues, which directly points finger at the decision-making process.

Many experts rightly pointed out that the lack of match practice and team selection were primary reasons behind the poor showing in South Africa and England.

The handling of Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s injury and denying Karun Nair a chance to play in the Test series in England also raised questions on the team management, obviously including captain Virat Kohli — the most powerful person in the side.

The information that was let out about various issues was selective.

The team, led by head coach  Ravi Shastri, bragged about its potential and gave silly excuses. For example, Shastri was quoted as saying that young Sam Curran hurt India in the Test series. Does that mean one should not count India’s lone victory at Trent Bridge, where Curran didn’t play?

It’s high time the team management adopted a more pragmatic approach before the Australia series instead of finding excuses.

Now, coming to the Asia Cup, India had some easy wins thanks to the fine batting display by the top order, led by captain Rohit Sharma. However, when the middle order got exposed, the team found the going tough even against Afghanistan and Bangladesh, which were not among the top sides in the world.

With the World Cup being staged in less than a year, what is the team management doing to address this crucial issue?

The team requires to bolster the side with right personnel and make thorough preparation to live up to the high expectation in the showpiece event.