CHENNAI: The death knell arrived on Sunday evening for India. The T20 World Cup, which they are hosting, will not have a place for them after New Zealand’s win over Afghanistan.
It sealed the passage of the Black Caps to the semifinals as the second-placed team behind Pakistan in Group II.
In reality, though, their campaign was over a week ago when they lost to New Zealand in what was a virtual quarterfinal.
The past one week has been about working Net Run Rates and whatnot, just to stay relevant, well aware that they were not going to be the life of the party unless teams above them hit rock bottom.
You don’t expect such favours at World Cups. Especially when you have been outplayed by two of the best teams in the group.
Had India defeated even one of Pakistan or New Zealand, the story could have been different, but again as was evident in Group I, even four wins were not sufficient for South Africa to go advance to the semifinals.
For a team that has favourties tag around their neck in big events, that they keep coming up short when it matters has done little good.
And if anything, it also raises questions: have they learned their lessons from the Oval 2017, Manchester 2019 and Southampton 2021.
Such meltdowns with the bat in short periods has proven to be their biggest undoing and one that has ensured Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri era will end without a global title to show.
For all the dominant performances in Test cricket, it is in white ball that one can say they have not delivered on the expectations, especially when one takes into account their records in bilateral series. Those series beyond a period, slips away from memory and all that comes are these exits.
Going forward, India’s incoming white-ball captain and new head coach Rahul Dravid do have work on their hands.
There is another T20 World Cup coming in 11 months’ time and given the talent pool they have at their disposal, they have everything in them to put together a squad that can lift the title Down Under. But that isn’t going to happen unless the team, the support staff, the selectors, and the board introspect the reasons why an ICC title eludes them since 2013.
More than their conservative approach in the T20Is, there needs to a cultural change in how they go about adapting to three different formats.
That is not going to happen unless they become too radical: having different teams for each format. With the workload and grueling schedule that lies ahead, if India need to have their players fresh at the next World Cup in Australia, they need to look at format-specific players.
On the large outfields there, tired players and jaded teams will be found wanting.
“Absolutely,” said India’s bowling coach Bharat Arun when asked if the time has come for having different sets of bowlers for T20s.
“Not only the volume of cricket that our country’s playing, but also remaining in the bubble and playing. I can guarantee it’s not very easy to be in the bubble and keep playing throughout the year. They do need sufficient breaks because I think even mental health is going to be very, very important going forward. And this is going to be the norm for us at least for the next one year or two years. There is enough talent in our country so we can afford to field different teams for different formats. That way also we are understanding the different talent that is available,” Arun added.
Right through the past year India have played most of their cricket in bio-secure bubble – with the England tour being the exception – and it is set to continue in the coming months too.
Unless one is part of the bubble, it is hard to understand the effect it can have on players, who are expected to perform to their potential in high-pressure situations.
Several teams are allowing players the break by putting together different teams and the time has come for India to follow suit too.