Indian Cricket: Time to Introspect

Yet another defeat against Australia! The entire nation is shocked to witness the consecutive defeats of the Indian cricket team in Test matches. Team India, under the stewardship of M.S. Dhoni, has registered its seventh successive loss in overseas test matches. Moreover, ‘Captain Cool’ becomes the first Indian captain to lose six tests by an innings – two each in South Africa, England and Australia. Their poor performance reflected on the TRP rating with the broadcasting partner registering 0.89 and 0.7 for the first two Tests. It is predicted that the dismal performance of team India may act upon the commercial interest of our cricket heroes. Under these circumstances, BCCI has decided to introduce new marketing strategies for IPL to regain the popularity of cricket. However, the major challenge is to address the present situation and to find solutions to improve the performance of our test team.

The consecutive defeats in test matches in England and Australia gives an opportunity to captain Dhoni to ‘get rid of’ the seniors as if the senior cricketers are solely responsible for the poor show. Is there enough reason to be satisfied with the performance of our ‘young talents’? The following table gives us some insights:

Cricketer	Average runs scored during the ongoing series (excluding the second innings at Perth)
Gautam Gambhir	24.00
Virender Sehwag	19.66
Rahul Dravid	30.60
Sachin Tendulkar	41.50
V.V.S. Laxman	17.00
Virat Kohli	21.60
M.S. Dhoni	25.00

The above table indicates that not only the senior cricketers, but the youngsters also failed to deliver. Virat Kohli scored a fighting 75 in the second innings at Perth, but the contribution made by Rahul Dravid in the same innings should not be ignored. Therefore, no individual can be blamed for the dismal performance, it is a collective responsibility. The senior cricketers cannot be dropped without finding their replacements. We have to accept the fact that till now Team India could not find a suitable replacement for the number 6 position in the test squad after Saurav Ganguly’s retirement . If we want to replace the stalwarts of cricket, we need to produce suitable talents. The top brass of our cricket administration should realize that generating revenue does not make much sense if it is not allocated properly for producing talents.

In any organization, the role of the leader is crucial during the time of failure. It is the leader who takes the responsibility and provides a direction for future. Yes, captain Dhoni has accepted the responsibility, but failed to provide a better direction. It is argued by many that a new captain should be selected for the test squad. The billion dollar question is who will replace Dhoni! Both Sehwag and Gambhir are struggling with their bat and Virat Kohli is too young to lead the side. At present, there is no alternative for Dhoni. However, captain cool, who made us proud by winning the World Cup, should concentrate more on his own performance and the performance of the team, otherwise the selectors will be compelled to take tough decisions in the future.

The head coach and the supporting staff are also answerable. Duncun Fletcher should explain the reasons for India’s failure. The downfall in the performance has started during his regime and so far we haven’t seen any initiative from him to change the scenario. This is the right time for him to take the front seat and to take corrective measures. Otherwise, his stake in the team will be in danger.

The famous American football coach Vince Lombardi once said “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing”. We, the cricket fans of India, want to see our team winning at the international level. We are rational, we know that it is impossible to win all the matches. At the same-time, we cannot accept consecutive defeats. We expect that our cricket icons and their coaching staff will restore our pride. We hope to see more initiatives from BCCI and other stakeholders to introduce comprehensive grass-root developmental activities to secure the future of Indian cricket. Please do something!

Ankan Banerjee

Member of Faculty

Naval Tata Centre of Excellence in Sports Management

IISWBM, Kolkata