The Indian cricket team has nowhere to hide
The sad news is sinking into the hearts of the country's cricket lovers: That the Indian team's remarkable victory over England at lord's in the third week of July was a flash in the pan. Captain MS Dhoni and his men in blue were supposed to have picked up momentum from that win and carry the good work in the remaining Tests. That they did not is bad enough. But that they should have capitulated in such a pitiful manner is the real humiliation. The Indian team lost three Tests in a row — first by 266 runs, then by an innings and 54 runs, and the final one by an innings and 244 runs. Two of these losses have come inside three days. These figures simply do not offer any excuse for Dhoni and his team to explain away their shoddy performance. Even a Ranji team would have put up a relatively better resistance. Former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar appropriately termed the Indian performance as that of a “jelly-like resistance”. Dhoni has expressed dismay over the abject failure of his batsmen, and he is right about that. But he cannot run away from his accountability. The bottom-line is that he led the team to those pathetic defeats, failed to provide the needed direction and leadership, and possibly took erroneous decisions which impacted the results against India. At the time of writing, there is no sign of his having taken responsibility for the defeats — much less of quitting his post. On speculation regarding his continuation as the captain, Dhoni merely said that time will tell whether he emerges strong enough to absorb the loss or succumbs to the pressure of defeat. This indicates that he may want to dig in his heels for now. It is true that the decision to resign has to be that of Dhoni and the selectors of the Board for Cricket in India. The Indian captain has contributed enormously to the game, and in many of the country's triumphs over the past few years. He has been generously feted for those achievements. Now it's time for him to accept the brickbat.
There had been rumbling in recent months about the captain insisting on certain players being included in the team despite their poor performances. Also, sports commentators have been talking of the BCCI not adequately standing up to some of the questionable steps that Dhoni had taken in the just concluded Test series. It can be argued that we are being too harsh on Dhoni. After all, not too long ago, when he kept winning, we were all rushing to compliment him, and not finding any blemish. It would indeed have been unfair to have condemned Dhoni for a loss here and a loss there. But here we are faced with three comprehensive defeats that the Indian captain has led the team to. This cannot be brushed under the carpet as just one of those bad phases. So, what lies ahead of the vanquished teamIJ Teams have recovered from similar disasters in the past, and the men in blue too can from the latest one. This can happen tomorrow if hard decisions are taken today.