India’s latest away Test series defeat will be remembered for quite some time. Not because of the humiliating nature of the defeats to a not-too-great England team or that two successive Tests were lost inside three days. But for the fact that this was the series that broke the camel’s back. More specifically, the patience of the Indian cricket board.
Many believe that the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) decision to bring in former India captain Ravi Shastri as team director for the one-day leg of the England series, along with retired players Sanjay Bangar and Bharat Arun as assistant coaches and Ramakrishnan Sridhar as fielding coach, has come at a time that is not quite ideal.
The feeling is that making structural changes with the World Cup scheduled for February next year won’t do India much good.
However, the very fact that the Indian board has cracked the whip, to an extent, will give grieving fans something to hold on to and also breathe in some fresh air into the putrid cabal that is the Indian dressing room.
Let’s not forget that things are just as bad as they were when India lost eight straight away Tests in 2011 and 2012. This time, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team at least managed to win a Test and earn a respectable draw before throwing in the towel.
The Indian team has lost many stalwarts over the past two years and the only constant in all their misery was a support staff that seemed content being a staff rather than provide any support.
No one can say with any certainty whether coach Duncan Fletcher has brought any fresh ideas or work ethic to the side as nothing ever emerges from the Indian camp about his specific input or programmes. Fans have to draw their own conclusions after seeing him preside over each Indian capitulation with the same stoney-faced demeanour.
What can certainly be concluded is that bowling coach Joe Dawes and fielding coach Trevor Penny have failed spectacularly. They have been with the national team for two and three years respectively and there is no doubt that both aspects of India’s game have plunged to depth that didn’t seem possible.
There is no guarantee that the personnel brought in will do any better. With the World Cup closing in, they won’t have many options as far as changing the structure of the team is concerned. But at least something resembling a clean-up is being undertaken.
One shouldn’t expect a radical change in outlook. Instead, fans and the cricket board will be happy just to see some intent on the field.
Shastri was brought in as team manager after the embarrassment of the 2007 World Cup, when India crashed out in the group stage. This will be the cricketer-turned -commentator’s second big assignment with the Indians. This time, his job is easier as expectations are very low.
But that’s the thing about hitting rock bottom. The only way is up.
