India Vs Pakistan Cricket: The Zing Seems to be Missing!

 

The cricket matches in all three formats of the game between the arch-rivals India and Pakistan have become a rare variety in the recent years with the ardent discerning cricket lovers waiting for their matches at neutral venues. The matches between them in the one-day World Cup, the T-20 World Cup, and the Asia Cup have always been eagerly awaited. However, in the last two years the fan enthusiasm seems to be dwindling with a sense of listlessness seeping in as regards both Team India and their matches. And risking being rough or grossly unjust I have to point the finger at the Head Coach Rahul Dravid who was appointed in the job in November, 2021. No doubt, he had taken over with the ripe legacies of India—not able to break the jinx of not winning a single ICC title since 2011; India’s group-stage exit in the T20 World Cup played in 2021; Team India management blinded by too many choices of young cricketers (courtesy IPL) thus ushering in the mindless and endless experimentation in the run-up to any international tournament; and the unshakable trust and dependence in the Team India veterans despite their continuous poor show on the field. But Rahul Dravid was appointed with high hopes that being player of legendary status he’d bring in the necessary changes and rejuvenate the team. Unfortunately, the opposite happened.

India lost the Series against South Africa; India’s group-stage exit in Asia Cup-2022; India got ousted in the semi-final in the T20 World Cup played in 2022 and India lost the World Test Championship again this year. What the team managed to do was to win a few scattered matches, mostly against the much weaker teams. All the legacies we mentioned above were continued with unabated energy or even further emboldened. For example, the experimentation-laden team was administered more severe shock treatment bringing in or dropping or inexorably sticking to key or non-key cricketers at mere will or whims or prejudice or favoritism or clout, so much so brazenly that nobody in the Dravid-led management even bothered to justify or make a bid to defend the decisions in some way. The ageing Captain Rohit Sharma followed by the record-breaking Virat and the shifting openers kept on failing the team while the Head Coach kept on looking the other way. The most notable player to gain unjustified faith, apart from the untouchables, is Shardul Thakur while the most-axed but trustworthy players to suffer are Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal at times and even Mohammad Shami and Surya Kumar Yadav who got dropped during the ensuing Asia Cup, in the most crucial league match against none other than Pakistan.

Well, I cannot represent the fans spread globally for Team India, but I can say for myself that I had lost interest in Team India matches played inside or outside, including the most-awaited Indo-Pak encounters. For example, I never even bothered to find out when India was going to meet Pakistan in Asia Cup-2023 that had moved back to the 50-over format which should’ve been matter of keener interest. No doubt, the weather gods too didn’t like the way India prepared to meet Pakistan and the match had to be abandoned. Of course, India successfully moved to the Super-4 stage by defeating Nepal (a Dravidian achievement?). Now, tomorrow, the 10^th of September 2023, India is set to play the arch-rival again, and I’m not seeing any kind of keen interest, far from the usual hype, demonstrated in the fan-fares or in the media for the match. And feeling the guilt somehow I’ve decided to write out my or our agonized frustration.

There is another crucial factor though for the seeming lack of interest—the obstinate rains there in Sri Lanka. Today, I read what Sunil Gavaskar wrote about the organizers not willing to consider changing the venues despite the looming rain threats. He indicated the organizers must be under acute pressure that is most often exercised by the influential players, not just Team India players, but others too. Maybe, this is being my guess; some team would like to play it safe by sharing a point with their rivals rather than working it out in the field and hope for the best. For example, if the Indo-Pak match in Colombo washes out despite having a reserve day Pakistan will get to three points having already vanquished Bangladesh and India just getting one which would mean that to qualify for the Final India will have to beat both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the coming matches, no minnows by any standard.

I never imagined even in my wildest of dreams that one day I’d not only be upset with Dravid, but would also write about his wrong ways, conclusively in my way only; because I always loved and admired that great Wall of a cricketer who stood for the pride of the nation in the most adverse conditions, more often in the Test arena. If you search for him here in this blog you’re sure to find at least one piece written about Rahul Dravid in his glorious years. Ultimately, this is a matter of sadness only, that, a player of that level of excellence should fail the national team so utterly, so miserably. I was never a pessimist, particularly in my cricket writings. But at the moment, I feel no surge of optimism as regards Team India’s progress in this Asia Cup, or much more importantly in the upcoming One-day ICC World Cup-2023—a tournament that is to be played in the subcontinent, and the Head(ache?) Coach prepares well by axing out Ashwin and Chahal, although it’s presented as only a provisional team which, in a more monstrous way, would mean that experimentation is still a far way off from being finally over.