India react following the T20 World Cup cricket semifinal between England and India in Adelaide, Australia, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. England defeated India by ten wickets. (AP Photo)
T20 isn’t just a new cricket format, it’s a different ball game. Like England, India needs T20 specialists — players, and maybe even the coaching staff
Written by Sandeep Dwivedi
India has had a longstanding infatuation for Rahul Dravid. He has a face that draws out kindness. His awe-inspiring body of work is the reason why neutrals add “arguably” when calling Sachin Tendulkar the greatest ever Indian batsman. His flawless public conduct, refined articulation and the overall good-boy image grants him concessions in most post-defeat inquisitions.
Stubborn happens to be a convenient adjective that the nation uses to describe Dravid’s various roles in Indian cricket. Stubborn summed up his resolute batting. It also couched the criticism about his mostly conservative captaincy and, in the wake of the forgettable World T20 semi-final loss to eventual champions England, his unreasonably obstinate coaching approach.
Like all greats, Dravid has a mind of his own and unflattering conviction. As a coach and captain that’s not always a healthy trait. In the lead-up to the World T20, there were questions about the selection choices. The top three spots were occupied by batters — Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli — with an ODI mindset. There was ambiguity over the finisher’s role. And when the spearhead Jasprit Bumrah got injured, India didn’t have a Plan B. Dravid, along with the team management, kept defending the proven T20 misfits and continued to defend their choices.
There were reasons to doubt Dravid, the captain. He hasn’t been a successful IPL coach. Rajasthan Royals under him could never relive that inspiring fairytale of the first season. In his playing days, a Dravid six was an event that fans would wait for years. T20 isn’t just a new cricket format, it’s a different ball game. Dravid’s T20 Indian team looked outdated. Like England, India needs T20 specialists — players, and maybe even the coaching staff.
The majority of the 30-plus players that travelled with him to Australia — Suryakumar Yadav (32) being the lone exception — had their best T20 years behind them. A playing XI with Rohit Sharma, K L Rahul, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, R Ashwin and Mohammad Shami has an aura of intimidation, but only on paper.
No self-respecting IPL analysts, or even the wise punters, would bunch them together for a T20 game. No doubt these are exceptional world-beating white-ball cricketers but T20 didn’t come naturally to them. Come 2023 and the ODI World Cup and the world can fear them again. In the game’s shortest format though, they looked old-fashioned. Times have changed: Jos Buttler and Alex Hales are the new Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
India, under Dravid and Rohit, built an IPL all-stars team, not a unit that was a rainbow of the T20 skill set. It was glitzy Galacticos that could sell the WorldT20 but were not equipped to win it.
It’s not that T20 doesn’t have a place for old-school thinkers. Chennai Super King’s consistency in a notoriously unpredictable format is a tribute to the simplicity of their Super Skipper MS Dhoni’s cricketing engagement. While stringently following tactical conservatism, Dhoni, for years, gave optimum importance to the balance of the team.
In the 2021 final when CSK won, the veteran Faf du Plesis had the new-age young opener Ruturaj Gaikwad as his opening partner. If Deepak Chahar could swing the new ball, Josh Hazlewood would hit the deck. Left-handers Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen Ali would be floating all-rounders with very different skill sets. There was the ageless Dwayne Bravo. Dhoni’s team didn’t have the sameness of the Indian squad at this World T20. It was closer to England of 2022 in variety. In fact, England’s Player of the tournament, Sam Curran, and the man who kept his nerves in the final, Moeen Ali, have played in CSK colours under Dhoni.
Like Dravid, Dhoni too was stubborn and even age-agnostic. Back in the day, during an IPL winning campaign, he backed the Aussie old-hand, Shane Watson, despite the world reminding him of his age and lack of runs. Watson delivered in the knockout games and CSK became champions.
Dhoni, unlike Dravid, knew who could deliver. India will have to look for players with a big-match temperament. They will have to spot their own Watsons pretty early, give them opportunities, groom them and then be patient. IPL top-performers lists, ICC rankings or brand equity can’t be the data to put together teams for World T20s. The eternal faith in those with the habit of repeatedly freezing in important knock-out games has been the reason for India’s World Cup trophy cabinet getting no new addition since 2011.
When Dravid was captain, the Indian team wasn’t quite known for its adventurism. A Guardian headline from the 2007 England tour after a drawn game reads: Stubborn captain sets the tone as tourists lack killer instinct. The report said that since India failed to enforce the follow-on, England got away. “Dravid thinks England cannot win. But they can draw and for that, they can thank the Indian captain’s timidity,” the report said.
That same year, India had a disastrous World Cup campaign in the Caribbean. The last time India was so unsure about their playing XI.
Dravid should have learnt his lesson. That was when the seniors were found wanting. Back then, Dravid didn’t take the tough calls. Many felt he couldn’t defy Greg Chappell. Sachin Tendulkar didn’t bat the number he preferred, and Sourav Ganguly had strike-rate issues. Back then too it proved that a team of 11 stars couldn’t be collectively seen as a formidable playing XI.
Years later, Greg Chappell in his book would sum up the spectacular implosion of the Dravid-led team. “Our heavily-marketed ‘Dream Team’ was just that: a figment of too many imaginations,” he wrote. Next, he would state something that rings true even today.
“I thought it would take a miracle for us to get through to the semifinals and final, and was dismayed that the selectors had stuck with their beloved ‘brand name’ players rather than go for the potential of youngsters such as Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma.”
This team did need a miracle to reach the last four. Kohli’s magical sixes against Pakistan had the rarity of hole-in-ones in successive rounds on a golf course. Even that once-in-a-lifetime event wasn’t enough to take India past the finishing line. They would also gain from a magical rub of the green.
When was the last time a ball bowled by a left-arm spinner hit the stump, trickled exactly between a keeper standing behind and fine gully to reach almost near the boundary. This stroke of luck allowed Indian batters to scamper for those three crucial runs in the final over.
Luck favours the brave only once, but the timid keep banking on it to be disappointed.
sandeep.dwivedi@expressindia.com