Ravi Shastri and his team are receiving mixed reactions for their recent performance at the World Test Championship. While they have displayed commendable skills against formidable teams, the Indian coach is still facing criticism for his earlier statements.
Shastri’s flamboyant personality and love for his drink may have had an impact on his reputation as a coach, though he successfully took India to victory in Australia, beating the home team twice in three years.
In contrast, Rahul Dravid, who has joined the Indian team as its new coach, has not been able to deliver similar results during his stint as coach. The team lost to South Africa in South Africa, lost a test against England, and has now lost the World Test Championship final.
The declining graph of Indian bowlers is one of the factors contributing to Dravid’s team’s poor performance. The team’s batting graph has remained comparable, but the bowling unit has not been successful under Dravid and bowling coach Paras Mhambrey.
In their previous stint, under Shastri and Bharat Arun, India often picked up 20 wickets without conceding too many runs, resulting in large victories in Australia and England. However, this is not the case with Dravid and Mhambrey, who have been unable to successfully defend totals in various matches.
It is time for the Indian team to evolve and give the younger ones a chance to catch the eye with the A team. Bharat, the former coach, famously sat down with the bowlers after a poor day in the office, watched videos with them, and asked them three questions. This gave the bowlers a chance to understand what went wrong and correct it in the next game.
The Indian cricket team has potential, but the start of a new era with a new coach is not always smooth. The team needs to learn from past mistakes and focus on rectifying them to achieve a bright future.
