Team India (if this disjointed setup can be called a Team, that is) are trapped in a nightmare that they once called a dream. Five defeats on home soil out of the last seven Tests, which includes two whitewashes, is just too severe for it to be just ignored or waiting for things to turn around. It is said that one of the worst ways to punish your opponent is to make the opposition suffer with a thousand cuts, and South Africa managed to do that with blunt objects instead of anything sharp. Never allowing India to score over 250 on their own turf, giving them a target close to 550, handing them their biggest ever Test loss, cocky remarks in press conferences, are only a few of the aforementioned cuts. Much to South Africa’s credit, India bled with every single one of those strikes, not one of those went to waste. The Proteas ran India ragged in such a way that they are in an utter state of delirium where they are licking their wounds, chasing their own tail, and pointing fingers at each other like a Mexican Standoff. While the Proteas were at their professional best day in day out, the hosts were constantly engaged in debates about pitches and justifying transition. It is evident that India are not where they want to be after making some radical calls, but why not? If the team management were aware that the next crop of players are not ready for the challenge, then why fast-track the transition? By the sounds of the decision makers, they are prepared to go through such losses for the sake of transition. Although not altogether impractical from a long-term point of view, the fact is that cricket remains a result-oriented sport, and the WTC table does not take transition into consideration. With India’s WTC cycle halfway done, and the second half not being any easier, can such a heavyweight side endure another early exit in the race for the mace? India have lost their right to have an ego at home There’s nothing wrong with a team having an ego, as it helps in them becoming something even better than their highest potential. But the thing with ego is, you have got to justify it, and currently, India do not have the right. India’s 0-3 loss to New Zealand was unanimously branded as an anomaly. Just the odd series loss that broke the streak, while normal services would be resumed soon, surely. The positive outings in England, and the routine sweep against West Indies at home, only bolstered ego, not the quality. But it was enough to convince everyone that the worst was over. The brainwash was so effective, that no one saw this coming, despite the signs being quite obvious, in hindsight. India’s waning Test prowess and South Africa’s impressive displays in Pakistan should have been telltale signs that the series was not going to be a routine, but a home Test series automatically led everyone to incline towards a successful whitewash. That is not the equation anymore, since the variables have greatly changed. All India were advised to be wary of the quality of the opposition, but the prospect of a series loss was never to be feared, because of how ridiculous it sounded at the time. No fan, no critic, no pundit (even South Africans), envisioned such a result in the visitors’ favor, and even if they envisioned it, they would have been shocked by the scale of it. Now, were India shockingly poor, or were South Africans insanely good? Much like these ‘or’ questions go in cricket, it was both. It was a frustrating sight to see the visiting spinners beautifully varying their speeds and angles to get the most out of the wicket, while the Indian spinners kept rifling it in, going with their trusted stock delivery, hoping for a magic ball, and waiting for things to happen. Similarly, while South Africa’s lower-order batters could spend considerable time at the crease with nary a threat, India’s unorthodox mix of specialists and all-rounders were playing on a whole different surface altogether. When, as the home team, you fail to grasp your own conditions, you lose your right to be prideful about it, and the moment that sheen of pride is lost, is when one stops taking things for granted. The Gautam Gambhir question that is flashing red and blaring alarms Gautam Gambhir is at the epicentre now with everything Team India does. An Indian head coach has perhaps not faced this level of backlash since the days of Greg Chappell, and it is always difficult to assess how much the coach is responsible for the team’s misfortune, until it reaches the point of no return. The former opener’s appointment as head coach had come with warning signs, which are now being used against him (Fair or Unfair, down to individual perspective). Lack of coaching experience, conflict with certain players, and volatility being few of those. It is not a coincidence that things have started to go haywire since Gautam Gambhir’s arrival, but the key thing to address, as mentioned earlier, is to accurately assess how much of what is going on is really on him. And if he is being seen as the ‘sole’ face of the issue, then it only makes him a scapegoat, which does not resolve anything. Is it his fault that the players lack the temperament to survive on a decent track at home? Is it on him to make the players aware of the sheer basics, like protecting a wicket before breaks? Is he to blame for dubious and illogical shot selection? Surely not. But, at the same time, on the other side of the coin, fingers are justifiably pointed at him for the choice of pitch for the first Test, the lack of stability despite knowing that it is a young team going through transition, and squad selection, among several other aspects. But as much as the level-headed fans, or the fans on the fence, want to judge Gambhir in an objective fashion, he does not help himself by muddying the waters with his highly contradictory statements. The head coach surprisingly defied all of his ‘morals’ and ‘virtues’ in the space of ten minutes after the series loss to South Africa. He branded himself to the media as an anti-transition, anti-excuses, and anti-self-centered individual at the start, but ended up being the complete opposite in the end. However, just from a Devil’s Advocate point of view, there is a word that Gambhir mentioned during his infamous press conference amid all of the nonsensical comments he made that dominated the headlines, and the word is accountability. There was a serious lack of it in both the home series losses, and it is high time that players put a price on their wicket and on their spells. Apart from a few trolls on social media, and comments by pundits that will be obsolete within a few days, there is no real consequence for the players’ questionable actions and performances. While it is easy to jump on the bandwagon against Gambhir (and rightly so, to an extent), it is important that the stakeholders of Indian cricket, which includes everyone from fans to board members, not lose objectivity. Time for action or deep introspection? What next, despite its simplicity, is ironically the most profound question that one can ask at this juncture. Thanks to the spectacular outrage by fans and pundits in the wake of the loss, along with the gravity of the result from the WTC point of view, it is certain that this series loss will not be buried amid impending white-ball success. Although a trend of performances of this level yearns for changes of the highest order, a red-ball break allows the BCCI to just ponder upon the issue from top to bottom. If any sort of action is to be taken, it should only be after some deep reflection, largely because India have already committed to the transition project. Also, an immediate high-profile change might not guarantee results as the problem is such a deep-rooted one. However, that does not mean that India turn a blind eye. It does not need any introspection to adjudge that inadequate preparation, lack of specialists, and a below-par temperament stand out as three of the biggest issues that need resolving, and those are the areas that need addressing rather than calling for heads to roll. If this series loss has hit India’s pride hard enough, it ideally should lead to more sensible selections, decision-making, and preparation. In the future, if things go well, this might be the point where things changed for the good, making it the best thing that has happened to the new-look Indian Test team, because sometimes wake-up calls are just not enough, you need sirens that never cease until there is reform. Being bowled out for less than 100 in one Test, and losing the next one by over 400 runs is simply not an alarm that you can snooze, and wait for the next burst. All this while India had the luxury of optimal results to sideline domestic stalwarts and could afford to compromise preparation with their sheer prowess and skill. Now that the formula has shown deep cracks, especially with overseas sides coming more than well-prepared, it seems like a good point to go back to square one and take measures to ensure something of this sort never happens again.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/cricket/india-s-sins-ignorance-finally-converge-promised-land-transition
