Indian men’s cricket team is currently under hot waters. The team is plagued with a plethora of off-field issues. BCCI, the parent body has not helped matters much. Here we discussed India’s Challenge Heading Into The Future.
The clear lack of communication from the board has ignited a lot of fire. It seems as if Indian cricket has taken a step back rather than surging ahead. The appointment of Rohit Sharma as the white ball captain couldn’t have come at a more crucial juncture.
India’s Challenge Heading Into The Future
#4 Leadership issues
India until a couple of months ago had a single captain. He was Virat Kohli. Kohli took charge as India’s Test captain in 2015. He soon took over the all-format captaincy in 2017. India enjoyed unprecedented success across formats. But the failure to win an ICC trophy under his reign meant Kohli had to lose out his white-ball captaincy. He quit T20I captaincy on his own terms while he was sacked from the ODI captaincy.
The way the entire scenario played out left much to be desired. India will be better served with establishing a clear line of communication between 2 power centers. Lot has been spoken about the Kohli-Rohit Sharma tussle. It is up to the management to facilitate smooth conversations between the two and take Indian cricket forward. The role of Rahul Dravid will hence become even more crucial.
#3 Transition of the team
The main core of the Indian team is slowly walking into the sunset. Players who drove the team forward in the last decade are now in their last phase. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Virat Kohli, Mohammad Shami, and Ishant Sharma are almost at the fag end of their careers.
Indian team needs bright young players to seamlessly take over the responsibility. Players like Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, and Ruturaj Gaikwad will need to grab their chances with both hands. A decade earlier, Kohli and co took over from Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. It’s time now for the younger generation to do the same.
#2 Development of a fast-bowling allrounder
Hardik Pandya’s arrival into the Indian team immediately eased a lot of problems. He donned the finisher’s role with the bat and was decent if not spectacular with the ball. Pandya helped the team balance greatly. But frequent injuries have halted his career and the Indian team has suffered.
For a nation like India that boasts of having such great talent depth, finding a talented fast-bowling allrounder shouldn’t be an issue. The player selected needs to be groomed and developed carefully.
Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, and Venkatesh Iyer are the 3 options that currently seem to be in the reckoning. India needs to harness their potential and look at other option too.
#1 Win ICC tournaments
India has not won a single ICC trophy across formats since 2013. They qualified for knockouts, semifinals, and finals but couldn’t take that crucial step. India will be keenly looking at the upcoming ICC events to change its narrative. They have 3 opportunities in the next 2 years.
It all starts with a T20 World Cup next year scheduled to be played in Australia. The year 2023 has two ICC mega-events: one being the WTC and the other a home ODI World Cup. These world events will be India’s top priority heading into the future.
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