[NomadSK]

I just hope now Aussies in BGT don't start to prepare rank turners to welcome our millionaires.

[AtheK]

In all this, well played black caps, prepared well, showed application, learned well from Sri Lanka drubbing and showed resolve.

Well played our biggest nemesis you have another feather in your black cap.

[Asish_VK]

Well deserved cleansweep for team India. Kudos to NZ for this historic achievement.

Originally Posted by Asish_VK

I hope NZ do a clean sweep of 3-0 or 2-0. Hear me out before throwing bricks at me, If India wins the last match and Rohit/Kohli performs well, this series loss and their out of form will be forgotten for good. Let this series be an eye opener and kick start the cleansing of current team, team selection etc.

And my prediction came true. This team and management deserve this 100%

Hope this wi be a reality check for the management, the so called superstars. But wait, who am I to hope for any change, this pain will be forgotten soon with a big IPL announcement very soon.

[Rahkehs]

Hope this wi be a reality check for the management, the so called superstars. But wait, who am I to hope for any change, this pain will be forgotten soon with a big IPL announcement very soon.

We fans will keep getting hurt but nothing will change. These days money, financial/broadcaster interest influence the cricketing decisions especially in India with IPL.

How shamelessly rules were bend in IPL retention policy to declare a player who has played almost 100 tests and more than 300 ODIs as “Uncapped” so that he purchases himself for his team and have the budget left to bid for other big names!

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by Asish_VK

Well deserved cleansweep for team India. Kudos to NZ for this historic achievement.




And my prediction came true. This team and management deserve this 100%

Hope this wi be a reality check for the management, the so called superstars. But wait, who am I to hope for any change, this pain will be forgotten soon with a big IPL announcement very soon.

They fully expected this and hence announced team much before the drubbing, the good for nothing millionaires will stay on to inflict more embarassment.

[Silverfire]

The above table shows Virat Kohli's Test average by year the last 5 years. Except 2023, he has been averaging in the mid-20s. 0 centuries in 4 out of 5 years.




Next champion - KL Rahul. Another mid-20s averager. 3 centuries in last 5 years.

This combined with the decline of Pujara, Rahane etc, means India has had very poor middle order batting over the last few seasons. We have been rescued many times by our tail. We have so many good batters available in the reserves - but we continue to play our underperforming superstars.
Ideally a country like India with a massive pool of talented cricketers should be run like a football club with a squad of 25. The most in-from 11 play at any given time. Keeps everyone on their toes, ensures freshness and workload management, and cuts through superstar culture.

[PPS]

I doubt NZ has ever won 3-0 even at home! This is a monumental achievement in NZ Cricket History, that too without Williamson their best batsman. I think after the WT20 triumph, both Virat & Rohit feel as if they've achieved whatever they had to achieve and there's nothing left to spur them on! This really is rock bottom for this team.

Originally Posted by NPV

The same is true even in sport and public memory being short, everything will be forgotten in a few days when we move on to the Border Gavaskar Trophy down under

If they continue to play like this, it will be a bigger embarrassment down under but the next Test Series after that is in June & I won't be surprised if those same suspects will be in the XI!

Originally Posted by harry10

IPL auction is soon.

BCCI will do its best to deflect attention from this historic Series Loss! I feel with this 3-0 whitewash & an impending pasting in Australia, Test Cricket which anyways is facing extinction will be on a downward curve in coming years & I won't be surprised if there's a 4 month IPL in the coming years.

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Regarding Pujara and Rahane, their stats have been poor however not as bad as Rohit & Virat.

Pujara's contribution on those 2 Australian tours is colossal! Rahane frankly underachieved comparatively. But both played a few tests too many & were given fair bit of chances.

[libranof1987]

I'm pretty sure most Indian cricket fans are ok with losses. However, the manner in which they have come this series is just unacceptable.

Our main batsmen have been a spectacular failure, and the most likely reason for such a dismal performance this series is not their failure but probably that Jadeja and Ashwin - who've more often than not won us matches in the past - didn't fire.

We should have won the 2nd and 3rd Tests - this lack of even attempting to win is unpardonable. Sure, the calls will be for Rohit and Kohli to be dropped. But unfortunately, and in much irony of our earlier problem of plenty, most of the supposed next gen superstars have only failed.

