Now signs were unlucky even before leaving with former Test captain Virat KohliThe much publicized acrimonious tussle with the top BCCI officials.
The whole episode did not leave the team in a good position and once there the initial Test win everything went haywire.
Stand-in ODI Captain KL Rahul After that there was little left to do against an opposition who had gained invaluable trust.
In the end, it turned out to be a nightmare and dark clouds were looming over the future of this Indian team and there was no sign of ‘VIBGYOR’ in Rainbow Nation.
Virat Kohli and his problems
Kohli may not admit it, but the former captain is going through one of the toughest phases as a cricketer after giving up the captaincy in two of the three formats and getting sacked in the other.
(AP photo)
But because he is Kohli and in a different class, he scored 79 runs in the third Test, where he looked the best.
He also got two half-centuries in ODIs with minimal fuss, where he looked like an accumulator and not an ally with a ‘King Kohli’.
The meltdown in Cape Town coupled with anger at broadcasters for a DRS unfairly tarnished his reputation and letting the sport get away with mindless antics was not the best time for him to recognize his nature .
KL Rahul got confused in his line
But if anyone is too blunt, KL Rahul might have missed the chance to be a long-term option across all formats after Kohli stepped down as Test captaincy after losing the Test series.
“Did KL Rahul look like the captain to you in any way?” When asked whether Rohit Sharma would be considered for the Test captaincy keeping in mind his injury track record, a senior BCCI official replied to PTI.
(ANI photo)
It is understood that coach Rahul Dravid wants to see his name as a long-term option and it was clear that he did not want to put too much blame on his captaincy.
Dravid’s observation led to the old adage, “He did more than a good job and captaincy is a lot about how your players demonstrate skill. We were less in the ODI team. He will constantly grow and get better.” ” A captain is only as good as his team.
But what will hurt Rahul more is his approach in batting which was more about self-defense. His 55 off 79 balls in the second ODI deserves more criticism for not rotating the strike rather than the runs he accumulated.
It is certain that Rahul will have to bat in the middle order and be a finisher if he is to be involved in the white-ball scheme.
After looking more in the middle overs, the change in his bowling did not work. Temba Bavuma Take some inspired moves like opening the attack with Aiden Markram, he introduced Ravichandran Ashwin early in a game but it was a reactive move rather than a proactive one.
lack of fearlessness in test matches
One sad thing that even the biggest Proteas fans could not have imagined is that a team facing major transitional problems and a coach facing a commission investigating their racial misconduct could turn up the heat. Will give and win five out of six international matches and that too on a canter.
The South Africans played good cricket but were generously supported by an Indian team that did not speak to their stated cricketing philosophy.
For the better part of the tour there was no fearlessness, no innovation, out-of-the-box thinking and, at times, they seemed to fall short in execution of skill.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane showed some spark in the second innings of the second Test but were not playing their positive game for the better.
Pujara and Rahane didn’t even score 200 runs in six innings and the manner of dismissal later – a catch to the wicketkeeper or slipping behind long rising deliveries over the off-stump channel – turned embarrassing after a certain point.
If the two careers have indeed reached the finishing line, it is this pairing as giving them a chance to succeed against a weak Sri Lanka on home soil will be a derision to the likes of Hanuma Vihari, who have long waited for their chances Is.
On the bowling front, Ishant Sharma not being included in the top five fast bowlers of India is also not a good sign for this player of 100 Test matches as it seems the management doesn’t have much faith in him anymore.
The bowling relied heavily on Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami in Test matches but both would need rest from time to time.
Ashwin bowled decently but it was another tour of Sena country where the lack of favorable wickets meant he was largely ineffective.
Ashwin’s second coming in white-ball cricket was also not good as he looked flat and out of ideas.
South Africa played him with ease in all formats and it is highly unlikely that Ashwin will include much in India’s white-ball plans in the 2023 World Cup.
If Ashwin was disappointing, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was a constant disaster as his pace dropped a few notches and the swing went off.
The bowling was stingy as well as lacking variation, something that hurt India in the middle overs and Dravid was the first to admit it.
Dravid said, “Without just saying spinners, we feel we need to improve our wicket-taking options in the middle overs, spinners play a big role in that, but you also have a quick comeback and the kind. We throw the balls,” Dravid said.
“We’ve discussed it and we’ve talked about it and we understand this is one area of the game in which we’ve been a little behind.
“Yeah, there’s a lot to learn from this tour, things we need to improve and keep getting better, and getting personnel to do some of the work where we’re probably lacking a little bit. Good point It’s that we have some time in ODI cricket to fix those things,” Dravid said.
Pant’s stand and Shreyas’s weakness
Maybe it’s time for the Indian team to accept it Rishabh Pant With the dismissal will come in the form of a package that pisses people off and then plays a gem that only he can play.
(Photo by Grant Pitcher / Gallo Images / Getty Images)
but a bigger problem Shreyas Iyer, whose technical shortcomings against the short ball have been badly exposed on this tour, although it has been a topic of discussion in the Indian cricket world.
This was also one of the reasons why Shreyas is still not being thought of as a ready replacement for Pujara or Rahane as he may fail to test red-ball conditions.
As far as the white ball is concerned, Dravid had given the mandate and that means “safety and stability will be given but strong performance will also be demanded.”
Chahar and Shardul are just silver linings
If anything positive comes out of this tour, Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar are taking the extra mile to show that they can be used as multi-skilled players in the future, something that impressed Rahul Dravid as well. did.
“Obviously he (Deepak Chahar) has shown us in Sri Lanka and the opportunities here and there he has some good potential with the bat and I have seen him at India A level to be honest, and I know he is very good. Can bat and definitely gives us good options.
(Photo by Grant Pitcher / Gallo Images / Getty Images)
“…and for people like him, Shardul being able to contribute with the bat as well, more players who can contribute with the bat down, definitely makes a huge difference and gives us more options.”
These two will get a lot of games in the future.
“We want to give him a few more games with Shardul and a few others, who can go ahead with time in the next one year, and hopefully give us depth in the team,” he added.
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