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Selector’s cut—Men who didn’t travel for cricket World Cup, performances that were ignored

How did India’s T20 World Cup campaign come crashing down? And has the cricket selection committee been used as a scapegoat, or is the sacking a step in the right direction?

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It was cricket matinée. Fans eager for some larger-than-life performances. T20 World Cup; semi-final; high hopes and Twitter flooded with Lagaan memes. But what unfolded over the next three hours was akin to someone pricking hole in India’s talent bubble on one of the biggest stages, in a foreign land, before thousands of Tricolour-holding fans.

It has been over a week since that loss but its dissection continues. The whys and hows are pouring in. India’s failure wasn’t limited to a loss. It was in all senses complete, with most key departments under-delivering — from Rohit-Rahul performance in the powerplays to the bowlers failing to impress. Among many analyses that have emerged after the loss, poor team selection is one that has most experts’ sanction. And the senior selection committee now stands sacked—an unprecedented action.

A star-studded team that plays the shortest format every alternate day for a period of over two months in the Indian summer choked in the Australian spring, giving cricket administrators and fans a chill down their spine. How exactly did it all come crashing down? And has the selection committee been used as a scapegoat, or is the sacking a step in the right direction?


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The squad that wasn’t picked

Questions over the team selection were being raised even before the 15-member squad squad landed in Australia.

In the run up to the ICC event, India’s overall poor form was in a way masked by the finding of form by Virat Kohli. In a crucial match against Pakistan in Asia Cup 2022—that was played barely a month before the T20 World Cup—Kohli smashed 35 runs off 34 balls. But Rahul didn’t trouble the score keepers. His batting average in the tournament was 26.4. That wasn’t seen as a red flag by the selectors who gave him another opportunity for the T20 World Cup, where he scored a total of 138 in the entire tournament.

The selectors also didn’t receive the feelers the performances of Sanju Samson and Prithvi Shaw were sending. While Samson was the highest scorer for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2022, Shaw maintained a strike rate of 220 in IPL. Just a month before the prestigious ICC evet, Shaw, also Mumbai captain, had scored a 46-ball 100 against Assam in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Deepak Hooda flew to Australia as a potential all-rounder. However, he has less experience compared to other contenders and had a poor outing in Asia Cup 2022. He scored 16 runs off 14 balls against Pakistan and 3 against Sri Lanka. Shreyas Iyer who has a strike rate of 137 could have been a better choice.

Another concerning factor was that all chosen batters were right-handers, except for Rishabh Pant. Left-handers generally play leg spin better than right-handers. Since T20 has seen leg-spinners getting more wickets, left-handed batters are a dire necessity.

Indian bowlers who travelled for the World Cup too appeared misfits for the occasion and the format. R Ashwin could take only six wickets, out of which three were against Zimbabwe, 2 against the Netherlands, and 1 against South Africa. Ashwin himself had once said that he considers Kuldeep Yadav as one of the best wrist spinners. Kuldeep Yadav had demolished South African batting in the ODI series that concluded days before the World Cup.

Graphic by Manisha Yadav | ThePrint

Axar Patel who got only three wickets in the World Cup—two against the Netherlands and one against Zimbabwe—was included in the squad as replacement for injured Ravindra Jadeja. Instead of Axar, Krunal Pandya or Rahul Tewatia could have been considered.

Despite a stellar performance with the ball in the Asia Cup 2022 against Pakistan, Ravi Bhisnoi was shown the door. Right-arm leg spinner Bhisnoi could have paired with Yuzvendra Chahal to give India that missing edge.

In Australia, wrist spinners usually come handy. India had Yuzvendra Chahal but he never got a chance to show his skill. Rishabh Pant was picked for the semis against England as he plays well against leg spinners but he was sent at number 6, when the leg spinner spells were almost over. When K.L. Rahul wasn’t finding form, Pant or Kohli could have been tried. That didn’t happen as well. Result? India had the second-lowest powerplay run rate (6.3), only behind UAE’s.

The induction of senior players aged 30 and above has also drawn a lot of flak. It seems the selectors, the captain, and the coach thought to emulate MS Dhoni who took risks by taking senior players to CSK and yet made a champion team. But Dhoni knew how to utilise seniors with young talents.

Indraneel Basu who has been covering cricket for over two decades told ThePrint that “When CSK won IPL 2021 finals, Dhoni got veteran Faf-du Plessis with new talent Ruturaj Gaikwad as opening partners. Thus, he knows how to gel experience with new age talents and then mix it up for a winning cocktail! I don’t see the same in the case of think tanks of the Indian squad.”

Basu said that “Rahul Tewatia showed excellent character for Gujarat Titans and had won crucial matches for the team in IPL 2022. Even then, he was not considered for the T20 World Cup. He is not just a batter but can chip in with his bowling too, as spinner.” The 29-year-old Haryana left hander scored 217 runs at a strike rate of 147.62 in IPL 2022, but is yet to find place in India’s T20I scheme of things.

“Similarly, I don’t understand why Mohammad Siraj was not been taken as the attacking seamer to Australia. He was man of the series (ODI series) against SA in October 2022,” added Basu.


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Selectors and their credentials

Chetan Sharma’s report card has more upsets than wins—apart from the recent T20 World Cup loss, India failed to reach the knockout stage of the T20 World Cup in 2021 and lost the World Test Championships final as well.

Former selector for team India, Madan Lal, said that “The selection committee did make some mistakes, like changing eight captains in the span of one year. It is not about the fact that we lost, it is about we lost by 10 wickets against England! BCCI’s decision is not entirely wrong.”

The selection committee’s choices may have emerged as the prime reason for India’s great loss but there are other stakeholders too who play a part in deciding who gets to wear the blue jersey.

A BCCI official said on the condition of anonymity that “the squad is not picked without consultation of the captain and head coach, so coming on to only the selection committee even when their tenure was left to serve, is a bit more a blame to put over the selectors solely. They are responsible, but the onus is not only on them.” When selectors gave 15 players for the T20 World Cup, the onus was on the captain and head coach to pick the best for the playing XI.


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Selectors’ CV

Chetan Sharma & Co. were given the responsibility of selecting the senior men’s squad in 2020. Back then, Ajit Agarkar was also seen as a frontrunner for the chief selector’s post. Agarkar has played 26 Tests and 191 ODIs. But Chetan Sharma, with 23 tests and only 65 ODIs, got the position. Do records matter enough to make a good selector?

In 2016, India’s five-member selection committee was led by MSK Prasad. The chief selector had played only 13 Tests and 31 ODIs. But India finished the year as the top-ranked Test team. The Virat Kohli-led Indian team had registered a record nine victories in 12 matches without a single defeat. However, even Prasad’s decision of picking Dinesh Karthik over Rishabh Pant for the 2019 World Cup had come under the lens. As was his decision to drop Sanju Samson for the T20I series against the West Indies in 2019. Selectors also faced the ire when Vijay Shankar who lacked any significant experience was sent to play in the ODI World Cup.

(Edited by Anurag Chaubey)

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