Now that the dust of defeat is slowly settling down, we can see a few things clearer. There was gloom when India slumped to a loss in less than three days at Sydney. With it, the visitors lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a decade. What seemed poignant was the manner of the defeats in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.
After winning the first Test in Perth, India seemed on a redemption path after a 0-3 series defeat against New Zealand. However, after the loss in the pink-ball Test in Adelaide followed by another in Melbourne, disintegration within the team surfaced. The focus was on batters, especially skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who were horrendously out of form; the former captain at least managed a century in the first Test.
The loss does not leave head coach Gautam Gambhir unscathed. There have been reports of friction over the way he handled Rohit’s decision to opt out for Shubman Gill. Had India managed to level or win the New Zealand series, this loss would not have attracted as much ire. That’s why the guns are blazing against the head coach and his support staff—Abhishek Nayar, Ryan ten Doeschate, Morne Morkel and T Dilip. The numbers do not favour Gambhir—since he has taken over, India have lost six out of 10 Tests and drawn one. Two of the three wins came at home against Bangladesh. And India lost a home series after 12 years.
Other flaws, too, were exposed Down Under. The fiery Jasprit Bumrah did not have enough back-up. The hard-hitting Rishabh Pant did not know whether to block or hit after the Melbourne marauding. Playing extra batting all-rounders over frontline bowlers did not work. Mohammed Siraj had little control, Prasidh Krishna looked inconsistent, Harshit Rana is nowhere near a finished product, and Nitish Reddy has a long way to go with his bowling.
Everyone knows the team is in transition, but that cannot be an excuse for so many losses. Risks need to be taken while re-building the squad. The selectors will confront numerous issues including the conundrum of Rohit and Virat. A fair transition will have to keep an eye firmly on the future. It’s time for the Indian cricket board to take some hard decisions.