ICC World Cup 2019 : Muddled selections and unsettled line up cause for India’s exit

[giri26]

Let us start by saying that India had a great World Cup 2019. Despite all the adversities and losing their first choice players to injury, India pulled through well to make the semi-finals as the table toppers. But again their frailties in the batting finally caught up with them when it mattered the most.

Before the start of the tournament, Indian middle order was most talked about in the media and the fans alike as an area of concern. The uncertainty of the number four position and the batting that followed did not inspire much confidence among fans.

When KL Rahul scored that hundred against Bangladesh in the warm up game, it seemed as if India had found their right XI but again injury to Shikhar Dhawan after the Australia game unsettled the balance again. India went with Vijay Shankar in their next two games and an injury to him meant Rishabh Pant came in for the latter half. India also was uncertain about their number six position with Kedar Jadhav starting off the tournament only to be replaced by Dinesh Karthik in the final few games which wasn’t that successful either.

The biggest problem for India was they couldn’t come up with a settled XI through the tournament and that hurt them in the end. The reliance on the top order and the constantly changing middle order did not allow them to settle through the tournament. The success of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli along with some good bowling allowed India to sail through the league phase but again the luck finally ran out in the knock-out game.

This has been the problem with the Indian team over the last couple of years and this is the reason that it’s not allowed the team to settle to a first XI due to the same reason. The success of England over the last couple of years has been their clarity in selections and trusting their top six which India weren’t able to do throughout the tournament. The bowling line up also suffered the same fate as the pace bowlers were switched and so were the spinners. Except for Jasprit Bumrah, none of the other bowlers got a consistent run in the XI. Mohammad Shami who bowled brilliantly with the new ball and picked up wickets wasn’t even played on a track in the semi-final where he could have been lethal.

Virat Kohli's indecisions as a captain in the selection of a settled XI showed a little bit of panic within the team management. Now that the World Cup has ended and the team would be doing some retrospection, they need to keep in mind that there need not be any harsh or emotional decisions at the moment. India did do well in the tournament and there need not be any change in the team management. Virat Kohli for all his frailties with the team selections was good as a captain on field and pulled India through some tough games in the tournament with his own special brand of leadership.

The ODI team has seen too many changes over the last four years and the captain and coach need to settle for a set of players and back them and give them a sustained run. This was lacking over the last four years cycle that has culminated into this middle order mess which India find themselves in. The bowling attack also needs to be looked at. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has done well for India in the ODIs but again his lack of wickets with the new ball continues to hurt India in the shorter formats. The wrist spinners had a bad tournament but again they need to be given confidence and should continue playing in the ODI team.

The next World Cup is to be played in India in 2023 and India need to rework their middle order to make sure they don’t fall into the same muddle this time. Players like Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal need to be given consistent run in the ODI team. Even though Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah were brilliant in this tournament, India need to build a pool of young pace bowlers as a back-ups. Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Shivam Mavi, Prasidh Krishna and Kamlesh Nagarkoti need to get games over the next four years for India to have a better bench strength which they were lacking this time prior to the tournament.

Even though the exit in the semi-finals was disappointing, the tournament wasn’t a poor one for the Indian contingent. Whilst there is a need for changes and yes, there is lots of room for improvement in terms of skill and team composition but again that needs to happen organically over the next couple of years.

 

[MenInG]

Indian middle order is a real issue - and needs fixing - doesnt do justice to the power that that the top 3 bring.

 

[Saj]

Over-reliance on Sharma and Kohli hurt them.

It was going to be a matter of time before both failed and the rest would be found out and that's exactly what happened.

You can't paper over the cracks forever.

 

[Thephenom]

Purposely loosing to England to knock Pakistan out had something to do with it, don’t care what anyone says!

 

[Ab Fan]

It was quite clear how they messed up all.. Moving ahead, India should field this XI in their next ODI match:-

Rohit
Dhawan
Kohli
Rahul
Gill
Pant(if Dhoni wants a couple of series before retiring, he can have it but not more)
Pandya
Jadeja
Shami
Kuldeep/Chahal
Bumrah

Other options:-

Shaw
Jadhav
Bhuvi

15- man squad... Time to move from karthik and if possible with Jadhav as well.

