Team India making a mockery of cricket

To win the World Cup, the team has to be ruthless and razor-sharp, but alas, Team India seems to be missing the 'sharp' edge at the moment!

Team India making a mockery of cricket

(L) Team India in the 2nd ODI against West Indies, (R) Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma (Image Credits: AP)

If Indian cricket be a conundrum, skipper Rohit Sharma, stand-in skipper Hardik Pandya and coach Rahul Dravid have reduced it to a level mockery. For all those who stayed up late at night on Saturday and felt like zombies on Sunday morning, the charade enacted by Team India was awful. No, not just because the Men in Blue lost to the West Indies in the second ODI, but the atmosphere seemed one of fun and frolic.

Agreed, the West Indies is a great country to be playing where their rum variety can give you a high, But then, for the hosts to arrest a nine-match losing streak against India suggested the hosts had come better prepared. When news trickled in after the toss, it seemed the experiments were unending. If, in the first ODI, the shuffle in the top order of batting with Rohit as captain almost boomeranged, the second ODI was a charade.

This time, on a seemingly bald and flat pitch stand-in skipper Hardik Pandya laughed right through the match. His grin was sheepish, though, one does not know why Pandya was the stand-in captain and led the team like a clown. The process of experimentation is on, a brainchild of Dravid. He gave his postulates after the match, which was the least convincing.

If two renowned batters were rested, Rohit and Virat Kohli, were the replacements, right? No way. Then again, if someone needed to be playing himself into form, it had to be Surya Kumar Yadav. No, what one saw was Axar Patel batting at No. 4 and SKY coming lower down. This was buffoonery which resulted in the Indians posting a paltry total.

Next, when India were bowling, Pandya seemed to be treating it like a carnival. The bowlers used were not in a serious mood. The more one sees Umran Akmal, he seems a lost case. No consistent pace, no line, and length. Truly, club class. Lord Shardul Thakur bowled well, took three wickets, the only fight for India in the whole ordeal. But why Pandya did not use Axar to bowl and run through the Windies’ order was inexplicable. Was the intent to lose one match so that the series decider on August 1 is engrossing? Seems so.

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Team India struggles with commitment and experimentation ahead of the World Cup

Team India making a mockery of cricket (1)
Shai Hope (#4) and Keacy Carty celebrate after win against India (Image Credits: AP)

What Dravid said at the post-match presser was rubbish. To say that one did not have to win every match and conquer the peaks were the Asia Cup and the World Cup, he was wrong. Rohit and Kohli do not need rest. There are approx 11 more matches (ODIs) before the World Cup. Let the two veterans score runs so that they can come out blazing. Changing the batting order, not showing seriousness, is mind-boggling.

For West Indies skipper Shai Hope, this was a great turnaround. West Indies cricket is in shambles. This one win could offer them hope and make them competitive from here on, though they have not qualified for the World Cup in October/November in India. Yet, there seems light at the end of the tunnel.

On Saturday night, fans heard some scary phrases like was this match outcome decided before or was this fun? One could not dismiss it as the lack of commitment was glaring. When MS Dhoni was the captain, he talked of players who walked into the side needing a minimum experience of 100 matches each. All that seems to have gone for a toss. Dravid is doing needless experiments. This is not needed.

To win the World Cup, the team has to be ruthless and razor-sharp. Team India does not appear so right now. What happens in the third ODI is not important, what is important is to use each match like a test and sharpen skills.

Why does one get the feeling the build-up for the World Cup is lethargic? Is the West Indies tour some fun tour? Is the BCCI aware that fans are not going to spare such losses and poor showing at the World Cup? To see Dravid talk such stuff is not acceptable. He is also under the scanner/radar!

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