Three questions after India's World Cup Win

As an Indian cricket fan, I am happy that we were able to put behind the heartbreak of 2023 to achieve this world cup victory.  This post will however not be celebratory in nature, on the contrary it seeks to critically analyze some of the team management's decisions which could have cost us the big one once again. Rigidity with the team selection has been a recurring theme in many of the failed world cup campaigns of the recent past. I therefore have three questions about some of the decisions that went into the batting order and team selection.  

Jasprit Bumrah in disbelief upon winning the World Cup 2024 <Courtesy: ICC>

a) This tournament we persisted with the opening combination of Rohit and Virat (who was in woeful form until the final) despite having an attacking option in the form of Yashasvi Jaiswal. Did the team management have a crystal ball to predict that Virat would finally come good in the final?

• Even though Virat eventually repaid the team management's faith with a vital knock in the final, he didn't seem to move up the gears once Axar got going at the other end. His sedate pacing in the middle overs might have cost the side 10-20 runs, those very runs could have made the difference had Klaasen and Miller kept going.

b) Shivam Dubey's attacking intent in the final deserves a world of praise but wasn't he also in the side as an all-rounder? If that was the case then why was his bowling so sparsely utilized throughout the tournament? If he was only supposed to be used as a batsman then how does he merit selection over someone like Rinku Singh? In the final, when Klaasen and Co. were taking it to the spinners, his medium pace could have come handy provided he was battle ready

c) You cannot disregard Ravindra Jadeja's contributions in the field but there's no denying the fact that he's the only member of the team who did not contribute with either the bat or the ball in this tournament. Once Kuldeep replaced Siraj there weren't even too many opportunities for him to bowl out his full quota of overs. So why not replace him with a specialist batsman or bowler to bolster the team balance especially when the team already had three allrounders in the form of Hardik, Dubey and Axar?   

You can argue that I am pinpointing minor things but in a final so close it's the small things which count. Fine margins don't always go in our favor. 

• What if Sreesanth dropped Misbah's catch (in 2007)? Would IPL have been created? 
• What if Surya miscued Miller's chance in the final over? Wouldn't India be anointed with the 'Chokers' tag? 
• What if Gatting didn't play the careless reverse sweep against Australia in 1987? Would Australia's rise to the top have been this swift and seamless?

Thus victories also need to be analyzed alongside defeats and the lessons need to be remembered to produce enduring success. 

Until Next Time,

Your next-door cricket fan.

PS: It was heartening to see Rahul Dravid finally get his hands on a World Cup trophy. I remember the time his chanceless 84 (94) against South Africa in a tri-series final at Durban almost took India to the doorstep of victory. Guess it took 27 years to deliver payback.