Wait, don't kill the players!

People love sports because they produce outcomes. Agree, the semifinal didn't follow the script most Indians wished to witness. As usual there is an outpouring of anger directed towards the players. This is a colossal disappointment, more so because it denies Indian crowds the mouth-watering prospect of witnessing another contest with the neighbors. There is an obvious outcry. Our neighbors are in the final and we are not. This is the gully cricket mentality that drives Indian viewers into a stadium. Obviously, the disappointment must be vented. 

 If not the players and who's to be blamed … is it the captain, coach, the wisdom of the selection committee or is it the system? 

Over the years Indian cricket has assumed industrial proportions and the stakes have been raised by a few billion dollars. Indian cricket has seen capital inflow from all kinds of investors. From highly illegal to the blindly ambitious. Everyone from the biggest sports betting platforms to a humble edtech (with global funding) wants a piece of the action. When sport gets institutionalized new rules tend to override the old ones. When corporate funds pay a sportsperson’s match fee, team expectations flip to measurable performance. A system of thinking dictates the course of choices. 

The 2022 team is a choice made from the learnings of 2021. It is interesting to analyze, the pivot of strategy, from 2021 World Cup to the current one. In 2021 India went to Dubai with 4 right-handed batsman, two left-handed wicket keepers, 2 batting all-rounders, one rookie leg-spinner and one mystery spinner. Amongst the reserves, one left-handed batting all-rounder, right-arm fast bowler (the fastest ever) and few players who are in the current s squad. This team was a heady mix of subtle + sensational. The senior pros were guiding rookies. 

Yet, there were bigger questions in 2021 then than now. Pundits seated in boxes behind microphones, fervidly questioned the absence of certain players. Pre-tournament, the then captain’s ability was a question mark (?) and the then vice-captain was seen as an above average performer. 

Cut to 2022, the vice-captain of 2021 is the current captain and India. There is a trusted think-tank in place. And there is no consultant overseeing the coach. In the new order of thinking, India has made the shift from a SURPRISE led game strategy to a TRUSTED one. Team talks were about mental-space, multiple chances, belief, and support. This was a team. A trusted team that stood beside each other. So, what went wrong? 

Sport is about the opponent. Especially T20 cricket. It is no melodrama played out by seasoned charismas, instead it is about the electrification of the moment. T20 borrows more from pornography than soap operas. There are role-plays, aggressive display of hormonal energy, manipulated plots and scenarios. The tele-series approach is almost a contradiction to this byte-sized stimulation capsule. The 2022 team did feel like a tele-series where, the audience is certain something will twist in the long-run but it doesn’t. But T20 is a spectator sport and not a audience. Action is a must and not an afterthought. 

From a country, that won the inaugural T20 world cup and the one that hosts the toughest (proclaimed) T20 league in the world, a fan would expect more rigor and though. One glaring issue is in the average age of the team. The squad of 2021 was 28.9 and the current one is 30.6. Compare and contrast this with the average age of the team that won the inaugural world cup was only 23.6. The chart below explains

Source Credit :  

India’s belief, that a sportsman’s last phase is the best phase, is probably where the system failed. Add to this the last-minute injuries to key players, the problem gets compounded. For all the talk about the depth of talent in Indian cricket, the lack of options is confounding. 

So where does Indian cricket go from here. The selectors are just doing their jobs and the system is managing multiple teams and revenue streams. There is a lot more tech and funds available. The teams are loved by their fans and the money is there to be utilized. But who and how, will India make the finals without the close calls in the league stages? 

Perhaps it is time to look back into India as a sentiment. And ask the question, what kind of cricket makes India happy. Do we wish to see entertaining performances or do we like to witness a blood-fest. Does the hitman really hit, does the enforcer force the game, does the finisher really finish or will the showman out on a show!!! 

Maybe it is time to think of losing rather than winning. How will India love to lose. 

Do we want to go down without a fight and a wicket or do we accept a dignified loss. 

But whatever we choose, let’s not blame the players. They are selected not qualified to play!

#t20, #t20worldcup, #india, #indiacricket, #rohitsharma, #rashwin, #viratkohli, #hardikpandya