Of wisecracks, turning tracks and gambles: India's World T20 journey

A team game, not a one-man show – What business did they have in dumping the rescue act on Virat Kohli every single game?

You did all you could, kid. WI were just a shade better.

Nostalgia is sometimes good for the soul. You recall the good with the bad. The focus is on the happier memories for inspiration, and the less joyful ones are for learning.

There was an element of the nineties in this squad. The comparison with the peerless Sachin Tendulkar isn’t appropriate, but the way Virat Kohli has been left to carry the burden of the batting unit certainly draws parallels to that era, and it is not healthy in the long term.

The kid isn’t superhuman, though his achievements and performances bely this. He, too, is just another cricketer striving to get his side over the finish line. Asking him to bat consistently is difficult enough – though, to his credit, he never complained – but expecting him to take wickets or slow down the opposition in a high-stakes match? Too much.

That move by the Indian skipper reeked more of desperation than a rabbit-out-of-the-hat step. Cricket is a team game, and everyone has to perform to the best of their abilities. It’s just one of several incorrect decisions that Dhoni took, and it will haunt him for quite some time.