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Sat, Nov 23, 2024 | Jumada al-Awwal 21, 1446 | DXB
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T20 World Cup: Dravid faces a tough challenge following India's poor display
New India coach Rahul Dravid (left) will have to address why the team has been unable to do well in ICC tournaments. (PTI file)
Rahul Dravid will replace Ravi Shastri as India coach after the T20 World Cup
- By
- Ayaz Memon
New Zealand dunked Afghanistan on Sunday, and along with that India’s prospects of making it to the semifinals were also sunk. Afghanistan were brave, recovering from a horrid powerplay to post 124, a modest score but which raised a sliver of hope. All this did, however, was prolong the match, making it death by slow torture for India’s players and fans.
One match still remains for Virat Kohli and his team to play, against minnows Namibia. While a victory for India can be predicted without grave risk even now, it will not alleviate the acute disappointment at India’s failure to reach the last four stage after being rated favourites for the title.
After winning the inaugural tournament in 2007, India have been runners-up in 2014 and semifinalists in 2016. There has been no T20 World Cup since for various reasons, but India’s performances had been consistently impressive in several bilateral series. In fact, the team was ranked No. 2 in this format, behind England, raising expectations further.
Kohli announcing that this was to be his last assignment as captain in T20s added a sentimental quotient to the campaign, and MS Dhoni’s addition as mentor was meant to give the team ‘think tank’ heft.
Every player in the squad had been part of the phase 2 of the IPL played in the UAE, which was seen as an advantage. In short, India had everything going for them when the World Cup began.
As it transpired, it turned out to be an unsavoury campaign for India. The first two matches, against Pakistan and New Zealand were lost — and badly at that — which set the team back so much that recovery became impossible. Thumping wins against Afghanistan and Scotland offered a glimpse at what might have been had the team played to their potential. However, having to depend on Afghanistan to beat New Zealand to have a chance to sneak into the last four only served to accentuate the earlier failures.
India were in the weaker group, with three strong and three weak teams. But this grouping came with a pitfall for the stronger teams. Losing to both strong opponents exposed the third team to the hazards of premature elimination. This is what happened to India.
On the other hand, the Kiwis, who fought back with resolve and ambition after a defeat to Pakistan in their first match, ratified their entry into the semis with a fine win over Afghanistan on Sunday. There is some lesson to be had from their performances not just in this tournament, but over the past few years.
In hindsight, there were some things which could have affected Indian adversely. Long time on the road, the trauma of being in the bubble for almost a year, the fatigue of playing too much cricket (with the IPL finishing too close to the World Cup), a couple of misplaced selections.
But other players and teams went through similar hardship, so these can’t be proffered as excuses.
The only genuine case of bad luck, sort of, was Kohli losing the toss in both the important matches. Results of matches show a distinct skew favouring teams that bat second. But the best players and teams have to be able to take such misfortune in their stride. Instead India, after losing to Pakistan, went into a shell against New Zealand, lost that match badly, and were made to stand near the exit door since.
The last ICC tournament won by India was the Champions Trophy way back in 2013. Since then, India have lost in the semis in the 2015 and 2019 ODI World Cups, were runners-up and semifinalists in the T20 World Cups in 2014, 2016, runners-up in the 2017 Champions Trophy and runners-up in the inaugural World Test Championship against New Zealand earlier this year.
Why a team which has an enviable record in bilateral contests (across formats), over the last decade should be unable to do well in ICC tournaments is a matter of intrigue and lament, needing inquiry and research to understand thoroughly and come up with remedies. That should be the first task of new coach Rahul Dravid when he takes over with a new T20 captain next week.
Meanwhile, there is the formality of playing the last league fixture in this World Cup, to be completed. I would say that the India team management should give opportunity to as many players on the bench as possible.
Ayaz Memon is an Indian sports writer and commentator
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