The one silver lining in the Agneepath series

Such a nail on all the big expectations … An epic disappointment.

Now, the series is all done and dusted. It would be a matter of few overs tomorrow and the 0-4 whitewash would be complete. A 0-8 overseas whitewash will be an added embarrassment. The seniors have made a mockery of their twilight years, some trusted middle aged men in the team have done their reputations a whole lot of harm while some youngsters have shown a bit of spunk and talent, which can be groomed in the coming years.

Hopefully, we would see some retirements within the next few days from the likes of ‘The Wall’ and the Very very special batsman. They are spoiling the party for everyone concerned, least of all to themselves. Getting 20 s and 30 s and giving sound bytes like “the ball is still coming out good from my blade” and “it’s just a matter of time before the big knock arrives” should be a thing of the past. These seniors should gracefully pave the way for Pujara and Rohit Sharma respectively.

The centurion of all centurions will hang around as usual, and shamefully get THE hundred at a flat track in familiar conditions. Scoring it in one of these 8 test matches would have been an honor to the ‘record’ as well as the little master. He has been the utmost jewel in the Indian cricket crown. His performance in most of these past 8 matches has been a real disgrace on his otherwise great overseas record.

The Indian selectors are responsible for the one silver lining in this series – Virat Kohli. After the first 2 Tests, they had every reason to drop him and make a mess of another young Indian talent’s test career. But, they chose to persist with the Bangalore lad and give him few more chances. What he has done is well documented. The lone centurion from our team. His aggression on and off the field presents a stark contrast in an otherwise grim and sad team. Way to go, Kohli.

As any critic worth his salt would agree, losing with a young team is better than carrying non-performing legends and still losing. Some harsh decisions need to be taken and it would be better and respectful if the seniors concerned, themselves took the cue and bowed out gracefully like Dada did in 2008.

This team can still win with these over aged legends at home and delight us Indian fans, who have the shortest memory in the whole world. The IPL is also there to seduce us and make us forget these 8 Tests. We already have stupid cricketers like Gambhir and Ishanth, who want rank turners when the foreign teams come to tour India. Why don’t they have the long term health of the team on such overseas tours, in mind when making such statements?

England are already on the lookout for a win in the 2nd Test in the UAE (an overseas tour for them). Their 1st Test loss has woken them up from their slumber. Our team is still lying down in the dumps after 8 such overseas disasters. Pretty sure that Australia and South Africa would never lose 8 successive Tests if they were to tour England and India in succession.

Wake up India, wake up!