After the 2013 Champions Trophy, the Indian team has no ICC titles to their name in white-ball cricket.
Since the victory at Edgbaston under MS Dhoni, the Indian cricket team missed out in the knockouts of several marquee multilateral tournaments.
In fact, Since 2013, the only ICC trophy the Indian team won is the 2018 U19 World Cup. The India U19, as well as the Women’s team, have also displayed similar tendencies of-late.
Now, former England captain and popular analyst, Nasser Hussain has revealed what the Indian team has lacked thus far in their knock journey in the last seven years.
“[Not sure] How much responsibility he [skipper Virat Kohli] takes for this – I would say selection is where India have gone wrong over ICC tournaments and also adapting to conditions a little but. It’s not just about having one game plan, it’s adapting your game plan to if it is nibbling around.” Hussain said on Star Sports’ Show ‘Cricket Connected’.
“If you are in a World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, and it [the ball] is doing a little bit, where is your middle order if you are 20-2 and Kohli and Sharma are out?” he added.
Since January 2015, nobody has hit more fours in ODI cricket than these three.
What. A. Trio 🔥 pic.twitter.com/IUMmNZjrlU
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) June 9, 2020
Looking at India’s results in the finals and semi-finals of the coveted tournaments, Hussain cited out the lack of ‘Plan B’, once the ‘Men in Blue’ loses their cream in the top three.
“It’s almost the fault of Indian cricket that they can be a little bit too good at the top. When it’s good and it’s flat, Sharma hundred, Kohli hundred, hundreds at the top, and the lads in the middle don’t get a hit. And suddenly you’re 20-3 because you have come up against [Mitchell] Starc and [Josh] Hazlewood and all these guys, or against New Zealand, Boult has bowled you,” the 52-year old reckoned.
“And you’re like, ‘Oh these guys haven’t had much of a hit,” Hussain said. “Who is our No.4, and how are we gonna get out of this now? So it’s having that Plan B that’ll help them get across the line, not just having a Plan A,” Hussain concluded.
