It is CWC2007 all over again! As aforementioned, I am disappointed, not as much as in 2007, but I am disappointed. The difference being that 2007 we were expected to win with the line up. Here, we expected to compete until the customary semi-finals.
The good thing is this will bring forth a long pending enquiry that was shoved under the carpet just cause we were
somehow winning games across formats. The signs of batting failure have been evident in the recent past- but no one bats an eyelid just cause the likes of Thakur and others had come to the party and bailed us out. Vikram Rathour - again, what has been his contribution?
Okay, lets come to this tournament. Reports of Dhoni having backed Ashwin, Thakur and Pandya are making the rounds. Great, he might have seen potential. But , Hardik- did he have fitness clearance from the NCA to play OR did we simply carry him there as a liability? Ashwin- I feel the animosity between captain Kohli and Ash is out there for everyone to see. On dew laden tracks, you choose to play Chakravarty while leaving out your best spinner? Like with very ICC tournament, we have screwed up our selection and that is evident here.
As for this match, the writing was on their faces at the anthem ceremony. Yes, you would be worried, but to show it so blatantly...tch tch!
Secondly, team selection and management. Yes, the selectors picked the best possible squad.
Disagree mate!
Shastri, Kohli and Dhoni have the authority to make the above calls and make sure they put up the best squad they could
Again, we have seen that Shastri has predominantly been a YES man while MSD has his eyes fixated on a few players only.
Go and watch SCG & Gabba followed by his 100 in Ahmedabad
Context? Its a different format
I don't know who will replace VK? Rohit Sharma? Well He doesn't have that charisma.
You have a better option ? Talks of Orange Cap Rahul - I sincerely hope that a selfish person like him doesnt get a chance to lead. At the moment, our best bet seems to be Rohit Sharma, just cause no one else seems to be fixed in the XI.
If you ask me, I'd strip Kohli of captaincy across formats in order to instill a new team culture that can be taken forth. In terms of captaincy, make Shreyas Iyer the captain across formats and et him run the ship with Rahul Dravid/ whosoever is the new coach. The strategy of this Indian team has been heavily focused on doing well in the Test arena. It is akin to what England used to do in the early 2000's.
Given that there are 3 World Cups (2 now) on the line, it makes better sense to employ a strategy that England currently has in place. The brand of cricket, the run accumulation that India employs is totally outdated. To go slow in the powerplay, play out until the 16th over, taking it deep and then try to tee off in the last 3 is what cricket looked like in the 1990s. If we have to be world beaters, this mentality needs to go.
