How Cup Hopes Slowly Faded Away

TOI Traces The Shortcomings In India’s T20 World Cup Plans…

- Partha.Bhaduri

Technically India are not out of the World Cup but a solemn acknowledgment of their imperfections won’t be out of order. Having lost their two most important group games, India are unlikely to make it to the semifinals. With a net run rate of -1.609, the best they can do is beat Afghanistan, Scotland, and Namibia and then hope both New Zealand and Afghanistan lose one of their remaining games to bring NRR into play.

It’s not impossible but a long shot. India have been lackluster with both bat and ball. On the field, they froze, Off it, they have betrayed some confusion.

“There’s only one way to play T20 cricket. You have to be optimistic, you have to be positive and take calculated risks. That’s what this format is about,” Virat Kohli said after the defeat to NZ. So far, India have done none of those. TOI looks at some of the factors responsible...

OUTDATED STRATEGIC APPROACH

India boasts the world’s best T20 league, in purely cricketing terms, but that staggering wealth of strategizing and innovation hasn’t permeated into the national team. The failure to learn from the IPL has been apparent in this World Cup on several fronts:

(a) The selectors punted on established names and went by reputation, a very 50-over approach and never a good idea in a format in which a few balls can change the outcome. On the bowling front, where were the Harshal Patels, Avesh Khans and Arshdeep Singhs who just impressed in the IPL on these same pitches? With the bat, where were Ruturaj Gaekwad, Shikhar Dhawan, Sanju Samson and Prithvi Shaw?