India's Cup of Woes

India never looked a team which could lift the T20 World Cup 2012. I don’t say it by dint of the team’s talent, but by the incongruities of its make-up. Success in sports needs a full-proof attempt, as everything else in life. Even in the shortened format of T20, where a few shots or deliveries can define the course of the match, one needs incisive bowling, adept batsmanship and agile fielding on the park. India somehow lacked this roundness in the team.

Its batsmen, barring Virat Kohli, never looked like getting runs. They always had the dagger of next bowl getting them out. Virat is an example now-a-days how batsmanship can be made an object of passion. I have seen Indian batsmen-Gambhir, Sehwag, Yuvraj etc, in form, when run-making for them was just a footloose exercise. But it was by virtue of their form, not by intent. Kohli is making runs, as if he always wants to make a century, and win the match by himself. Hence there are no extravagant shots even after reaching a century, no lenient running between the wickets and no overt barrage of successive sixes or fours. I have seen Sachin play like that earlier.

In bowling, however, there is not even a single example as Virat’s. The bowlers are mere trundlers. The analysis of their pathetic state has been done to every limit conceivable, so no point in redoing it. However it is bewildering to find them so wretched fielders. Ideally by dint of their bowling exercise, they should be the best fielders in the side. However, it seems, they have harboured this belief that running is to be done only while bowling. Who will do the fielding then?

Seriously can you succeed then on a regular basis? It is to Dhoni’s credit that he managed to win the One-Day World Cup 2011, despite some of the above deficiencies, though to a lesser extent, prevalent in the team even then. In this edition, some of the decisions of Dhoni did look baffling, but it is always easier to raise fingers afterwards than earlier. Dhoni still looks the best bet to captain India, but it won’t be bad either if he is relieved from the captaincy duty from one of the formats.

Anyway, where does the team go now? A full home series against England ensues. The expectation from the team is to win it hands-down. Also the series is supposed to be a breeding ground for the changes to be done, for bigger challenges ahead. Thus it is a series already foretold in the minds of the Indian viewers. The reality though is that the series may not be such a cakewalk, considering the potential of English bowling. The series hence is a likely pitfall where immediacy could be buried in the pursuit of longevity. But that is worth trying, if Indian Cricket Team is aiming to be a ubiquitous and perennial winner.