Surely, this can’t go on forever. India find themselves in trouble at the halfway stage of the Border Gavaskar Trophy and this time as well, they have done themselves no favours by complicating selection matters and handing the advantage to the opposition.
Australia are without premier batsmen Steve Smith and David Warner and given that the first two Tests were played on bowler- friendly pitches, the Indians should have called the shots. But all they could do was earn a 31-run win in Adelaide, before succumbing to a 146-run defeat in Perth.
Melbourne and Sydney offer India an opportunity to not only set the record straight against a still weakened and largely inexperienced Australian team, but also disperse the cloud of uncertainty that hangs over the team leadership.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar is the most high profile name to openly question the Test leadership credentials of Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri after successive selection blunders denied the Indians a shot at victory in South Africa, England and Australia.
Far too many times, India have either picked the wrong set of players or even fielded an unfit player – Ravi Ashwin in the crucial Southampton Test in England – to make a mockery of their No1 Test status.
For many, 2018 was the year for the Indian team truly stamp their authority as the best Test team in the world under the leadership of Virat Kohli. But as we approach the end of the year, a succession of missed opportunities and seven Test defeats in a calendar year make it one of the worst years in red-ball cricket for the Indian team.
What has made it a bitter pill to swallow is the promise that the Indian team showed before the start of each series. Armed with the best bowling attack in its history, Kohli’s team seemed destined for path-breaking wins in South Africa and England.
The opposition was good, but the Indian team seemed to have a lot more firepower in the bowling department to take 20 cheap wickets. But a steep fall in batting fortunes meant targets ranging from 194 to 287 were never threatened as the dream of series triumphs drifted away.
Numerous excuses were given by Kohli and Shastri. ‘The scoreboard doesn’t reflect how close the games were’ is their favourite one. But the scoreboard never lies.
And the fact is India simply have to stop with the excuses and get the job done.
Shastri needs to own this. He’s 99% of the problem. It’s his entitled attitude that Kohli is feeding off. https://t.co/QIbJV3M3oO
— Dennis Cricketmas (@DennisCricket_) December 23, 2018
The absence of Ashwin was felt in Perth where Nathan Lyon ruled the roost. Before the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, Shastri revealed India were hamstrung by a shoulder injury to spinner Ravindra Jadeja who flew into Australia unfit.
However, India still refused to admit their mistake in not picking wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
Now, they have a bunch of injured players in the ranks. Rohit Sharma is recovering from a back injury and all-rounder Hardik Pandya has just started playing after a long lay-off following a back injury.
They have a lot on their plate heading into Melbourne. But India can’t hide behind any excuse now.
The Indian board can’t overlook the squandered opportunities and simply allow Kohli and Shastri to remain bombastic in front of the media even as opponents walk away with the winners’ trophy. The Border Gavaskar Trophy simply has to be won for the Kohli-Shastri combination to continue well into 2019.
For that to happen, India must admit they made serious mistakes when it came to team selection and player fitness management. And they must also pick players according to the conditions – provided they read them correctly –put their head down and just push ahead.
In Perth, Kohli got carried away with the ‘banter’ with his counterpart Tim Paine. He was talking about India going 2-0 ahead at the halfway stage of the second Test.
That was where Kohli and India lost the plot. And they don’t have a lot of goodwill left to expect more leeway from the Indian board.
In the remaining two Tests, it is advisable that Kohli first secure the trophy before cocking a snook at the opposition, media or whoever the Indian management feels is against them. Because this can’t go on forever.
