India should look to build a team for the future

Watching the Indian team during the 90’s was extremely frustrating. The team which functioned like a well-oiled machine at home played like a bunch of novices when they toured abroad. The batting struggled and the bowling lacked any sort of bite. The current series in England brings back the bad memories. It is sad because since the turn of the century, it seemed as though India had left the ghost of the 90’s behind.

The team became more competitive under the leadership of Ganguly and had scaled some great heights in the last 10 years.

This England series for sure is a step in the wrong direction. It’s all good for a captain to come out and say that they were beaten by a better team but that is just masking all the problems we have had. The English bowlers were extremely good in the series but the Indian batting came here undercooked too. After the world cup and the IPL, there was a long rest for most of them and it looked like none of them picked up a willow during that time. England being great did not affect the Indian fielding which was appalling throughout the series.

Starting from the wicket keeper to the slips, India dropped more than they caught in this series which had nothing to do with how good England was. The batting lacked application; the bowling lacked direction and the captain was clueless. I know that it is extremely unfair to criticize the team based on one poor series but the margin of defeat in embarrassing.

India reached England as the number 1 team in the world and has looked far from it over the course of the series. England looked like a team which wanted the rankings more than India. They were well prepared and were ruthless and India was timid and clueless.

I hope that the Indian management take this loss seriously and take some tough decisions. Players have no business playing in domestic leagues while being injured and hope the message gets across. The young players need to be inducted into the team and we need to build for the future. We can no longer hide behind the big 3 as they will retire pretty soon. The 2007 England tour sparked a great turn around in the ODI squad. The Indian ODI team then looked extremely jaded and some tough decisions were taken. That probably was the starting point for India’s world cup triumph earlier this year. If India needs to be anywhere near the top of the rankings in test cricket similar steps need to be taken.

The seniors have to lead the way and emphasize the importance of playing for the country and being fit when needed. India’s bowling looks out of depth in the absence of Zaheer and the spin department has hit all-time low in the entire history of Indian cricket. If India needs to build a team for the future they need not look further than the squad which has currently completed a great Emerging Trophy in Australia. That needs to be the start for build a team for the future. Players like Rahane, Pujara, Mukund, Kohli, Varun Aaron, Vinay Kumar, and Deepak Chahar etc...Need to be pulled out of T20 leagues and need to be sent only on A tours to develop their skills. 

If India wants to be anywhere near the top of the pile, they have to take some tough decisions and I think this is the right time. We cannot live in denial, the seniors are waning and if we still do not wake up, the future of the Indian team is not looking that encouraging. As an Indian fan I hope that the board and players wake up and set their priorities right. The day when and Indian cricketer skips IPL and Champion’s trophy to prepare for an International series, Indian cricket will definitely look up.

Article by: Giridharan Subramanian