Rohit Sharma's Bristol brilliance can't hide Team India management's selection mistakes

Ajit Vijaykumar 22:19 09/07/2018
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  • Kuldeep Yadav was dropped from the side for the third T20 in Bristol.

    The Indian team management has done many things right over the past couple of seasons. The insistence on higher fitness levels, the development of a strong fast bowling unit and the creation of a large pool of match-ready players across formats are some of the biggest achievements. It is the result of those initiatives that the Indian team is the No1 team in Tests and ranked second in both ODIs and T20s.

    But there is one area where the Indian management has fallen short on more than one occasion and that is team selection. It might seem ridiculous to suggest that one of the most consistent teams across formats over the past two seasons doesn’t get the team combination right every time, but just hear me out.

    In the beginning of the year, Virat Kohli decided to drop in-form seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the second Test against South Africa despite him taking six scalps in the first. Kohli argued with the media but refused to admit it was a clear mistake. In the third Test, Bhuvneshwar came right back into the team, scored 63 runs on a treacherous Jo’burg wicket and picked up four wickets in a famous win. During that South Africa Test series, Ajinkya Rahane – India’s most consistent overseas batsman for multiple seasons – played just one Test.

    Come to the tour of England and Ireland and the pattern continues. Wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Karthik has played just one T20 out of five despite being the star of the Nidahas Trophy T20 final against Bangladesh in March, where he belted 29 not out from eight balls chasing 167.

    In the deciding T20 of the series in Bristol on Sunday, the management decided to drop Kuldeep Yadav – man of the match in the first T20 – owing to the small boundaries at the venue. The same bowler who had snared five wickets in Manchester wasn’t considered a good choice one match later.

    Cricket is a simple game if you decide to keep it that way. You select your best players and back them to deliver irrespective of opposition. If your best attack includes two spinners, then two spinners it is.

    India won the deciding T20 handsomely, but it could have gone so wrong. India had two inexperienced quicks in Siddarth Kaul and debutant Deepak Chahar. To enter such a crucial match without Kuldeep, with Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar already injured, was an unwise move which – luckily for them – didn’t backfire.

    India have enough quality to overcome most challenges. But if they keep making such incredulous selection decisions, it will cost them dear one day.

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