It is time the wise men of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) get into a huddle to decide the future course of Team India, especially with the World Cup coming up later this year.
After the shameful defeat at the World Test Championship at the Oval, if the think tank still depends on ‘individual’ greats and continues to be myopic towards the tremendously talented bunch of young kids, it will be very heart-wrenching.
Also, some amount of retrospection has to be done with the way the team was selected.
Recently, in an interview with The Indian Express, Ravichandran Ashwin spoke about his skills and how he approaches exclusion.
“It’s a hard question to answer, right? Because we are standing right after the WTC Final. I would have loved to play because I have played a part in us getting there. Even in the last final I got four wickets and bowled really well. Ever since 2018-19, my bowling overseas has been fantastic and I have managed to win games for the team,” he said in the interview.
“I am looking at it as a captain or coach and I’m just talking in hindsight, in their defence. So, the last time when we were in England, it was 2-2 with a drawn Test and they would have felt four pacers and one spinner is the combination in England. That is what they might have thought going into the final,” Ashwin added.
SHOULD ROHIT SHARMA CONTINUE AS THE SKIPPER?
While it can’t be ascertained as when KL Rahul will make a comeback following a thigh surgery, he is no longer in leadership contention given his pathetic form with the willow. In that case, what are the future plans to retain Rohit Sharma as the skipper, especially considering his current form and fitness and allow him to play Test cricket for two more years and complete the next cycle, when he would be nearly 38? Nobody has an answer to that crucial query.
Among other senior players, Cheteshwar Pujara’s future as India’s number three is in the doldrums after a poor show in the WTC final. He averages only 29.69 since 2020 and the 103-Test veteran may just end up losing his place for good. If he is not considered, there is huge scope for Yashasvi Jaiswal to replace him at number three.
However, the perennial problem with Indian cricket is that if you give a West Indies Test series to Pujara and he scores, you have to persist with him for at least a year. Is that advisable or should the think tank get a youngster straightaway for bigger and crucial encounters? Shami has been playing continuously since the Border Gavaskar Trophy this year and then he played a whopping 17 matches in the IPL as well before featuring in the WTC Final against Australia which India lost by 209 runs. With the World Cup set to be played later this year, Shami should be given the much-needed rest.
India will have a month-long tour of the West Indies where they will start with two Test matches starting July 12, followed by three ODIs and five T20Is.
Two weak links, however, seem to be Pujara and Umesh, who haven’t been up to the mark for a long time.
The team needs to strike a balance. Through selection we need a combination that will have the blend of youth and experience and it should be a long-time investment to yield results. We must realise that it is time we did so.
Yashasvi Jaiswal looks solid and may be set for international cricket. He has scored double hundreds in Ranji, Irani and Duleep Trophy. Jaiswal has a cool and composed temperament and could be groomed while being given enough chances to grow.
Umesh Yadav, a surprise element in the team for many is at the end of his career. However, with no A tour programme(s), even the media does not have a clear-cut list of who all are ready. Till recently we had Mayank Agarwal, Rishabh Pant, Hanuma Vihari, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini ready following consistent A tours.
CATCH THEM YOUNG
At 23, many pundits feel Shubman Gill is at the correct age where he can be prepared over time for a leadership role. A short-term solution could be to hand it over to a sure-shot all-format player like Ravindra Jadeja. Even though, following the bitterness post the WTC loss, analysts feel Ashwin, who has a fantastic cricketing acumen can also captain the side. The team has quite a few names though and with Ajinkya Rahane’s superb comeback the flashback moments of his heroics in Australia have come fresh once again.
RINKU, JITESH FOR T20I
One format where there won’t be any ambiguity is T20 Internationals where Hardik Pandya will lead India, including in next year’s T20 World Cup in the Americas (West Indies and USA).
The T20I team would be purely based on IPL performers and one can expect the likes of Rinku Singh and Jitesh Sharma to make the cut in the final squad, as teams in the past lacked finishers.
Ruturaj Gaikwad’s comeback and Yashasvi Jaiswal’s inclusions also look imminent while Mohit Sharma could earn a well-deserved comeback after his 27-wicket haul in IPL.
While Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are being phased out of the shortest format, the likes of Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj could be rested considering their workload and the upcoming ODIs before the World Cup.
(The Writer is Senior Journalist and Former Senior Associate Editor, O Heraldo, Goa)
