IND vs ENG: India was ranked the best in the world, as they have been crowned as No. 1 in the ICC rankings. This was the greatest feat achieved in the Rahul Dravid era, while he also led India to a World Cup final after 12 long years, as India did not qualify for the finals of the World Cup before 2023 since their famous victory at the Wankhede in 2011.
Though India is yet to win the World Cup under Rohit Sharma, yet during his captaincy days with Dravid, he emerged as one of the greatest sides, winning all bilaterals and even ICC matches, only losing a single game to the Aussies that is in the World Cup.
Recently, social media has been in the buzz, as Gautam Gambhir has lost his first-ever international series. A huge record was made as Sri Lanka defeated them after 27 long years for the for the first time since 1997. Shouts of ‘Resign Gambhir, return Dravid, sir” have spread out loud.
However, after the series defeat against Sri Lanka, the criticism has not been limited to only the Indian coach, as the fury has also fallen over the skipper and the players. However, the skipper is not to blame, as he has done everything possible. But still, several issues are to be addressed in the Indian team before the Champions Trophy, and let’s see a few of them.
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Shubman Gill is not ready to be assigned big roles for the Indian team.
The 24-year-old Indian opening batsman has been assigned to big roles very early on in his career. The star batter has often been considered the future of Indian cricket and is also referred to as Prince, bringing comparisons with a young Virat Kohli.
But the social media and even the players scream out loud that he cannot be the future of Indian cricket. He was recently named the Indian vice captain, but still, likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal should still be considered for replacing him in the format. Jaiswal, who is seen as the best batter in the other two formats, should now be considered ideal for replacing a put-of-touch Gill, who has been provided too many opportunities since his weak form has continued for over a year now.
Need to find a replacement for Md. Siraj
Siraj, who has been considered firm bowling options alongside veteran Jasprit Bumrah, finally needs the Indian team to take a call on his future. His inability to produce wickets has been a huge problem for the Men in Blue, as Bumrah deserves a better companion in the bowling deck.
If Mohammad Shami can be ideally brought back in the format and he is fit to feature for India, then the problem can be easily solved, as the world has witnessed what the Bumrah-Shami duo can produce even on the best of batting tracks, as they did in the World Cup 2023. However, if not Shami, then the likes of young Avesh and Harshit Rana should be tried on to replace Siraj.
Spin can’t be a problem for India. Likes of the great Virat Kohli must get rid of his weak patch against Spinners.
This is not only a matter of concern but also a humiliation, as the country that has produced one of the finest spinners, as well as the players of spin, is now facing trouble handling spin. While addressing this issue, Rohit also claimed that the problem not only arose against Wellalage and Vandersay but also even against Asalanka, who is the part-timer, as he picked 6 wickets in two games he bowled in.
The greatest of players who are now disturbed by spin should focus on bettering their stats, as this has been on the front, that India can be demolished on spin pitches. With the Champions Trophy to be scheduled in India, they should focus on this major issue.
Likes of veterans Jadeja and Pandya should be brought back and not ignored.
Gambhir showed great audacity in having dropped Ravindra Jadeja from the ODI format, despite Hardik Pandya already missing the series due to personal reasons. However, both all-rounders should be included in India’s ODI squad, as they can be of great value to the Indian side.
The next series and hopefully the Champions Trophy all should feature the two all-rounders, as the likes of Shivam Dube and Sundar might not be ideal to release these greats of the game. Even Riyan Parag can be handy for India; since the retirement of players like Suresh Raina and later Kedar Jadhav, India has not had players who can slip in a few overs and also pick a wicket or so. Parag, in his ODI debut, picked 3 wickets and proved that he can be handy in the role.