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After a draw in the fourth Test against Australia in March in Ahmedabad confirmed India’s qualification for the World Test Championship final, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma was rightly asked how the team will handle the short turnaround time in formats between the end of IPL, a T20 event and the start of the WTC final against Australia at the Oval.
Rohit’s response was almost dismissive.
“Whatever time we find after the IPL, we will try and get ready for the WTC final. Around 21st May (end of IPL league phase), there will be six teams that will be out of the play-offs. Whichever players are available, we will try and find time to get them to the UK,” he had said.
However, after India’s crushing 209-run loss to Australia at the Oval, the India skipper suddenly felt the need for more preparation time.
“Ideally, yes, event like this, final like this, you need a lot of time to prepare yourself and that is what we did the last time when we were here in England. We had good 25-30 days to prepare ourselves. And you saw the result. We were 2-1 up until that game (5th Test, Old Trafford) got called off,” Rohit told the media on Sunday.
The reason, he ‘revealingly’ said, the five-day game needs more discipline.
“We would want to have good time in hand to prepare, give enough rest to the bowlers. And then Test cricket obviously requires a lot of discipline, hitting that area consistently and challenging the batsmen – but again you know Shami, Siraj, Umesh they all are experienced. But in an ideal scenario, yes, I would prefer if we have 20, 25 days to prepare for a game like this,” said Rohit.
What he wasn’t asked though was why this need for preparation was felt only now despite him and the team having full knowledge of the calendar beforehand.
Head coach Rahul Dravid was more realistic about things and refused to use India’s lack of Test-match preparation as an excuse for the loss. “The schedules are so tight, and you need to be better prepared due to the packed schedule. No complaints, I want to congratulate Australia for the cricket they have played. No excuses, no complaints.”
After India had lost the 2021 WTC final to New Zealand in Southampton, the then captain-coach duo of Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri had said the WTC final should be a best-of-three affair.
It was a case of sour grapes, almost a justification to play poorly and yet have a chance of coming back. On Sunday, skipper Rohit chose to sing the same tune.
“I would prefer a best-of-three final for the World Test Championship as it would be ideal to compete over three Tests after all the hard work, over two years, in reaching the final,” Rohit said, while citing the paucity of a decent window to do it.
The 36-year-old also questioned why England should host the event every time when he was asked about the problem of WTC following the IPL.
“June is not the only month we should play the finals. It can be played any time of the year. And anywhere in the world, not just in England.”
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