The onus is on both Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma to find out what caused India’s losing streak from the Asia Cup and fix it ahead of the World Cup.
Even though the batsmen, bowlers and all-rounders tick all the boxes, including veterans and youngsters, the Indian team is constantly losing. The way the teammates play is not as if they are playing as a single team, but everyone is playing as if they are trying to showcase their individual skills and be in the squad for the upcoming World Cup. If things continue like this, the Indian team will definitely be in a position where they will have to leave the World Cup without even qualifying for the play-offs, just like they did in the Asia Cup. Head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma have a huge responsibility to pull this off. Let’s look at the reasons for failure.
Rahul Dravid’s Practice Tests :
Rahul Dravid has made many drastic changes in the team selection since he took over as the head coach and it is seen as the main reason for the defeats of the Indian team. Rahul Dravid’s test efforts seem to be taking a long time. The selection of 11 players for the squad should be complete at the end of the trials. But, on the other hand, the fact that the 11 players who are still playing have not reached the final stage has become a huge problem for the team. With only 20 days to go for the World Cup, the head coach is the only one responsible for the glitch in the team selection. Because he has used more players in T20 selection. If you take the number of players he fielded against Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies, England and Zimbabwe, you can make 3 types of playing Indian team. It’s funny not knowing who the 11 players are still playing after putting in so many trials.
Rohit Sharma’s Captaincy:
Another major reason for the failures has been the captaincy of Rohit Sharma. His approach to the players on the field, his fielding setup and the rotation of the bowlers show that he has been able to see many successful victories in the Mumbai team because everyone in the Mumbai team was experienced and match-winners in the IPL. Rohit Sharma is on the field scolding and scolding his teammates when they make a mistake. A captain’s responsibility is to fix the mistakes in the match and focus on what needs to be done to win the match and scolding the teammates is not going to get anything done. Moreover, if the teammates are repeating the same mistakes they made in the last four matches, then it is clear that the attitude among the teammates is not right. So Rohit Sharma should use his experience and realize that he is not only a captain but also a veteran player and try to bring out what the team needs by integrating and tapping the team.
Selection of bowlers:
Although the Indian team has set a good target beyond the required runs to win, the Indian team is facing a heavy defeat due to the continuous bad bowling. Veteran and experienced batsman Bhuvneshwar Kumar continues to bowl poorly. How can the young bowlers perform well if the experienced players fail. Just as a good batting partnership is important for a team’s success, so is a good partnership in bowling. Only then will the bowlers have an understanding of what to do when the team needs it. Even though they have to score 20 runs in the death overs of the match, they give away runs easily. It doesn’t matter if it’s in one match, but it doesn’t matter in all the matches, it raises the question whether the Indian team has a bowling coach or not.
India’s Sotapal ground fielding:
If you think that there is no coach for the bowlers, then it is not known whether there is a fielding coach of the Indian team or not. I don’t know if Vadivelu comedy Sudalai character like Pongada and Unga Fielding has gone because he doesn’t want a job. I don’t know whether these Indian players have heard the phrase “Catches Win the Matches” before, or whether they have forgotten the catching exercises that should be done before the match and are doing them on the field. If it goes like this, 11 more substitute players will have to be appointed for fielding.. The Indian team is showing such bad ground fielding.
Absence of Mohammed Shami, Bumrah from playing squad:
Ever since the advent of IPL, players from other countries have been playing well in IPL and have been performing well for their teams. But, only the Indian team players have shown great performance for their franchise team and are faring badly when it comes to the Indian team. That being the case, it doesn’t seem fair to leave out experienced veteran players, who are tough challenges for various world-class batsmen, and bring in inexperienced players.
Bumrah and Shami are the only two players who have defended a 5-run target so far, even if we consider it as IPL. That too he had defended 5 runs while fielding action player Andre Russell. And Shami was the main reason Gujarat Titans won the IPL trophy. Besides Bumrah, there is no one in the squad who can bowl at a speed of 140 kmph. Due to the lack of speed and the lack of variations in bowling, the Indian team is facing a series of defeats. Therefore, it is important to include Shami and Bumrah in the team immediately.
Moreover, every defeat an Indian team gets will create some kind of negative feelings within the team. Taking a team into the World Cup series with positive vibrations is important. So, the Indian team should correct the mistakes and register a victory in the upcoming matches.
– Vengaian