 

[AZulfi]

One more thing

The pressure of chasing gets to every team

It is no surprise then that World Cup finals have generally been won by the side batting first

The only time the chasing team won easily was when the team batting first collapsed miserably

1999 Pak 130 odd vs Aus

2015 NZ 180 odd vs Aus

Sri Lanka however successfully chased 240 odd (not a very big total again ) vs Aus in 1996

 

[gazza619]

India will be a far worse team in 2023 I think. Rohit Sharma, Dhawan, Kohli and Bumrah would be out of gas.

I know Indian fans might want to think that the local factory would be producing more such players but these guys are once in a generation cricketers.

 

[The Viper]

India have been guilty of changing up the middle order too much. They must back some of these younger players like Pant, Gill and Shaw. Maybe keep Rahul as well as an option at 4. they need to pick guys who can score big unlike Karthik who can get you a quick thirty.

 

[giri26]

The West Indies tour will tell us the direction the selectors are going to go. The A team playing in West Indies has been doing well. Players like Saini, Iyer, Gill etc should be part of that team to Carribbean. Rest Bumrah, Shami etc. We don't need them on that your. Test team can be the full one, ODI and T20 need to be used to experiment a bit.

 

[austerlitz]

India will be a far worse team in 2023 I think. Rohit Sharma, Dhawan, Kohli and Bumrah would be out of gas.

I know Indian fans might want to think that the local factory would be producing more such players but these guys are once in a generation cricketers.

How would bumrah be out of gas,he would be 28-29?
Rohit and dhawan - yes.
Kohli - he's too good to be out of gas at 34.

 

[Bob Marley]

If you look at all the matches of India, you would notice there was this element of arrogance or misplaced arrogance in the team.BTW this has also become a national problem with us world over, this thinking East or West India is the best has crept into the thinking. It has swelled from being confident to over confident and now it has made the nation arrogant. In the match against Eng, team lost its direction and started to get super arrogant and they broke the win momentum, thinking they can choose their semi finalists in NW. When Semi final started entire country were thinking about the final and the team forgot that they have to win the semi first. NZ was seen by the Indian team with lot of arrogance and then we paid the Price. Never abuse the game, that's what I learnt!

 

[MenInG]

A senior member of the Indian cricket team has come under the scanner for violating BCCI's "family clause" rules during the World Cup, where the team made a semifinal exit. The player in question had specifically requested for his wife to stay with him for more than the permissible period of 15 days but it was shot down by the Committee of Administrators (CoA), which had laid down the rules. Now, it has come to light that the player's wife stayed with him for the entire seven-week duration of the tournament without seeking permission from either the captain or the coach for her extended stay.

As per documents in possession of PTI, the CoA in its meeting on May 3 discussed the issue but eventually shot down the request. The Item 6 sub clause G of the minutes of the CoA meeting read: Request from a player 1. The COA discussed that one of the players from the Men's Senior Team had made a request for permission for his wife to accompany him to the World Cup tour earlier than is otherwise permissible. 2. The CoA was informed that the matter is being discussed with the concerned player and that it may not be advisable to grant the request. 3. After some discussion, the CoA decided that it will not accede to the above request from the concerned player. As per minutes of CoA meeting on May 21 (Sec 1 (B) (1) ), the Family Clause stated: "The issue of whether the authority to approve any visits from visitors outside the 'visitor period' should vest with the team captain and coach or with the BCCI management was discussed.

It was noted that the BCCI management has traditionally decided these matters. It was also noted that the BCCI constitution requires cricketing and non-cricketing matters are to be kept separate. A BCCI source privy to the development confirmed to PTI, on conditions of anonymity, that such a violation indeed happened.

"Yes, the same player in question, who was categorically denied permission during May 3 meeting, violated the 15-day rule during the World Cup. The question that arises here is whether the player in question had sought permission about the extra duration of stay of his wife from the competent authorities -- in this case the coach and the captain. The answer is a 'No'," the official said.

