The Men in Blue are a blow hot, blow cold national cricket team who some pander to with a bout of hazy hurrahs. Potent threat, but for how long? Five years, a decade or till the cows come home? India has won league games against weak sides that the so-called batting juggernaut loves to annihilate, but with insipid bowling, right? India scraped through against Bangladesh and almost made a meal of it against Afghanistan. And if the Pakistan eleven had got it right, all the chest thumping nationalism could have turned into torturous self-flagellation. Except for a Jasprit Bumrah, Virat Kohli and a Rohit Sharma, the team disintegrates into bits and pieces against top quality sides. Propped up by a media frenzy and goals of personal aggrandisement, sample Ravindra Jadeja’s cocky swagger on reaching his 50 when the team is yet to cross the hurdle. The team has a shallow and brittle character.
Anand Mathew,
New Delhi
