This year, it was IPL fatigue. Earlier, it was COVID fatigue. As true as that may be, the fact is that there is a troubling imbalance between Indian cricket’s external swagger and its performances in ICC events.
Finishing as the second-best team in the world over four years and two cycles isn't such a bad thing. By losing two successive finals of the World Test Championship, however, India have blotted their copybook somewhat.
In the run-up to the 2023 World Test Championship final between Australia and India at The Oval, many former players like Ricky Ponting and Wasim Akram had given a slight edge to the Pat Cummins-led Australian side to lift the coveted mace.
On Sunday, just a little after noon in London, they were indeed proved right as Cummins & Co beat India by 209 runs to be the WTC winners for the very first time and complete their set of ICC trophies, making them the first side in men's international cricket to do so.
For India, ten years is a long time to wait for a title - they last won the Champions Trophy limited overs in England in 2013. It is dangerous to seek a pattern here, for there cannot be one. White ball, red ball, tournaments at home, tournaments away, different captains and coaches, different times of the season - there are too many variables. Keep harping on it and the word chokers threatens to pop up.
Indian fast bowlers, resigned to bowling on flat tracks back home, crave the sight of a juicy pitch. But when they got one at The Oval, they were too tired to do much about it. Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Co arrived in London barely a week after a draining, two-month IPL. Shami and Jadeja, two men crucial to the bowling attack in London, were both involved in the IPL final on May 29.
It is easy to blame scheduling. But a packed calendar is a reality of cricket. The truth is no one wants to compromise on the IPL, not the players, the franchises or the BCCI. The middle path between income and workload management is not an easy one to find and most times money wins out.
Could the WTC final have been held at least a few days later, giving players a few more days to recover from the IPL? Not really, as the Ashes commences in England on June 16.
Could the WTC final have been played somewhere else, then? Again, not quite. Other countries are not deemed ideal venues at this time of the year for reasons ranging from weather to audience interest, especially for a game that does not necessarily feature the home team.
The Indian board and players simply have to find a way to balance club and country workloads. Former Indian cricket team coach Ravi Shastri recommended putting in a release clause in players’ IPL contracts.
“There should be a clause in the IPL contract that if they need a player out of the IPL in the interest of India, they have the right to do it,” he said.
Speaking purely of Test cricket, moulding players specifically for the format, and picking suitable talent from domestic cricket. The example of Travis Head and Steve Smith, who, for various reasons, did not play the IPL. Their 285-run partnership in the first innings at The Oval virtually sealed the match for Australia, and once again ICC silverware faded from India’s sights.