India in dire need to eschew 2019 WC model for avoiding identical WT20 debacle

The answer should be pretty straightforward, but unfortunately, with India, it’s never the case, is it? In the past four years, India, despite being clear-cut favorites heading into each of the three ICC tournaments that took place, have let the trophy slip right out of their hands. They’ve had the trophy at their mercy, almost reminiscent to Oberyn Martell having the Mountain at the mercy of his spear in Game of Thrones, but just like the former, have somehow always ended up getting their heads crushed unexpectedly to break the hearts of a billion people and leave them in horror.

After building up towards the tournament with Ambati Rayudu as the No.4, Kedar Jadhav as the finisher and Kuldeep Yadav as the second-spinner, India finished the tournament with Rishabh Pant as their No.4, Ravindra Jadeja as their second-spinner and Dinesh Karthik as their finisher. India made more tweaks to the team in one month than Ernests Gulbis did to his forehand technique over the entirety of the last decade. Of course, injuries did not help the team’s cause, but at times, the lack of direction in the team made them look like Arsenal under Unai Emery.

But India, unlike every other country, are spoilt so much with quality and options, that they are basically guaranteed a semi-final spot prior to the start of any major tournament. This is what gives them the luxury of experimentation in the first place and whilst till date, they’ve gotten it all wrong, they know that if they get it right, they would be nothing but unstoppable. 

So, here comes the million dollar question - what can they do to get it right? The answer is simple - use the 2019 World Cup campaign as the model for what NOT to do. Experimentation done without an end goal is nothing but the cricketing equivalent of ‘fooling around’ as more often than not, it leads to nothing productive.

With roughly 25 more matches left before next year’s showdown, the management can ill-afford to do the same. They will need to be crystal clear on the areas they think need addressing and the pool of players who will make the final cut while ensuring to shut the window of experimentation down before the IPL. 

The IPL, at best, should serve as an outside chance for a bolter within the pool of shortlisted players to put his hand up as a backup player and not as an audition for a place in the starting XI at the World Cup. Leading up to the WT20, the real challenge for the management will be zeroing in on both the right players and the final combination well before the IPL and give the players an extended run in the team, whilst also making their roles clear.

Recency bias snuck in, too, as KL Rahul, who was initially picked in the squad as a backup opener, was given the nod ahead of Vijay Shankar for the No.4 position thanks to his century in a warm-up match prior to the tournament. Meriting players based on their form is one thing, but using warm-up games as a shootout for a spot in the starting XI of a World Cup game almost beggars belief.

Hence as to why shortlisting the personnel and defining their roles becomes all the more important, as it not only gives the skipper and the management enough time to try and test out each and every one of them, but also gives the players the added security and a sense of belonging. It is indeed ironic as India have cracked this very mantra in Test cricket, but have been struggling to replicate the same in white-ball cricket for almost a decade. 

The challenge for the team will now be to identify the DOs and DONTs, build on this and transform it into something substantial leading up to the WT20. While the 2019 WC defeat was a crushing one, it is also an invaluable lesson for the team which they can use as the perfect “DON’T” heading into the WT20 next year. But failure to do so will result in a similar, tragic heartbreak and Virat & Co. will need to be wary of it.