Nothing seems to change even after six straight defeats for a team that was supposed to be the best Test side in the world. India’s overwhelming losses seem to become a standard operating procedure now but what troubles more is that there seems to be no spirit to reverse the trend.
The big question that everyone’s asking now is that would it better to let go of the old guard and let these losing times be a platform to breed the next generation of Indian greats? There seems to be some merit in the question for how long does one continue with a team that boasts of two of the top run getters of all times, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, a VVS Laxman and yet just can’t seem to apply themselves to regularly cross the 300 mark? What is the point in having a Virender Sehwag when he just can’t resist playing every ball as if he were playing an ODI with field restrictions and all?
Looking at the young players in this current Indian side there is a lot of hope riding on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who is yet to be played in this series. In the third test at Perth it would be a tough call between these two as the bouncy track will call for the same bowling Indian line-up and also old wisdom might just stick on with the old heroes to counter the Aussie pace battery. Like one can’t expect a Tendulkar to score a century every time he plays or pressurize Dravid to anchor the innings or look at Laxman to save a test, the younger players have work to a plan.
In a classic chicken versus egg type of conundrum one really doesn’t know whether it’s the near toothless Indian bowling that allows the opposition to flourish or it’s the fabled Indian batting that doesn’t really inspire the bowlers to put up a braver fight? There is still some cricket left in the likes of Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman for sure but its time that the management looked at two things- for starters devise an exit plan for these three so that they don’t end up leaving at once and secondly it’s time to put some fear in the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. More than the seniors it’s the younger lot that needs to understand that the future depends on them. Who knows if this isn’t done our batting might end up in a state similar to our current bowling pack- babes lost in the woods.
For too long now the young players have feared losing their place in the side for every reason possible under the sun. Keeping the track record of BCCI and the selectors there is a great deal of truth in this but if consistency in performance is the key then the new ones are no way close to an iota of what the greats have shown. So, one can’t really blame us for pinning our hopes on the fabulous four. After all the David Warners and Shaun Marshes have let the Aussies down more often than Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey in this series!
What is the way ahead for us at Perth? It’s quite simple- put some runs on the board and get the opposition out twice. Or the reverse if you field first! It’s time to get back to the basics, which is just play to win.
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