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| Photo: latestly.com |
The
cricket mandarins of India, if as short sighted as the shorter formats, might
as well gloat over India’s 5-0 whitewash over New Zealand in the shortest
format that is the T20I Series, and might as well reason that the process of
experimentation has finally given a team for the T20I World Cup coming up in
October this year. However, the said team is yet a team of probables only, and
the IPL starting later this month might as well throw up again a plethora of
new ‘talents’ for the ‘choices’ of the worthy Indian selectors; therefore, the
experimentation is far from over yet. In
the second test match played in Christchurch New Zealand has beaten India by 7
wickets in just the third day today thus achieving the third whitewash of the
tour of 2-0—the second whitewash being the Kiwis’ triumph of 3-0 in the shorter
that is the ODI Series. New Zealand had earlier won the Wellington test by 10
wickets. India had had their chances though in both the Tests—in the first in
Wellington the Indian bowlers failed India come back into the match while in
the second after the bowlers ensured even a lead for India, though the
slenderest, the batsmen failed miserably to drive home the advantage. In
totality, India just couldn’t cope with the three-pronged and then the
four-pronged pace-attack of the Kiwis on their home turf with fast-bowler Kyle
Jamieson towering above all.
Why
Team India, on top as far as Test matches are concerned in the last few years,
did so miserably having the advantage of batting first on both occasions? The
reasons are not far to seek. The ‘inducted’ veterans couldn’t perform as
instantly as the team management wanted, you know, putting them up on green
pitches suddenly out of the wilderness. Second, the consistent failures of Captain
Virat Kohli contributed majorly for the batting blues. Third, injury to Rohit
Sharma and the new openers not quite up to the task, particularly Mayank
Agarwal, contributed to the consistent batting collapses. Fourth, India failed
to have a proper pace battery to match green pitches (Jasprit Bumrah not in top
form yet) and still going for the spinners who, obviously, just proved to be ornamental.
And lastly, again, the selection blues: even God wouldn’t have an idea as to why
the top-form KL Rahul was not considered for the Tests whereas he had proved
his worthiness in Tests too earlier; why Wriddhiman Saha was not preferred as the wicket-keeper over
Rishabh Pant in whose case, of course, no logic applies as far as selection
(perhaps the greatest cricket talent of the millennium) is concerned.
This
tour doesn’t augur well the for the away series that India is set play in the
near future with even day-and-night or Pink Test matches being planned in
Australia. The worthy selectors must justify their ‘endless experimentation’
saga with players rested at will, dropped at will and the seasoned campaigners
not even considered most of the times. But for the looming IPL, a veritable T20
bonanza of cricket, glamour and cash, the team management would’ve learnt a few
precious lessons from India Tour of New Zealand-2019/20 to prepare for the T20 World
Cup-2020 which, on the earlier occasion too, they couldn’t realize in time,
again thanks to IPL, to prepare well for the one-day World Cup-2019. Alas!
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