Has any cricketing legend asked the all-powerful BCCI Secretary Jay A Shah how selections are taking place without a chief selector in place for the last four months?
Who takes all the important decisions at selection meetings?, asks Harish Kotian.
It was billed as the 'Ultimate Test' -- the contest between the world's top two teams -- but the World Test Championship turned out to be a one-sided affair as Australia outclassed India by 209 runs.
India had their moments early on, but once they afforded Australia an opening, there was no looking back. After slipping to 76/3 after being put into bat in difficult conditions at The Oval, Steve Smith and Travis Head hit centuries to rally Australia to 469 -- which eventually proved to be the decisive moment in the game.
On the other hand, India's batters, who faced relatively easier conditions on the second and third days, could post only 296. They could have been bundled out for much lesser had it not been for comeback man Ajinkya Rahane's fine knock of 89 and Shardul Thakur's 51 -- his third fifty in a row at the venue -- as they put on 109 runs for the seventh wicket after the tap order caved in early.
With time on their hands, Australia went in for the slow and steady approach in the second innings as they scored 270 in 84.3 overs, to set India a huge 444 for victory in four-and-a-half sessions.
Once again India's batting came undone in the second innings as Rohit Sharma (43), Cheteshwar Pujara (27), Virat Kohli (49) and Ajinkya Rahane (48) all failed to carry on after getting off to starts.
Not that many fancied them chasing down 444 on a pitch which offered some uneven bounce but their tame surrender on Day 5 shocked Indian cricket fans as they folded for 234, losing seven wickets for just 70 runs on the final day as they crumbled in the first session itself.
While Rahane made a comeback to the Test team after 18 months following a good showing in the IPL, Kohli and Pujara seem to be going through a tough phase in their careers.
The numbers for India's three most experienced batters in the last 18 months makes revealing reading. While Rohit scored 1,296 runs in 18 Tests since January 2021 averaging 43, Kohli has been way below-par with 1,161 runs in 22 Tests, averaging 31 during that same period.
Pujara has also gone through a similar dip with 1,292 runs from 24 Tests, also averaging 31 in the last 18 months.
Going into Day 5, India needed 280 runs for victory with seven wickets in hand, a scenario similar to their historic victory against Australia at the Gabba two years ago when the injury-hit visitors chased down 325 on the final day.
The chief architect of the Gabba triumph was missing this time and this match showed how Rishabh Pant's absence has left a huge hole in the middle order. His replacement K S Bharat only managed 28 runs in the two innings.
It raises a pertinent question -- why the highly-talented Sanju Samson is not giving a try in the Test format, giving his batting potential.
Despite all their riches India have managed just one ICC title in the last 10 years -- the Championship Trophy way back in 2013.
Following the Oval loss, Coach Rahul Dravid and Captain Rohit Sharma blamed the bowlers for allowing Australia to get away after early wickets despite bowling in helpful conditions on the first day.
On the other hand, cricketing greats like Sunil Gavaskar lambasted the batters for their poor shot selection which saw India bundled out for under 300 in both innings.
Sachin Tendulkar questioned the team management about the playing XI; leaving out World No 1 Test spinner Ravichandran Ashwin's was shocking, he said, as 'Australia had 5 left-handers out of their top 8 batters'.
No one has questioned the BCCI and the way it is running Indian cricket.
Has any cricketing legend asked the all-powerful BCCI Secretary Jay A Shah how selections are taking place without a chief selector in place for the last four months?
Who takes all the important decisions at selection meetings?
Who over-rides the other selectors if there is no consensus over a particular player?
Lot of questions but no answers...
Looking at India's scheduling, it is clear that IPL riches matter than doing well in international cricket. Else how could the BCCI schedule the end of IPL 2023 a week ahead of the WTC Final, giving the Indian players hardly a chance to acclimatise or time to schedule at least a three-day practice match?
The Indian players came into the WTC final following a two month hectic schedule in IPL 2023 and clearly looked jaded at times in the field as compared to their Australian counterparts, who had only David Warner and Cameron Green playing in this year's IPL.
There was hardly a week's gap between the IPL and the WTC final and players like Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane and Shubman Gill, who featured in the IPL 2023 final, arrived in London a few days before the game.
It was not a surprise when Australia's pacers extracted quite a lot of bounce on Day 2 and Day 3 as compared to the Indian pacers on the first day in overcast conditions. Could fatigue have been a factor?
The frontline Indian pace duo -- Shami (65 overs) and Mohammed Siraj (50 overs) -- bowled quite a bit during IPL 2023, even though Umesh Yadav (19) and Shardul Thakur (21) didn't do much bowling.
It was not just about bowling the overs, they also had undergo a lot of travelling as the IPL reverted to a home and away format this year, plus a lot of net sessions before every game.
In comparison, the Australian pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Scott Boland took time off from the game and didn't play a single match in the last 2-3 months.
The home work done by the Indian support staff, who had enough time to prepare for the WTC final during the IPL, must also come into question.
The coaching staff arrived the UK quite in advance with some players, but their preparations were not up to the mark. India's bowlers lacked ideas against Head and Smith during their match-defining partnership on Day 1.
It was surprising that India reverted to the bouncer strategy against Head only on the second day after he had smashed 146 on the opening day. Head clearly looked all at sea against the short balls and eventually perished for 163 to a short ball down the leg side off Siraj.
It was surprising why didn't Rohit or Bowling Coach Paras Mhambrey didn't try out bouncer tactics against Head on the first day itself.
The blame for the Oval defeat will fall on the players and quite a few heads will roll ahead of next month's two Test series in the West Indies, but there will be no touching the BCCI bosses.
