After musical chairs, it's time Team India face the music

Having unsuccessfully experimented for 10 months with fresh faces & an ultra-aggressive approach, India now have no option but to let senior batters revert to tried and tested ways. DUBAI: Team India had arrived in Dubai for the Asia Cup to gather the final pieces of their team combination for the upcoming T20 World Cup. They have left with a few more puzzles to solve. The various bilateral series over the last 10 months were meant to alter the brand of cricket they played in the T20 format and bring in fresh faces. By the time India exited the tournament earlier this week, they were taking a couple of steps back. All the enterprising experiments may culminate in a return to the tried and tested brand of cricket. The top order was the biggest concern two weeks ago. As it stands, captain Rohit Sharma, vice-captain KL Rahul and Virat Kohli are the only batters to have got a decent amount of deliveries in the middle. “My role in the team is to take responsibility as per the situation and also take the scoring rate higher. If I can take 10-15 balls to settle down, then I can accelerate. I was going away from my template and desperately trying to do things which are not in my game,” said Virat Kohli during a conversation with Rohit on bcci.tv on Thursday after his century against Afghanistan.

Image credit: BCCIKohli’s words are a departure from the aggressive-from-the-start approach the Indian team intended to adopt after the debacle in the T20 World Cup under his leadership last year.

For all the talk around being fearless and carefree, the management has been rather cautious in its approach while building the team. The musical chairs with the middle order and the bowling attack hasn’t really helped. The performers right