Indian Test Cricket Needs a Jolt

While Team India has found some form in the current Commonwealth Bank tri-series in Australia, their capitulation in the Test series where they were whipped 0-4 has led people to critique the team left, right & center. Even though their overseas record has improved since the noughties, they still come a cropper against stiff opposition, as was evident against the Aussies. But despite calls for a complete overhaul of the team, one must remember that positive results cannot be achieved overnight by deluging the test team with young blood and bidding farewell to the seniors. It is an extensive process of reconstruction that might take a few years before India can match up with the best in the most challenging form of cricket. Prior to this Test series, the odds were heavily stacked in favour of India to beat Australia on their turf, but in the span of a couple of months, Australia are nearly back to what they are renowned for – making winning an addiction. The Indian team consistently put up mediocre performances in the series thus enhancing their reputation of being poor travellers. Ricky Ponting & Michael Hussey were at the receiving end of plenty of scrutiny before the commencement of the series, but it took them just a couple of innings to hit the high notes and prove their critics wrong. Now, everyone’s just raving about what they bring to the Australian team and cricket in general.

Camaraderie & Preparation

The Australian cricket team’s success after a year of rebuilding has been built around one significant quality – a happy dressing room. Having watched the players from close quarters at the MCG, I can tell you that this Australian team is a closely-knit side who hop onto the ground as one, warm-up as one and walk back to prepare for battle as one. Moreover, their routines are intense, swift and thoroughly professional. As for the much-vaunted Indian team, they were seen stepping out individually to the ground as though they’d just been woken up from deep slumber! Moreover, their routines were laidback, subdued and nowhere close to the intensity of their superior rivals. On the third day of the Boxing Day Test, the team didn’t even turn out to warm-up before the match! While captain Michael Clarke is one of the first players to be out limbering up, his counterpart, MS Dhoni, is one of the last to take to the field.

Old Habits Die Hard

Notwithstanding the failure of the famed top-order batsmen, it’s a wonder why the tailenders fail to make an attempt in prolonging an innings and are instead seen throwing their bats around in an effort to score big runs. There is no intent of application in a situation that demands a bigger effort at the crease. And it’s the same set of players (tailenders) who, as ‘specialist’ bowlers, struggle to clean up the opposition tail. How many times over the years has the Indian team let an opponent get back into a match because of their inability to knock off the tail? The Zaheers, the Ishants and the Yadavs lack the firepower to destroy the lower half of the opposition. It’s been a chronic problem and there seems to be no solution in sight.

Distorted Vision of Fitness

Sub-continental teams have always had a distorted vision of fitness, with all the focus being on talent. Australia’s senior pros like Michael Hussey and Ricky Ponting, along with the youngsters in the team, can easily put the Indian cricketers to shame by displaying their agility and picture perfectness, which have come about by keeping a premium on fitness. Is there one player in the Indian ranks who can match up to the athletic levels of the Aussies? Youngsters Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma may be good fielders but are a little floppy, and the lesser said about the Indian seniors, the better. Zaheer Khan and Sehwag are poor movers and seem to be content piling on the kilos. Despite India’s support staff including several guys from the West, there seems to be some form of disorientation amongst the players when it comes to fitness. One can’t rely solely on talent to survive in sport; success is achieved by a combination of elements out of which fitness is a decisive factor. This factor needs to be addressed right from the grassroots level if so that the future generations of Indian cricketers fare substantially better in this area.

Fans, Get Real

As fans, we have been too kind to the players. While we criticize them for their losses uninhibitedly, one win is sufficient for us to get back into the rotten habit of singing their praises all over again. Going back to the MCG again, Indian fans were seen surrounding the tunnel just to catch a glimpse of their heroes, with the excitement hitting a crescendo whenever any of the players showed up. But the so-called ‘heroes’ exhibited a sorry state of blatant pessimism. Their performances, sadly, prompt me to believe that our batsmen have been pampered playing on sub-continental pitches and lack the will to cope with overseas conditions. India failed to last the entire five days in any of the 4 Test matches! A team can lose a match but can still earn respect if it goes down fighting. Rafael Nadal may have lost the intense Australian Open final to Novak Djokovic but he can hold his head high, and without a doubt, his fan following must have skyrocketed after the slugfest. That’s mental dexterity for you. We as fans of the Indian team are idiots to idolize a bunch of players who are totally unprofessional in their approach and who fail to express the desire to improve.

All of the above signs point to horrid times drawing closer for Indian cricket. There is no question that talent exists in India, but it is the manner in which the management and players go about their business that is most disheartening. As a cricket fan, I hope they learn their lessons from this Australian tour, and put in efforts to enhance their level of professionalism so that the mistakes from this tour are not repeated in the future.