CHENNAI: Played two, lost two and second last on the points table sandwiched between Namibia and Scotland. It's quite the start to the World Cup for India who were, by all accounts, at least joint favourites with England and West Indies. Over the course of two Sundays, though, that prophecy has been blown to smithereens through a combination of poor shot execution, iffy selection decisions, a probable lack of global exposure in this format, dearth of format-specific coaches and mental fatigue. This is not an exhaustive list. Here's an in-depth look at some of the reasons behind their derailment...
Less than a sum of their parts
In the last two games, the team has looked like an expensively assembled football side but without a clear plan. This can happen for a number of reasons. A lack of trust, no real clarity on their role within the set-up and, crucially, key batters out of form. Save KL Rahul, none of the other members of the top six were consistent coming into the World Cup. The hallmark of most winning T20 sides is confidence, fluidity, interchangeability and one player essaying different roles (example of Moeen Ali or Glenn Maxwell being a powerplay bowling option coupled with a spin hitter while batting). This side lacked in all three departments.
Anchor-heavy strategy
Sure, they had to rebuild first after losing at least two powerplay wickets in both games. But it still didn't mean they need not hit boundaries. Against New Zealand, they became the first side to not hit a boundary between the 7th and 15th over of an innings this World Cup. For so long, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been able to turn 25 off 20 starts to 70 off 50 scores. Both of them have not been able to do that consistently, not just for India but for their IPL sides as well the last 18 months or so. The team management failed to identify this.
Policy paralysis
During the year's first big significant test, a winning return against England, Kohli warmed up to the possibility of opening. He never followed through with that. KL Rahul was dropped and brought back. Ishan Kishan opened, dropped then opened again. The team put down their conservative approach to embrace boundary hitting but slipped back to conservatism in both games in UAE to end up with less than par scores. To paint a grim picture, India have hit six sixes across two games. That's just one more than Jos Buttler hit in a 32-ball innings against Australia. There was also the curious Hardik Pandya decision. After planning for years around him as a fifth bowler, they compromised on his fitness.
Selection calls
The team management bet the house on Yuzvendra Chahal in the shortest format. Since the beginning of 2017, he has played in 46 international matches (third highest behind Kohli and Rohit). They very clearly planned to have him for this World Cup. Yet, they moved to Ravi Ashwin, who hasn't played in a single T20I match since 2017. They also carried Hardik with them knowing he wasn't fit enough to bowl when required. They also ignored the IPL forms of the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad as well as the serious loss in form of the likes of Suryakumar Yadav but they can be excused for that.
Seeing T20 as a shortened ODI
When analysts talk about T20, they talk about it not as a different format of the game. They see it as a different sport itself. Some of the leading franchises and countries that excel in the format have also come around to the opinion that T20 needs to be viewed as a different game altogether. India, at some level, still see it as a 'shortened ODI'. That's why they don't have multiple established standalone T20 specialists (Varun Chakravarthy is the lone exception) threatening to take away spots in the XI. The absence of spin bowling as well as power hitting coaches is a wrong that ought to be corrected in the next cycle.
Lack of exposure
The Indian Premier League is the best T20 league, of that there is little doubt. But players of other international sides have access to other T20 leagues. Thus they are exposed to the wider trends, play in different conditions and interact with a wider number of coaches. Of course, if India do decide to allow their white-ball specialists to play elsewhere, that could potentially allow bigger debates. But that's one way to expose specific T20 specialists to all the elite T20 leagues around the world.
Bubble fatigue
Post the initial break before last year's IPL, most members of the Indian team have been living large parts of their life in bio bubbles as they go from one country to the next. This is of course not unique to them — other teams have also had to play in bio bubbles — but the demands cannot be discounted. For months these guys have had to go from airport to training to match to airport to match and that can be a very challenging environment. Bumrah touched upon this during the post-match press conference.
Failing to pick their match-ups
In T20s, the buzzword is match-ups. At the heart of the two losses is they have not maximised in this area. "This is all about negating the opposition strengths as well as being flexible enough to bowl to your own strengths," says noted fast-bowling coach, Ian Pont. "So, without knowing what is discussed in the planning stages, to have only taken two wickets in two matches, shows how things have clearly gone wrong. Worse than this though, the lack of high numbers of dot balls haven't created enough pressure on the opposition."
Losing toss not ideal
While the team and the management will have to share blame for the two losses — not just the losses but the way in which they lost the two matches — they have been very unfair in losing both tosses. In the night in that part of the year, dew has meant that bowling second is a fool's errand. Keeping that in mind, they have had to ask batters to play unfamiliar roles at the top. And with no afternoon matches lined up, if Kohli loses the toss again, the team will again be at the mercy of the elements.