India once again suffered a humiliating defeat in Perth and this time in just seven sessions.
It has gone from bad to worse for the India team with seven overseas defeats in a row as their performance has hit the biggest low possible in sports.
I cannot remember any Indian team going through such a lean run overseas for such a long period of time. The talk of this being the old Perth pitch was far from true and to me it was the best batting surface of the series. And when India were bowled out for 161 on day one, it was just a matter of time before they lost heavily.
To see Indians surrender again so meekly in the second innings was not a disappointment any more but an acceptance that this team can’t win anymore.
Having played so many times with a lot of these players, it really pained me to sit in the box and watch their misery seven times in a row. But that’s the reality and that’s were the Indian cricket stands now.
Criticisms have been pouring in on this team in the last few weeks and very rightly so. When a team plays in this manner over such a long period of time, fans, media administrators lose patience and one cannot blame them and to me the team deserves it.
As a player I have been through similar criticisms, and you start thinking why us! But the time has come for Team India to accept it and then evoke fine measures to move on.
To achieve the lost glory everyone has to play their role — the selectors, players, administrators and that could mean taking tough and honest decisions.
The entire talk in Perth was bringing in new players and I completely agree to that. It’s very important to influx fresh talent every now and then and it’s high time the selectors do that. They will have to take tough stands on a lot of issues.
To me in doing this they will have to be careful as well, that they do the right things. Many a times in the past, selectors have taken decisions by pushing aside soft targets, players whose omission may not create that much furore in the country and by doing this they not only save their backs but keep people happy. But now the time has come to take the right decisions.
There is a talk about VVS Laxman being dropped not only for the future but for the next Test at Adelaide and to me if that’s the case then the same rule should apply to other players as well. VVS has been a terrific player in but in sport it’s inevitable that your time comes at some stage.
As a player one wants fairness and if Indian cricket is to go forward then tough decisions has to be taken. Whoever will be left out — whether young or old – a proper message should be sent that performance is a priority.
The one day series starts soon and India will perform, hopefully, a lot better as the shorter format demands completely different skills, but it’s the Test team which is a huge worry.
India don’t play Test cricket for quite a few months now, so I will be keenly watching whether the Indian selectors bury all this under the carpet or stand up and take decisions to take Indian cricket forward.