The rest of the world fell under the webs of deception delivered by Indian spinners for decades, but now India finds itself caught in the same netting.
Mind you, it’s not by its bowlers or batsmen, but by the entire setup that has essentially been keeping the sport alive globally.
Following that disastrous 3-0 hammering by New Zealand — its first whitewash at home — and that 3-1 shellacking at the hands of Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the country’s blue blazers were forced into a huddle to figure out what has gone so wrong.
After all, India was flying as high as those colourful kites, but it became obvious that the wealth generated by the Indian Premier League has had an adverse affect on some of the players. Some believe they have become more powerful than the game itself.
Every cricket fan is aware that the IPL churns out millionaires like a bakery that produces pastry every morning. This disparity on India’s squad came to light during the Australian tour when one player travelled with his personal chef while one star batsman was there with his own staff, including a nanny for his kids and security personnel.
Then there were one or two players who refused to travel in the team bus, instead finding their way to the stadium and back in rented taxis or private cars.
The board drew up a 10-point policy that included massive restrictions on the presence of families. It added “it is important to bring discipline into the side and coach Gautam Gambhir wants to finish the prevalent star culture. There are some players who also travel with their personal staff and the source said that such practices have a negative impact on the team.”
Earlier, the board decided there would only be a two-week window for families to stay with the players during overseas tours, besides imposing restrictions on personal staff and commercial shoots.
Prior to this missive from the board, there was talk that two of the biggest failures in Australia would be benched for the coming eight nations Champions Trophy tournament that fields the cream of the international game. But those in India and elsewhere were stunned that Rohit Sharma would continue to lead the squad for the tournament along with superstar of yesteryear Virat Kohli.
It’s no secret that a rift has developed between Sharma, top selector Ajit Agarkar and Gambhir. There were rumblings of discord in the camp during the Australian tour and some more of it surfaced when the squad for the Champions Trophy was being selected.
Gambhir wanted Hardik Pandya as vice-captain while Sharma and Agarkar rooted for Shubman Gill, another failure in Australia.
Pandya was India’s vice-captain in the Cricket World Cup 2023 and the T20 World Cup 2024 and has been a solid performer.
A big plus for India is that ace fast bowler Mohammad Shami is set to make his comeback after a year-long heel injury. He will share the new ball with the brilliant Jasprit Bumrah and the other fast bowler is left-armer Arshdeep Singh. He takes over from Mohammad Siraj, who bowled his heart out in Australia, but misses out on selection.
Prior to that global event, India takes on England starting on Wednesday in five Twenty20 matches. This clash between the two powerhouses should produce first-rate entertainment with England set to unleash star bowlers such as Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Adil Rashid and batting stars Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone.
India has given Harshit Rana his first cap, along with ace opening batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal. Also back is star all-rounder Axar Patel, who would have been a great help in Australia.
All eyes will be on Shami’s return as Bumrah is expected to sit out the first two matches.
WEST INDIES IN A SPIN
West Indies had no answer to Pakistan’s spin attack as it fell to a 127-run defeat in the first of two Tests in Multan.
All the 20 wickets fell to spinners as Sajid Khan grabbed five, Abrar Ahmad took four and Noman Ali one as the visitors were bundled out for 123 in the second knock after being set 251 to win in a low-scoring encounter.
In the first innings, Noman led the way with five for 39 and Sajid had four for 65. This is the first time I can recall not a single wicket falling to a Pakistani pace bowler.
Earlier, Pakistan also had no answer to the spinning wiles of Jomel Warrican, who got his name into the record book by claiming seven wickets for 32 runs in the second innings to finish with match figures of 10 for 101.
Scores: Pakistan 230 and 157; West Indies 137 and 123. The second Test starts on Saturday.
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