Indian Cricket in 2022: A saga of forgettable year

Virat Kohlis artistic sixes against Pakistan united fans from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in an otherwise underwhelming year for Indian cricket which started with a promise of transformation but ended with the commencement of another difficult transition periodIndian cricket in 2022 was chaotic to say the least and messy at most of the time both on and off the fieldThe only saving grace was a Rs 48000 crore IPL media rights deal an indication of what market forces aspire the cricketing ecosystem to be But on the field it was a saga of disappointing results at least for the menIt started with a Test series defeat in South Africa which led to a dejected Virat Kohli stepping down from captaincy in the longest formatHis relationship with the BCCI bigwigs was a fractured one after being sacked from ODI captaincy and he wanted to leave on his own termsIt happened in January and as the year comes to an end Kohlis illustrious heir Rohit Sharma too finds himself shunted from the national T20 captaincyIn an expected change of guard Hardik Pandya emerged as a new leader of the national T20 team as Rohit paid the price for another semifinal exit in the T20 World Cup following defeat against EnglandAlso readIPL 2023 Auction Sam Curran Cameroon Green Are Now More Expensive Than KL Rahul amp Virat KohliIn fact it is the England team which across formats is changing the grammar of cricket with an amazingly aggressive approach known as Bazball a name which is set to attain a cult status in years to come along with the golden generation of English players led by Ben Stokes and Jos ButtlerThey played cricket in such an entertaining style that the Indian teams ideas cupboard seemed bare in comparisonThe Indian team looked good during bilaterals but came a cropper at the global events No one knows when the trend will be buckedSome of the bilateral series lacked context and hence Virat Kohlis 71st and 72nd international hundreds in dead rubbers versus Afghanistan T20 and Bangladesh ODI didnt have a lot of currencyWhile Kohlis straight six off Haris Rauf and his 82run knock will forever remain a poetic nostalgia the archaic approach of Indias senior batters including that of skipper Rohit and KL Rahul stuck out like a sore thumb during the T20 World CupIt also didnt go unnoticed that head coach Rahul Dravids decisionmaking has left a lot to be desiredFrom rushing a halffit Jasprit Bumrah for a T20 series against Australia that aggravated his lowerback stress fracture to not thinking of using wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal at the global event and dropping a performer like leftarm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav from a Test after a matchwinning show Dravid could never actually convince anyone that he is a shrewd tacticianIn the case of Rohit his dip in batting form also became an issue although he was the only one among the top three who had tried changing his game as per the needs of modernday whiteball cricketKL Rahul was the most disappointing of the lot and by the end of the year it became clear that the Chetan Sharmaled panels wish of seeing a potential national leader in him had crash landed as he lost his T20 vice captaincy to Suryakumar Yadav and ODI deputys role to Hardik PandyaShreyas Iyers consistent run in Tests and ODIs Rishabh Pant emerging as the current teams most prolific Test match game changer and Jammus tearaway quick Umran Malik entering collective conscience were some of the positive signsShubman Gill realising his potential at the highest level and Ishan Kishan giving a glimpse of his phenomenal talent was also a good sign looking forwardThe year also marked the end of international careers of Ishant Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha two workmanlike players who had served the national team with distinction before being told that their time is up and Indian cricket is moving past themDitto for Shikhar Dhawan a prolific ODI player who has now been shown the exit door At 37 another comeback doesnt seem imminentChetan Sharmas selection committee that showed lack of foresight was sacked by the BCCI after the teams poor show in the T20 World CupHowever in 2023 Chetan may be seen working as a selector this time possibly under a wellknown seamer from Karnataka if he is not reappointed as chairman once againIn womens cricket Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami who set a bench mark in the womens game and earned respect for the national team on the international stage ended their respective glorious journeysWhile there are a number of batters who could fill Mithalis void finding Jhulans replacement will be difficult if the performance of the team under Harmanpreet Kaur is an indicationSave Renuka Singh Thakur none of the other players has looked ready for international cricket and a testimony to that is Shikha Pandeys return to international cricket after 15 monthsThe removal of Ramesh Powar once again due to differences with the teams star senior player left a sour taste in the mouthAt the administrative level former captain Sourav Gangulys tenure in the BCCI ended in acrimonious circumstances despite the Supreme Court allowing him an extension in the role of PresidentThe new chief Roger Binny in his two months in office has remained more of a quiet contributor according to BCCI insidersCome 2023 the 1983 World Cup hero would perhaps need to make more tangible offfield contributions so that the class of 2023 can sing in unison Its coming HomeThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever