Why is India underachieving at ICC events?
It’s a typically cold day in Manchester. The World Cup semi-final hangs in the balance, with India needing 25 runs off the last 10 deliveries. All eyes are glued onto one man; MS Dhoni. Ferguson sends down a quick bouncer to which Dhoni responds with a sluggish pull shot. Hesitantly, he takes off for a second run against the arm of Martin Guptill. A rocket-throw towards the stumps results in a direct hit and Dhoni is sent packing, taking along with him a billion shattered Indian hearts.
With that, it was yet another ‘what if’ moment for India at a major ICC event. The team that was once again fancied a title win couldn’t get itself over the line (quite literally). Since 2013, India’s ICC trophy cabinet has not seen any addition. That does come across as a surprise, considering that it’s the same period (post 2013) which has overlapped with the coming of age of India's top three batsmen; Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli, along with a world-class fast bowling arsenal. The last 5 to 6 years have seen these young boys turn to men, peaking in terms of ability and performance. They’ve shattered almost all batting records by piling on the runs in thousands. The spinners have bamboozled and the fast bowlers have terrorized. Yet, the question begs to be answered; why has that not translated to success at ICC events?
From the T20 World Cup in 2014 to the 2019 World Cup, 5 major ICC events have taken place, none of which India has managed to grab a hold of. The tendency of people to forget doesn't help the cause. While it’s important to celebrate success at bilateral events, it has almost no significance in today’s time, where India finds itself playing all year round. Success lies in delivering in clutch moments by making that decision, bowling that ball, scoring that run and taking that catch. So don’t let people fool you when they say that India lost the World Cup because of their inability to pick out a suitable middle order. Yes, that’s one of the underlying reasons, but with that top order, you really shouldn’t find yourself in that position, certainly not as many times as this side has.
For contrast, have a look at the New Zealand and Pakistan batting sides that pipped India at the last two ICC events; anybody would tell you that India was much superior on paper, despite the obvious cracks in the middle order. Fortunately or unfortunately enough, sport is not played on paper. It pays no heed to numbers or statistics. On a given day, a Virat Kohli who’s got more hundreds than the entire opposition put together, can so easily be outscored by a 3 match old Fakhar Zaman.
You’d think that handling the constant pressure is second-fiddle to India's high-profile cricketers. But, the obsession with ICC Trophies is such that it creates a different aura altogether. It’s an unseen-before beast which almost seems too mighty even for India’s mightiest; Virat Kohli. Amidst his charismatic mojo-filled walk to the crease, there has been a certain uncertainty to his approach in these high-octane games. Perhaps, lowering expectations from this lot is the best way going forward. Though, just like every other best-case scenario, it’s simply not going to happen. The next time that India steps onto the field in an ICC event, the same billion people will expect nothing less than a trophy. With each disappointment, the hunger of the fans and pressure on the players only grows, such is the nature of this cricket-addicted nation.
All said and done, it really would be a travesty of the highest order if a team comprising the likes of Kohli, Rohit, Dhawan, Bumrah and so many other talented cricketers goes away without a single ICC trophy. This team is too good to go home empty-handed.
With that, it was yet another ‘what if’ moment for India at a major ICC event. The team that was once again fancied a title win couldn’t get itself over the line (quite literally). Since 2013, India’s ICC trophy cabinet has not seen any addition. That does come across as a surprise, considering that it’s the same period (post 2013) which has overlapped with the coming of age of India's top three batsmen; Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli, along with a world-class fast bowling arsenal. The last 5 to 6 years have seen these young boys turn to men, peaking in terms of ability and performance. They’ve shattered almost all batting records by piling on the runs in thousands. The spinners have bamboozled and the fast bowlers have terrorized. Yet, the question begs to be answered; why has that not translated to success at ICC events?
From the T20 World Cup in 2014 to the 2019 World Cup, 5 major ICC events have taken place, none of which India has managed to grab a hold of. The tendency of people to forget doesn't help the cause. While it’s important to celebrate success at bilateral events, it has almost no significance in today’s time, where India finds itself playing all year round. Success lies in delivering in clutch moments by making that decision, bowling that ball, scoring that run and taking that catch. So don’t let people fool you when they say that India lost the World Cup because of their inability to pick out a suitable middle order. Yes, that’s one of the underlying reasons, but with that top order, you really shouldn’t find yourself in that position, certainly not as many times as this side has.
For contrast, have a look at the New Zealand and Pakistan batting sides that pipped India at the last two ICC events; anybody would tell you that India was much superior on paper, despite the obvious cracks in the middle order. Fortunately or unfortunately enough, sport is not played on paper. It pays no heed to numbers or statistics. On a given day, a Virat Kohli who’s got more hundreds than the entire opposition put together, can so easily be outscored by a 3 match old Fakhar Zaman.
You’d think that handling the constant pressure is second-fiddle to India's high-profile cricketers. But, the obsession with ICC Trophies is such that it creates a different aura altogether. It’s an unseen-before beast which almost seems too mighty even for India’s mightiest; Virat Kohli. Amidst his charismatic mojo-filled walk to the crease, there has been a certain uncertainty to his approach in these high-octane games. Perhaps, lowering expectations from this lot is the best way going forward. Though, just like every other best-case scenario, it’s simply not going to happen. The next time that India steps onto the field in an ICC event, the same billion people will expect nothing less than a trophy. With each disappointment, the hunger of the fans and pressure on the players only grows, such is the nature of this cricket-addicted nation.
All said and done, it really would be a travesty of the highest order if a team comprising the likes of Kohli, Rohit, Dhawan, Bumrah and so many other talented cricketers goes away without a single ICC trophy. This team is too good to go home empty-handed.
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