The Indian camp's statements and their 209-run defeat to Australia in Sunday's World Test Championship (WTC) final at the Oval suggest that it is time to take a hard look in the mirror.
"Making the bowlers the fall-guys was the decision made by head coach Rahul Dravid, who has been very conservative with his selections and strategies." After India's crushing defeat, Dravid told Star Sports, "It wasn't a 469 wicket." "It was disappointing to concede 157 on the first day and last session," he evaluated.
Indeed, the bowlers were unpredictable in that meeting, yet it was likewise on the rear of a lively show from them - particularly Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja that permitted India to remain in the game. The divas of the group, the players, slumped when it made a difference. The equivalent "specific analysis layout" had worked out in the last WTC last, where Ashwin was made the fall fellow for the loss to New Zealand in Southampton.
After the T20 World Cup elimination round whipping to Britain at Adelaide as well, captain Rohit Sharma nailed the fault to the bowlers and never referenced that India had reached scarcely 62 for 2 after 10 overs with the chief himself scoring a difficult 28-ball 27.
Dravid, who agreed with the selectors to use Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari to fill in for Pujara and Rahane in the two-match home series against Sri Lanka last year, chose to drive in the opposite direction once more and brought back the experienced middle order pair. It was a slap in the face to the players who dominate domestic cricket scoresheets.
"In England and Australia, the same boys prevailed. They will acknowledge that they didn't do equity to their exclusive requirements. The wickets have been quite difficult at times. Although the other conditions weren't ideal for batting, this wicket was excellent. In the WTC, every game is important. You want focuses, can't play for draws. Thus, the wickets have been difficult everywhere. "Not just our players, but all players have suffered from averages," Dravid analyzed.
It was an easy statement to make. The middle-order actually has been in ICU for some time. In the most recent WTC cycle, star batter Virat Kohli averaged 32.13 but fell victim once more to an off-side delivery on the sixth stump. Pujara midpoints 32. The as of late restored Rahane midpoints 24.64.
These insignificant figures demonstrate that they have outlived their usefulness.
In the event that you take a gander at the quantities of other center request players in a similar period, Dravid's "midpoints have endured a shot all over" guarantee crashes and burns. Steve Smith has an average of 50.08, Marnus Labuschagne has 53.8, Babar Azam has 61.08, Jonny Bairstow has 51.4, and Travis Head has 52.5.
Gavaskar criticized the coach appropriately for his assessment. It doesn't matter what the averages of the other players are. We are discussing the Indian group. The averages of the Indian players are going down. Is the level of coaching not sufficient for your needs? Is there not a lot of research on your weak spots? "An honest self-evaluation is absolutely necessary," he stated to Star Sports. Without any India 'A' visit program in sight, no strategy to remunerate homegrown entertainers, no main selector, that genuine self-evaluation could be difficult to find.
There may be a wealth of talent in Indian cricket that can be selected from a long conveyor belt. However, disillusionment and a shift to the instant fame and riches of T20 franchise cricket will dry up that talent pool if deserving players who labor in the Ranji Trophy are not groomed and blooded at the appropriate time.
Team India will begin its subsequent WTC cycle in West Indies.