The matter is yet to be reported to the Committee of Administrators (CoA) and questions have been raised as to why administrative manager Sunil Subramaniam did not veto the arrangement since it was his domain. "What was Sunil Subramaniam doing? His job is not to monitor team's training sessions.

The coach, captain and other support staff are there to oversee the arrangement. Hopefully, the CoA will take cognisance of the matter and seek a report from the manager," another senior BCCI official said. Subramaniam couldn't be reached for a comment.

https://sports.ndtv.com/world-cup-2...during-world-cup-2072699?pfrom=home-sshowcase

 

[Junaids]

I attended the semi-final against New Zealand, and the defeat was fairly easy to see coming.

There were three main problems.

Number 1, the tail didn't have enough runs in it - hence the surrender against England the week before. If you pick a tail which can't bat, sooner or later you will fail in a chase.

Number 2, the absurd selection of MS Dhoni. He couldn't even bend down to keep wicket, and in the semi-final v New Zealand and the group game which could have eliminated England he was the same MS Dhoni who was already past his best in the 2015 semi-final at Sydney (which I also attended).

In each of those games he was like Javed Miandad at the 1996 World Cup. An ageing has-been who couldn't keep up with the required scoring rate but who was good enough not to get out until he was run out. The longer MS Dhoni batted, the more certain India was to lose.


The sad thing is that in Rishabh Pant India had the ideal replacement for Dhoni. But that foolish Asian deference towards age and seniority, combined with admiration for his Army links meant that India didn't drop the player who would destroy their hopes.


Number 3, India has become so accustomed to playing on flat tracks that when they encountered a sporting wicket the flat track bullies like Rohit Sharma collapsed to 5-3 and then 24-4.

Ultimately they were a one dimensional team which couldn't cope with English conditions.

 

[Ram Shekhar]

I attended the semi-final against New Zealand, and the defeat was fairly easy to see coming.

There were three main problems.

Number 1, the tail didn't have enough runs in it - hence the surrender against England the week before. If you pick a tail which can't bat, sooner or later you will fail in a chase.

Number 2, the absurd selection of MS Dhoni. He couldn't even bend down to keep wicket, and in the semi-final v New Zealand and the group game which could have eliminated England he was the same MS Dhoni who was already past his best in the 2015 semi-final at Sydney (which I also attended).

In each of those games he was like Javed Miandad at the 1996 World Cup. An ageing has-been who couldn't keep up with the required scoring rate but who was good enough not to get out until he was run out. The longer MS Dhoni batted, the more certain India was to lose.


The sad thing is that in Rishabh Pant India had the ideal replacement for Dhoni. But that foolish Asian deference towards age and seniority, combined with admiration for his Army links meant that India didn't drop the player who would destroy their hopes.


Number 3, India has become so accustomed to playing on flat tracks that when they encountered a sporting wicket the flat track bullies like Rohit Sharma collapsed to 5-3 and then 24-4.

Ultimately they were a one dimensional team which couldn't cope with English conditions.

Spot on. India's weaknesses were exposed in our most important match of the tournament again.

 

[Junaids]

Spot on. India's weaknesses were exposed in our most important match of the tournament again.

Funnily enough, I think for both India and Pakistan the solution is the same.

There is no point hosting other Asian countries in India/UAE for “home” Test series.

Host them in South Africa and use a Dukes ball.

If India and Pakistan each host three Tests like that each year, they will quickly develop the skills to consistently win away series outside Asia.

 

[Ram Shekhar]

Funnily enough, I think for both India and Pakistan the solution is the same.

There is no point hosting other Asian countries in India/UAE for “home” Test series.

Host them in South Africa and use a Dukes ball.

If India and Pakistan each host three Tests like that each year, they will quickly develop the skills to consistently win away series outside Asia.

Pakistan has hope. India, even if our players play in South Africa/England all year around, will not improve. The players are mentally weak and the skills are overrated. A donkey is a donkey whether you take it to a pond or the pacific ocean. We have no hope.

