These are queer times for Indian cricket. The Test team continues to top the rankings. But success on foreign soil, where it matters, remains elusive. Other than a solitary series win against a weakened Australia in the 2018-19 season, India has had to contend with defeats in South Africa, England and New Zealand. It did win in the West Indies and Sri Lanka in this period, but that does not make the team strong travellers, considering the dwindling cricket stocks of those nations. Against quality sides in their backyard, this bunch continues to fall short of the standards captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri think they can achieve.
In conditions where fast bowlers get assistance, the Indians invariably fall short of their own expectations. There is a pattern in the way they lose. The batting caves in and the occasional good work of their own fast bowlers notwithstanding, the result goes in favour of the opposition teams. Kohli losing his cool while explaining what went wrong is also becoming a trend. He keeps indicating that the world at large is conspiring against his team instead of acknowledging the shortcomings of the players. This is a worrying sign. In any sport, it is necessary to introspect and do some course correction in order to get better. Good teams and players do that instead of playing the victim, as Kohli often does.
Indian cricketers are the best paid in the world and the infrastructure the country has is better than that in most cricket-playing nations. There is enough incentive for youngsters to take up the game and pursue it as a career. And India is certainly the best team when playing at home. But this supremacy will not be complete as long as it does not win overseas, like the great teams from the West Indies or Australia. The team realises this as well and that is why Kohli or Shastri keep saying that they can do it. But saying this means nothing unless the team has results to show for it. New Zealand was another opportunity lost.