CHENNAI: As the year 2022 dawned upon us, despite the off-field power struggles — i.e the handling of Virat Kohli’s ODI captaincy — there was hope in Indian cricket. They had just conquered Centurion, and it was the closest they had come to winning a Test series in the Rainbow Nation, had the chance to complete what they started in England the year before and top it off with a T20 World Cup title to complete 2022 on a high. Yet, 12 months on — a series loss in South Africa, a Test defeat in England, a poor show in Asia Cup, and the T20 World Cup later — they are nowhere close to where they wanted to be.
And it is not just what the on-field results. 2022 saw India field four different captains in Tests, three in ODIs, and four in T20Is. While some were conscious workload management calls, it is hard to look past the injury-forced decisions they had to make through the year — Virat Kohli in South Africa or Rohit Sharma in England, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja in the T20 World Cup to name a few. A year that started off with big dreams, a new captain and coach at the helm — Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid — ended in a rather disappointing fashion.
That said, what happened has happened. 2022 is over and 2023 is here. And the BCCI has started the year by taking a hard look at how things went down last year and what they could do to ensure it does not happen again, especially not in a year where they have an opportunity to secure both red-ball as well as white-ball glory. And they have opted to make some serious policy changes going forward.
Fitness, workload priority
In the review meeting that was held in Mumbai on Sunday, the BCCI has mandated that the fitness of the players and their workload be the top focus, with a home World Cup on the horizon. The Yo-Yo test and DEXA (Dual Energy Xray Absorptiometry — a diagnostic tool for measuring bone mineral density and body composition) have been made mandatory for the selection of players.
The National Cricket Academy, headed by VVS Laxman, will work alongside the IPL franchises to monitor the targeted Indian players during the 2023 IPL. And the players have to take part in a significant amount of domestic cricket to be eligible for the national team. Which means, unlike in the past, the selectors will not be fast-tracking players after a stupendous season in the IPL. The BCCI has also shortlisted 20 players who will be rotated through the year in the 50-over format to make sure they all get enough game time before the global event in October.
Team in transition
While there are no personnel changes at the moment, it is hard not to see that this team is undergoing a transition. At some level, despite all the upgrades, particularly in their bowling riches and resources in the last decade, the men’s team are very similar to where they were in 2012-13. An entire batch of bowlers have come and gone in white-ball cricket. The key batters, who led the transition from a different generation during their mid 20s, are a decade older. They are superstars in their own right and have served Indian cricket with distinction. But the year 2023 seems like their last chance to get their hands on the much-coveted ODI World Cup trophy — especially for Rohit, 35, who missed out in 2011.
The talks about their stats and fitness after every series and the rise of the next-gen talent are pushing the seniors to lead from the front. They have the responsibility to embody the approach of the team. Rohit, despite the lack of big scores, did that in 2022. Kohli, too, bought into the method of the group. It may not have borne the results they wanted last year, but there is still hope for 2023.
While the T20 transition, it seems, has already begun with Hardik Pandya named captain for the Sri Lanka series, the stakes, this year, are higher in a different format. A format where Rohit and Kohli are still the best in the world. They are the best bet for India at the home World Cup and the board knows it too. They have laid out a roadmap to the marquee event with Rohit at helm. “Me and coach (Dravid) have a fair idea as to what we want to do, and we’ll narrow it down once we get closer to the World Cup. But (for now) we just want to play good cricket until the World Cup,” the skipper had said recently in Bangladesh.
Brought in as captain to end the trophy drought, Rohit has missed out on his first attempt. But having been on the heartbreaking end of the 2019 ODI WC after scoring five centuries, he wouldn’t want the same to happen at home more than anything else.
T20 WC & WIPL for women
Just like the men, the Indian women, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, seek to get their hands on an ICC Trophy in 2023. Barring the disappointing return in the ODI World Cup, they have done exceedingly well in the second half of 2022. They saw the two stalwarts of the sport — Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami — bid adieu. They finished with a silver medal in their debut at the Commonwealth Games, won the Asia Cup, and are primed to go all the way in the T20 World Cup in South Africa.
Unlike the men, who are in a very similar place as the team of 2013, the women have grown from strength to strength in the last decade. The recent T20I home series against Australia saw tens of thousands of fans fill the stadium in Mumbai. At least three of the games saw the official streaming platform have an average concurrent viewership — average number of viewers simultaneously watching at any one point in time — of 10-12 lakh. And the inaugural Women’s IPL is all set to take place in March as well.
But they have their missions at sight before that. Despite not having a head coach at the moment, the relatively young team, with Harmanpreet taking charge, will try to get their hands on the T20 World Cup come February. There is also the inaugural Women’s U-19 T20 World Cup in January with Shafali Verma leading the team. If the men have a lot at stake in the second half of 2023, the women have a lot riding early in the year. How they step up in the first three months could set the tone for women’s cricket from here on.
Every time a new year comes along, there are things to be hopeful about, to be ambitious about and to dream about for the Indian cricket fans. And every year, it all comes down to a global crown. 2023 is going to be no different. India have three senior ICC titles to play for, and should they win at least one, it would be a year to remember for a very long time.