The word “transition” has become fashionable in Indian cricket of late. After the home series whitewash in Tests against South Africa last November, head coach Gautam Gambhir invoked it. After five losses in six T20Is — the other game was washed out — assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate fell back on the same template.
“We have made a few changes to the squad we brought here; Hardik (Pandya) and Jasprit (Bumrah) make a big difference to the team,” ten Doeschate told reporters after the nine-wicket defeat in the fourth T20I in Bristol. “We have got a slightly different squad with different weapons and we need to give Shreyas (Iyer) a little bit of time to grow into that role and the players to adapt to his captaincy style as well. He started really well, leading from the front with the bat. I think he will get his just rewards as a captain.”
The “transition” logic in Tests still has some merit, but in T20Is it doesn’t hold water at all. The selectors retained the World Cup-winning core for the series in Ireland and England. Suryakumar Yadav, the World Cup-winning captain, was dropped under the pretext of poor form, with Shreyas replacing him by dint of his “top-class” captaincy in the IPL. Hardik and Bumrah were rested. If their absence was the reason India suffered a T20I whitewash in Ireland — they are trailing 3-0 in England — then the theory of having enough bench strength to field two world-class sides simultaneously falls flat on its face.
India have failed because they couldn’t adapt to the conditions. Their batting, in particular, looked one-dimensional and appeared to lack a Plan B.
To be fair to ten Doeschate, he spoke about this.
“Psychologically and mentally, the challenge for the group is to accept the fact that we are underachieving in foreign conditions and tell the players, ‘Look, there is a big prize two years down the line in Australia,’” he said, adding: “Do we want to be a team that smashes 250 in India and looks great hitting 80m sixes at Eden Gardens, or do you want to come to places like Manchester and Southampton, where things are slightly different, and further down the line the MCG?”
One player who has so far fallen prey to his high-risk, high-reward approach is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Of course, it would be improper to single out a youngster playing his first senior international series. Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma, the senior pros, haven’t pulled their weight either. Ishan has scored 66 runs in four innings in England. Tilak, the vice-captain, has done even worse — 51 runs in four innings.
As for Sooryavanshi, in the three matches in England he has scored 13, 14 and 15. That is a linear arithmetic progression. More importantly, Jofra Archer has exposed his shortcomings against the short ball on pitches where it climbs above waist high. In fact, Archer has given other quicks a template for bowling to his Rajasthan Royals team-mate.
This has been a baptism of fire for Sooryavanshi, who is learning the hard way that what he could do on featherbeds and small Indian grounds in the IPL cannot simply be replicated in conditions where the bowlers have a say too. The upside is that the teenager has plenty of time on his side. He must have realised by now that in international cricket, he can’t be a one-trick pony and needs to have a Plan B.
The next tour is in Zimbabwe, and against bowlers who aren’t world-class, Sooryavanshi will have a better chance to flourish. But before that, in the final T20I in Southampton today, should he be taken out of the firing line? Another failure might have a psychological effect. Then again, if Sooryavanshi is a strong character, he will take the challenge head-on and navigate the problem by trusting his skill set. This is the highest level and nobody, irrespective of age, should be treated with kid gloves.
Meanwhile, the BCCI will hold a review meeting after the England tour. Heads will not roll, but perhaps it is time to ask some tough questions.
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