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New Delhi: When it comes to Indian cricket, one thing that you can’t blame it of is being boring. Between the players, coaches, selectors and the cricket board itself, the sheer volume of issues worth discussing are never in paucity and the upcoming white-ball series with Sri Lanka isn’t any different. Right from the time India visited Bangladesh, things have become more and more murky and invariably, clarity is the last thing available when it comes to information about team selection and associated issues. Nothing new, Just Indian cricket, as it is played. More you try to unravel the mysteries, the more you will get tied into knots.
We were told by the broadcasters in no uncertain terms that Hardik Pandya would be leading the T20 squad, way before there was any official announcement. What that advertisement however did not say was why and how Rishabh Pant was not being played – that was to be unravelled.
But once the squads for the T20 Internationals and One-Day Internationals were announced, it was relatively clear that the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul may now only see the 20-over format in franchise leagues.
But when it comes to the 50-over format, all three are not just back, Rahul is once again touted as a wicketkeeper, even with Ishan Kishan in the fray. One assumes that since he isn’t really doing anything with the bat, best to give him an all-round role to justify his continuing in the playing XI in most cases.
That, is another unsolvable mystery. Maybe the franchise boys have something to do with that?
But with the 50-over World Cup next year, one assumes these three will be continued with in order to ensure that they get to play that format too, for the last time.
For a cricket system which can be brusque and abrupt in dropping players (many have had to depend on media reports to know that they have been dropped from teams), this tendency to be emotional with farewell series is one more mystery.
Then there is another one – Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja, once India’s fittest players, are still not “being rushed” (according to reports) back into action. One can only conjecture what that means.
Jadeja’s time out of the squad was extended by reasons outside cricket but Bumrah’s extended absence is mysterious too, especially when India were found struggling with the bowling. Surely, he’d be back in action as soon as he was fit. But evidently not.
So much for clarity. Teams being announced at 10.16 pm and the entire process of selectors being asked stiff questions up front having been done away with, all you can do is to try to solve the mysteries. But that is Indian cricket, as we know it.
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