 

[tyron_woodley]

I attended the semi-final against New Zealand, and the defeat was fairly easy to see coming.

There were three main problems.

Number 1, the tail didn't have enough runs in it - hence the surrender against England the week before. If you pick a tail which can't bat, sooner or later you will fail in a chase.

Number 2, the absurd selection of MS Dhoni. He couldn't even bend down to keep wicket, and in the semi-final v New Zealand and the group game which could have eliminated England he was the same MS Dhoni who was already past his best in the 2015 semi-final at Sydney (which I also attended).

In each of those games he was like Javed Miandad at the 1996 World Cup. An ageing has-been who couldn't keep up with the required scoring rate but who was good enough not to get out until he was run out. The longer MS Dhoni batted, the more certain India was to lose.


The sad thing is that in Rishabh Pant India had the ideal replacement for Dhoni. But that foolish Asian deference towards age and seniority, combined with admiration for his Army links meant that India didn't drop the player who would destroy their hopes.


Number 3, India has become so accustomed to playing on flat tracks that when they encountered a sporting wicket the flat track bullies like Rohit Sharma collapsed to 5-3 and then 24-4.

Ultimately they were a one dimensional team which couldn't cope with English conditions.

you see how pathetic England were without roy? exactly what happened with india. without dhawan they struggled to replace him.
instead of Rahul they should have played Mayank. Virat's selection bias clearly cost them.

at number 4 they should have stuck with rayudu or gill who was phenomenal in list A series.

India is a very strong team but if virat and shastri keep picking their favourites then i don't see them winning in 2023. They have some incredibly talented players in the A team and they should rightly be given chances to showcase their potential.

 

[BaankeJi]

you see how pathetic England were without roy? exactly what happened with india. without dhawan they struggled to replace him.
instead of Rahul they should have played Mayank. Virat's selection bias clearly cost them.

at number 4 they should have stuck with rayudu or gill who was phenomenal in list A series.

India is a very strong team but if virat and shastri keep picking their favourites then i don't see them winning in 2023. They have some incredibly talented players in the A team and they should rightly be given chances to showcase their potential.

Good thing is that at least Shastri will be gone after West Indies tour.
Kohli has no captaincy brain. Make Sharma ODI captain.

 

[troodon]

Indian Muddle Order is the reason. Did we learn any lesson from it? No. Not even world cup exit can provide a clue to our selectors. We are still sending the likes of Kedar Jadhav to West Indies. Pathetic to say the least. Jadhav will not even get into Bangladesh side. Let alone Indian line up.

 

[big_gamer007]

I attended the semi-final against New Zealand, and the defeat was fairly easy to see coming.

There were three main problems.

Number 1, the tail didn't have enough runs in it - hence the surrender against England the week before. If you pick a tail which can't bat, sooner or later you will fail in a chase.

Number 2, the absurd selection of MS Dhoni. He couldn't even bend down to keep wicket, and in the semi-final v New Zealand and the group game which could have eliminated England he was the same MS Dhoni who was already past his best in the 2015 semi-final at Sydney (which I also attended).

In each of those games he was like Javed Miandad at the 1996 World Cup. An ageing has-been who couldn't keep up with the required scoring rate but who was good enough not to get out until he was run out. The longer MS Dhoni batted, the more certain India was to lose.


The sad thing is that in Rishabh Pant India had the ideal replacement for Dhoni. But that foolish Asian deference towards age and seniority, combined with admiration for his Army links meant that India didn't drop the player who would destroy their hopes.


Number 3, India has become so accustomed to playing on flat tracks that when they encountered a sporting wicket the flat track bullies like Rohit Sharma collapsed to 5-3 and then 24-4.

Ultimately they were a one dimensional team which couldn't cope with English conditions.

100% agreed.

 

[barah_admi]

India's exit was down to poor batting. For a decade they've been hailed as the best ever and have never achieved that hype in the real world.

 

[tyron_woodley]

uh no. dhawan's absence was the reason why india exited. dhawan is far better than roy btw. we all saw how good England are without roy.