India went out of the T20 World Cup 2021 on a winning note, so to say, beating Namibia and yet falling short of semi-finals qualification. For a nation that won the inaugural T20 World Cup 2007 peaking at the right time, there is little that could be done about course correction in 2021, except plan for the future learning from the present. Virat Kohli as T20 captain and Ravi Shastri as coach fall in the past category. The future has been entrusted to Rahul Dravid, newly appointed India coach for a two-year tenure.
Rohit Sharma, the vice-captain in 2021 and lower-middle order batsman in the 2007 team, happens to be a common link between the two squads.
When the dust of defeats (against Pakistan, New Zealand) settles down and a long-term development takes shape under the new chief coach, the current opener has enough experience, from India and Mumbai Indians appearances in the T20 format, to be tapped for inputs.
Rahul Dravid Unanimously Appointed Head Coach of Indian Cricket Team
He was a World Cup debutant 14 seasons ago, like all teammates including skipper MS Dhoni when his side walked away with the 2007 World Cup title. History does not win matches in 2021, execution of the game plan and best use of available players are more effective in keeping a step ahead of rivals. India’s World Cuppers were below par on both counts. There was no shortage of effort, though the difficulty in clicking as a team was evident.
The recent IPL’s UAE leg had ensured that local conditions were not alien to bigger teams with the best players contracted with different high-profile franchises in IPL 2021, including Kohli (Royal Challengers Bangalore) and his World Cup teammates. Three out of four semi-finalists - England, Australia, New Zealand - benefitted from the exposure. India did not, for reasons best known to them.
The Inevitability of Rahul Dravid as Team India Head Coach
A leadership role in MI enhanced Sharma’s batting, so run-making is supposed to be on expected lines after his elevation as the India T20 skipper. He is a strong candidate for ODI team captaincy also, on the strength of masterly batting at the 2019 World Cup in England, but that discussion can wait for some time. Getting all players, especially seniors Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin on a wavelength similar to Dravid’s line of thinking is the priority.
Interaction with the newly-appointed chief coach will allow the duo to present viewpoints on what clicked at the T20 event and what did not work, from match team selection to shot selection. Outgoing team captain Kohli, blunt in post-match analysis at the UAE, may not like the mirror to be held at his face. India under-performed in familiar conditions and on the overall tournament show, would have struggled to finish in the first four.
Going into the 2019 World Cup in England and the ongoing T20 tournament under Kohli, highly experienced players came up short in big matches, frequently enough to be eliminated before the final. Interestingly, overseas tours to Australia, England created confidence in Team India’s ability in the ICC event. Wins over Afghanistan, Scotland, Namibia after two early losses, were an indication of the team waking up late.
Dravid expressing views on the sort of players he would like to have as team captains and getting the leeway to implement decisions may be an important step towards changing the way he thinks. Kohli had announced the decision to step down from T20 captaincy in advance to focus on his batting. This approach may work in the team’s favour in 50-overs format too, as frontline players in both squads are the same.
Twenty20 changed from the 2007 season when Dhoni’s moves were considered innovative at the World Cup level, to 2021 where squads with brilliant individual talents like two-time T20 world champion West Indies went out before the knockouts. Sharma is viewed as the more adaptable batsman than others for India, more flexible as captain for MI whose showing as a team in pre-Covid seasons in IPL was in keeping with players’ qualities.
From being one among the many explosive stroke players, alongside Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa, Dhoni then in the 2007 squad, Sharma has done enough to be bracketed among the best batsmen in cricket, across formats. Though Kohli the stroke player has few equals in the T20, 50-overs, or Test cricket, the time has come to look beyond him for captaincy so that India benefits from his re-focus at the crease for many more seasons. A self-motivated pro, the intensity he brings to sport is unmatched.
Rahul Dravid Will Probably do as Good or Even Better Job Than me: Ravi Shastri
Teams groomed by Dravid so far in U-19, India A displayed attacking intent as a team instead of aggressive individuality. Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane (Test captain in the epic series away win over Australia) are leaders forged in this mould. Indian cricket is privileged to have batches of players groomed by a widely-respected cricketing great from the pre-Kohli era, when match-winners let their bat or ball do the aggro talking.
India’s new coach was among the senior players endorsing Dhoni for T20 captaincy when the selectors then required feedback ahead of the 2007 World Cup in South Africa. The wicket-keeper with a shrewd cricketing brain and calm face led Team India with distinction in the two limited-overs formats. Virat Kohli earned his spurts on the strength of big-match performances and the players adjusted to a new style of leadership.
India have had extremely competitive captains in Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble earlier, both demanded a lot from their teammates and those on the fringe drafted into the national squad. After a composed, controlled Dhoni, followed by an expressive, explosive Kohli as captain, let us leave it to Dravid about the decision of which way to go.
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