ANALYSIS
Follow UsThere are bad losses and there are BAD LOSSES. Even though there have been statistically heavier defeats, it is hard to think of a more uninspiring, dispirited performance from an Indian team in recent times.
The Men in Blue have been hideous in 50-over cricket since 2020, and at Boland Park today, the team’s deep-rooted problems were laid bare as a South African side missing several key players steamrolled their way to victory without breaking a sweat.
For two years team India, in ODIs, have been plagued by impotency with the ball and lack of clarity with the bat. Throw in flawed team selection and utter lack of leadership, and it becomes almost the perfect recipe for disaster.
If we were to do a post-mortem, the findings would be the same as the previous ODI. Or the one before that. Talking about India’s ‘outdated template’ would be akin to beating a dead horse.
So let us instead look at the two key takeaways from this game. Both of which might have serious implications for how the team lines up in a year’s time in the 2023 World Cup.
What has happened to Bhuvneshwar Kumar?
Remember when Bhuvneshwar Kumar had one of the best months of his career last year in March against England, giving all the Indian fans hope of a potential second-wind?
That really seems like an eternity ago, doesn’t it?
How a bowler can go from ‘so good’ to ‘so ordinary’ in such a short span of time, without suffering a major injury, remains a mystery.
It is one thing going wicketless and posing no threat, but across his eight overs on the day, Bhuvneshwar looked as ordinary as any bowler, in any format, has looked all year.
He was hit out of the attack by Quinton de Kock in the very first over of his first spell, post which, for the lack of a better phrase, he looked like an innocuous bowling machine. This showing came on the back of another ordinary outing in the first ODI, where he was particularly poor at the back end.
But truth be told, this has not come out of the blue. His showing today, in fact, barely comes as a surprise. The 31-year-old has been in a steady decline, and has looked hopeless, since the start of IPL 2021.
Bhuvneshwar, in the first half of IPL 2021, averaged 57.7 while conceding at over 9 playing predominantly on bowler-friendly wickets, post which he started to look increasingly ordinary every time he took to the field, both in Indian and Sunrisers Hyderabad colours.
He had an equally bad second half of IPL (averaging 54), a middling Sri Lanka tour and was dropped one game into the T20 World Cup, where he was man-handled by Babar and Rizwan. The writing was on the wall on that occasion too, for he entered the World Cup on the back of figures of 1/81 off 8 overs in the warm-up matches.
Given the decline has been gradual and noticeable, it begs the question why the management threw their weight behind the veteran, particularly in conditions he is least suited to. The call looks even worse in hindsight, given there are the likes of Chahar, Prasidh and Siraj waiting in the wings, itching for an opportunity to impress.
Shreyas Iyer’s place in the ODI team is no longer secure
As recently as a week ago, it would have been unfathomable to imagine the Indian 50-over side without Shreyas Iyer.
Post his comeback to the side in 2019, Iyer looked like the missing piece in the team’s middle-order puzzle, doing an exceptional job batting at No.4: in 12 innings at No.4, he accumulated 463 runs at an average of 42.09 and a strike rate of 97.67, scoring four fifties and a ton. He top-scored in the tour of New Zealand, digging the team out of a hole many a time, and, despite failing against Australia and missing the England series through injury, looked set to have nailed down a spot in the side.
But if we are to go by recent developments, there is a good chance that, by the time the 2023 World Cup beckons, Iyer could find himself carrying drinks.
Rahul might be opening in this series, but he is certain to slot down the order once Rohit returns, especially with Dhawan showing no signs of slowing down. That leaves a solitary spot in the middle-order (#4 or #5, based on where Rahul bats) and this is what could spell trouble for Iyer, particularly if India are of the idea to play an all-rounder at No.6.
Rahul moving down the order will mean Pant and Iyer (Shreyas) fighting for one spot, in which scenario Iyer’s chances of making the starting XI might entirely depend on whether Rahul keeps wickets. For Pant taking the gloves will automatically elevate him as a starter, notwithstanding how he fares with the bat.
Even should Rahul take the gloves (which seems unlikely, with him certain to be elevated to a permanent leadership position), the x-factor Pant provides, which was on display today in Paarl, could very well help him pip Iyer should the two fight for one spot.
Additionally, while Iyer is more suited to batting in the top 4, Pant has no such limitations. He is capable of playing as a finisher but also can counter-attack in the middle-overs like he did today. That he is a left-hander who is proficient against spin also makes him invaluable, given the limited-overs scene is dominated by left-arm spinners and wrist spinners.
How the Indian middle-order will look down the line is anybody’s guess. But with every passing game, Shreyas Iyer seems to be losing the hold that he had a year ago.
