An Open Letter From a Cricket Fan to Those In Charge of Indian Cricket
After the defeat, or ‘thrashing’ India received from England in the 2022 WC semi-finals, fans worldwide were frustrated at another disappointing finish. Here are my honest thoughts for Those Who Care and Run Indian Cricket. An open letter, “Enough is enough.”
Dear Indian Cricket Administrators,Enough is enough.2014 T20 World Cup Final. 2015 ODI World Cup Semi-Final. 2016 T20 World Cup Semi-Final. 2017 Champions Trophy Final. 2019 ODI World Cup Semi-Final. 2021 World Test Championship Final. 2022 T20 World Cup Semi-Final.9 Long Years. 7 ICC knockout matches. 3 captains. Different coaches. Same result.So close, yet so far.When India suffered 0–4 losses to England & Australia in the 2011 disastrous Test tours, MS Dhoni frequently said, ‘It is the process that matters.’ The same talks continued throughout the decade. Process. Journey. Learnings.Yes, learning is good. Making mistakes is good…if and only if, they lead to tangible changes. Not if they result in the same mistakes again.We have Questions. More questions. LOTS of questions. What is the exact process? Who decides these processes? Because if the same story plays over and over again, and India keeps losing in key moments, then there is an inherent problem with the process itself.Then the blame game starts. IPL vs internationals. Not able to play in overseas leagues. Injuries. Handling the ‘pressure.’ Retrospective selection debates. Rest & rotation.Excuses. Enough is enough. This letter is not to single out individuals, players, coaches, team management, or even the system. I’m not questioning the commitment or the lack of trying. These are professionals, and they try to do their best on and off the field.Rather, I’m questioning the status quo.The Hero Worship. Administrative bias. Selections and Experimentation. Media leaks. Lack of the winning mentality.The current England team is doing something right. After the 2015 World Cup debacle, they took some tough decisions. The team of Eoin Morgan, Andrew Strauss, and Nathan Leamon invested in a system that would produce results and backed players that fit their system.Enjoy the journey. Learn from the process. Keep improving.All this is good, but at the end of the day, results matter. The IPL wouldn’t still exist if it wasn’t a profitable venture. Brazil (5), Germany (4), and Italy (4) wouldn’t be as feared in the soccer world if they hadn’t won that many trophies consistently over time.You know why West Indies in the 2010s were so good? Because they won World Cups AND had fun doing it. That’s the ideal situation. Process plus results. Why can’t India get there? Why can’t India win both bilaterals and World Cups? The Power of the IPL and depth of India’s pool of talent — A blessing and a disguise. There is a key difference between gradual progress and stagnation. It is high time that Team India starts converting this golden generation of players and financial power into trophies. Lost opportunity. Enough is enough.The fans are just as much as stakeholders in the game as the administrators and players themselves. When Tendulkar hits a straight drive, a child smiles in Mumbai. When Kohli hits Haris Rauf for a straight six, a nation halts in awe. When India loses, the nation griefs in despair. Passion. The sport means the world to us. When the fans hope, the nation rises. One of these days, the confidence in the team might be a disappear. The team needs to start winning world tournaments. That’s it.And this is not to say that India is a bad team. Not even close. Coming to the semi-finals in almost every competition ten years in a row is no joke. However, the final hurdle is sometimes the most important step. And not getting over that step points to deeper issues. It’s a well-known idiom to “Hope for the best and Prepare for the worst.” But maybe, just maybe, that is not the right way to go. Don’t play safe. For once, just go all out. Try something new. Take some risks. Make courageous selections.Indian fans can live with defeat. What they can’t live with is manner of defeats and making the same mistakes over and over again. Something needs to change. Otherwise, all that will be left is Broken Dreams.Because enough is enough.Sincerely, A Cricket Fan
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© Copyright @Nitesh Mathur and Broken Cricket Dreams, 2022. Originally published on 11/12/2022. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Broken Cricket Dreams with appropriate and specific direction to the original content (i.e. linked to the exact post/article).