No, skipper, this is not the time to look at the positives; we need to fix the problem
As a Facebook post put it: So, a 1-4 score line against England in the Test series is not being outplayed, this is the best ever Indian team to have played overseas ever, we should look at the positives… the list of predictable platitudes emanating from the mouths of the Indian captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri is endless. But the most galling aspect of the whole shambles is that having been the protagonists, both Shastri and Kohli now also want to assume the role of experts who will dissect, analyse and suggest a way forward for Indian cricket and feign bewilderment when called out for doing so! Actually, they are not entirely to blame. This mindset rot was evident, as has been pointed out in these columns earlier, when the Anil Kumble, an Indian cricketing legend with proven analytical ability and ruthless professionalism as his calling cards, was unceremoniously dumped in favour of Shastri as Coach of the team because Virat Kohli wasn’t on the same page as him, quite missing the point that the role of the coach is not that of a cheerleader. Much like social media warriors who prefer engaging only within their own echo chambers, the current skipper and coach are in denial about what just went down in England. While Shastri has copped most of the opprobrium, and rightly so, the fact is that it is Kohli who needs to introspect more given he has at least half his career ahead of him both as India’s premier batsman and potentially longest-serving captain unlike the coach who should definitely be asked to go along with his hand-picked support team.
We can’t, however, turn the clock back. So, there is only one man with the stature and cricketing brains to get India back into shape for Test match cricket with a plan for the next five years and that is Rahul Dravid, the coach of the current India A and under-19 teams. But the terms of engagement need to be clear: The BCCI needs to sit him and Kohli down and make it clear that, much like the role of managers in football, the coach will be the final authority on all decisions including team selection, tactics, strategy, work ethic and media communication, though obviously the skipper’s inputs will be valued and he will continue to take on-field tactical calls as long as they don’t undermine the overall strategy in place. Virat is undoubtedly the world’s best batsman but he needs a lot of work under a thorough professional who can channelise his very welcome aggression for the good of Indian cricket before he can emerge as a first-rate captain.