Indian cricket in disarray on and off the pitch

For the second match in a row, India fell short in a low-scoring game on a difficult pitch against the West Indies.

Some might not want to read too much into India’s two-wicket defeat in the second T20 in Guyana, or the four-run loss in the opening game of the five-match series. There is, after all, little immediate context to the series as all teams are preparing for the ODI World in India in October-November.

However, what is happening in Indian cricket in this period is a perfect reflection of the state of affairs, on and off the pitch.

On the field, India are being outplayed by the Caribbean side. They were blown away in the second match in the preceding ODI leg by the Windies – a team that had failed to even qualify for the upcoming World Cup. India bounced back to win the 50-over series 2-1 but the cracks in the team had been exposed.

In the T20 series, a disjointed batting line-up, average bowling attack and long tail created a perfect recipe for disaster. The Indians would have lost both T20s even more convincingly, had it not been for some promising batting by debutant Tilak Varma (39 and 51).

Hardik Pandya is the captain of the team and his decision to play four bowlers who can only put bat to ball in a T20 game is a glaring error, especially since he is the de facto captain of India’s future white-ball teams.

Also, not bowling leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal to tailenders after he had picked up two proper batsmen in one over during the West Indies’ chase on Sunday is one of the most inexplicable decisions you will see this year. India lost the second T20 with one over to spare – that of Chahal.

And it’s not like India can just brush the results aside as it is a ODI World Cup year. The T20 World Cup takes place in