Since he is such a great follower of the game, we thought we should ask him this question. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the June 12 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…
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Q. The way India lost the WTC finale could well see the end of the road for some Test cricket careers? Fair/unfair thing to happen?
A. As an Indian, I definitely felt bad about the loss, but in any game, there has to be a winner and loser. And India lost to a good team, in every aspect of the game. I know it is easy to be intelligent after the event, and as the cliché goes, examining things in hindsight is a great science. Even if I am accused of that, in my humble opinon, the Indian team members appeared to be a tired lot. Most players have just returned from the IPL. One can deduce it from the performance. For example, Shubman Gill, who scored four successive centuries in the IPL. And, Virat Kohli. Even as I say this, there is a tremendous comeback from an unexpected player like Ajinkya Rahane who was kicked out from the team for more than 18 months. So, sometimes, the so-called punishmentworks.
Look at the Australian team. Pat Cummins didn’t’ come. I get a feeling that he must be preparing for the WTC finale. Many Australian team players were not typical IPL players. I am not blaming the IPL for the Indian team performance in the World Test Championship finale, because I enjoy IPL. But if performance is a litmus test for any form of sport, then Test teams can’t be selected based on performances in a few IPL matches and Ranji Trophy encounters. Test matches needs patience and an ability to play in different conditions. What you can do in limited over cannot be done in a five-day Test match.
There is nothing like being unfair in a competitive match. Either you play to win, or decide to go by a result as it happens. Victory loves preparation and there is no substitute for that. And that preparation can’t be for just 20 overs. I don’t know which player will be dropped or not, but I am sure that you can’t solve an existing problem with existing solutions. One has to rethink the entire strategy which will determine whether India can make a difference in Test matches. The parameters for different formats of the cricket matches have different imperatives and they require different strategies.