KL Rahul
Prithvi Shaw
Shreyas Iyer
Ishan Kishan

How incredibly sad that these guys weren't able to capitalize on the many opportunities they've got. Gill is also a visiting member of this above list.

We absolutely shouldn't make the WTC Final, because as the last two editions have shown, we don't fight hard enough to win them anyway.

Almost unlikely that there will be any serious introspection or consequence of this series' outcome. I hope it isn't an exaggeration but looks like cricket in India is turning over a leaf - from a revered sport to pure entertainment.

[Oxy]

Remember the 0-4 in England and Australia back in 2011, followed by 1-2 at home against England in 2012?

That exact same cycle is repeating again. 0-3 here, followed by 0-5 shortly in Australia (I really don't see this bunch avoiding that honestly). And then another 0-5 in England come July 2025. Brace yourselves.

Players are rolling in their IPL crores so this humiliation makes no difference to them. When I heard Rohit saying "We are allowed to lose one home series in 12 years" after the Pune defeat, I knew the writing was on the wall.

[Asish_VK]

Originally Posted by Oxy

When I heard Rohit saying "We are allowed to lose one home series in 12 years" after the Pune defeat, I knew the writing was on the wall.

Now he can add 2 more to the 'allowed list' :

One whitewash in 24 years.
First ever 3-0 whitewash at home.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by Vinod_nair

My prediction comes true, despite all the trolling and name calling,...

Well, hardly anyone will call out issues when the going is good, or temper backlash when things go bad. Most of us pour worship when we win and swing completely to the opposite extreme when we lose. This thread is no exception. It's ok when fans do it, it's sad when supposed cricket experts in the media do that too.

So, kudos to you for calling it early! You're also one of the few who posts about cricket matches not involving our country and saves this thread from becoming exclusively the 'Indian Cricket (rave/rant) Thread', so a true cricket fan!

[PreludeSH]

We are not even able to play long enough to last ODIs Full T20 adaptation. Shameful that we cant play spin when we still cannot play pace properly. So what are we good at ?

[dust-n-bones]

Our star cricketers have claimed in many interviews that Test cricket is what is closest to them, and many have cited that commitment as a saving grace for the format for which the future looks very bleak otherwise.

Well, that doesn't look to be the case anymore when they exit the press room to tackle the 5 days of dirt and grind in the field. They can't stand 3.

These are the celebrated bunch who were brought up on the long format of the game. Surviving even a session of that game in adversity is a session too many for them these days. Its maybe the age that is catching up, or the bounty earned in shorter formats has numbed the passion, but it is clear that the commitment that made them the stars that they are, has been lacking more recently.

An environment in BCCI which only wants flattery doesn't help either.

But sport can't be managed by good PR alone. And a format that famously requires a player to work through the gears depending on the game situation, our stars are now only familiar with the 5th, even when chasing 150 in 3 days. In motoring terms, give them an incline or a gentle curve, and they are a wreck.

I'm sure they realize this much better than us fans, and it remains to be seen if they still have the hunger in the belly to take a fresh guard.

[msdivy]

In Kannada, there's a saying: “ನಗುವ ಜನರ ಮುಂದೆ ಜಾರಿ ಬೀಳು”, which translates to “When people are mocking you, you skid and fall!”—and that perfectly captures the current state of the Indian Test team.

After a shaky first innings in the opening Test, fans were willing to forgive & forget as an aberration. The logical move? Tread carefully and reclaim some dignity. But the Test team had other ideas! Instead, they opted for the full comedic experience: slipping, skidding through the series and finally crashing spectacularly on Day 3 of the final test, just ten overs after lunch, all while chasing a modest target of 147.

If they were going down, they sure made it a show worth remembering! And in a historic twist, they lost the series at home for the first time ever.

Sure, they might find their footing in the future. But in October and November of 2024, they played very poor cricket.

[Revvatron]

Originally Posted by Rahkehs

We fans will keep getting hurt but nothing will change. These days money, financial/broadcaster interest influence the cricketing decisions especially in India with IPL.

Very well put. Not just IPL but even test cricket is influenced by this. IIRC in 2021 when news came out that Kohli will return to India after 1st test there were rumors that broadcasters are not happy about it. Border-Gavaskar trophy is a prime series in Test cricket so without Rohith/Kohli broadcasters will be worried about viewership.