Thomas (Special correspondent)
The glory set at Lords by captain Kapil Dev and team was brought down to shame at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
The rules of the game may have changed,but even failures were not as embarrassing as this one.At least,not in the recent past.
And how did the captain respond to India’s second successive failure at the T20 tournament?”Don’t think we were brave enough with bat or ball.”
Too weak a statement for captain Kohli – India’s finest cricketer player and most successful captain – which makes one look down on the reverend sport as a low-grade gambling activity.
Not scoring high in a game is not the matter, but how the team failed every Indians in a manner unfitting for a well-supported team.Also,why did they fail despite the platforms to practice?.
Don’t Blame it on Covid, But B-Town Fantasy
Don’t blame Covid or quarantine bio bubble for scoring 110 against the Kiwis or for the dropping performance in the recent past.
Poor team selection and pitiful team management account for the T20 performance. But, there is more; the young players carry a B-town dream in their hearts.Unfortunately, too many distractions on social media make it tough to focus on the game.
KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya,exceptional talents and an asset to India’s cricket team,have been linked to many female Bollywood actors in the past.
Pandya even tried his hands in acting and modeling while appearing on Bollywood television shows. Likewise,Prithvi Shaw, who was equaled to legends Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar,has lost his sheen to Instagram reels to find a place in the celebrity spectrum.Shreyas Iyer, among the other Indian talent too, is following the trend.
There is no harm in being fun-loving.The 1983 world cup was a fun trip for Krishnamachari Srikkanth and the others, but they returned with the cup. Kapil Dev, as the captain, was determined and succeeded in strategizing the game well to defeat the then mighty West Indies.
The vigor and passion that former Indian players carried with them do not reflect in the players today.
One could spot the team dining out far too much and partying a little too ‘hard’ during the national or international tours.Or they are busy participating in silly social media challenges, with the latest being the squid game challenge.
Yuvaraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh, too, had a bright career like their peers but did not succeed for lack of focus on the games.
Earlier, this wasn’t the case where the teams maintained a balanced professional life and fun-filled personal life. Nothing impacted their performance.
Trust and Ego – Kohly Need to Put the House in Order :
Kohli is a finest cricketer, but as a leader, he failed to settle the ego and trust issues within the team, leading to poor performance and ranking.
Rohit Sharma’s demotion is a clear indication of this. A good player like him was pushed to no. 3 when he was assigned to open the innings with KL Rahul.Rohit Sharma was told by the team that they do not trust his battings.
Sunil Gavaskar, former India captain, told India Today – “Ishan Kishan is a hit-or-miss player and it is better if a batsman like him walks in No.4 or No.5. He could then play according to the situation of the game.
Now what has happened is that Rohit Sharma has been told that we don’t trust you to face the left-arm fast bowling of Trent Boult.”
When a well-playing team member is pushed to a low rank right before their turn, it impacts their performance. Sadly, even MS Dhoni’s mentorship was lost to the poor performance.
Can Kohli give Indians a fair response? :
Maybe no. It took time for Kohli to stand up for his own team member Mohammed Shami after the first T20 match.What more can one expect from him? .
One has to earn their position in the Indian cricket team. Once they do,there is no looking back. They are expected to perform at their best and the present generation has a lot to learn from Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Dhoni and other great Indian cricketers.
Those yearning for fifteen minutes of fame on Instagram is not fit for Indian cricket. Those who cannot play it right should be out of it and focus on leisure. Bleed blue. Not disappointment.
