India lost the WTC final against Australia [Twitter]
Indian Cricket runs on perceptions. Unfortunately, that is the harsh reality of today's time. What if Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah would have been in the side? Why did they drop the 474-wicket veteran from the biggest game? Under Virat Kohli, the Indian Test side was a whole different beast.
Those mentioned above are some thoughts floating after India's shambolic 209-run defeat to Australia in the WTC Final 2023 at The Oval. Unfortunately, none of those things would have made any difference as the problem is far more complex. It has gotten injected down our spine.
Scheduling has been an issue, but one can't talk about the elephant in the room, i.e. the Indian T20 League. And that's not it.
Coming on the players' front, preparations could have been way better. But their mental block stops them in big ICC matches, where they first think, 'What would happen if we lose,' then 'What if we win'.
And we, as a nation, treat players as gods, and as soon as they fail, they bash them like a toxic society.
India's problem is far more massive
India are still rich in talent, infrastructure, backing from fans and whatnot. And these same players played a vital part during the triumphs of 2007, 2011 and 2013 - that too in their budding years. Suddenly the pedigree won't have got shoddy.
The presence of Pants, Bumrah's and Ashwins would have solidified India to a greater extent as they fell short during those junctures in the game, where the presence of this trio would have made a difference.
But would that have made them a unit that could be called a "Team"?
These set of players play as eleven individuals in a global tournament for the sake of their legacy, but a single player can only win one or two odd matches, but for trophies, they need to be united.
However, the root cause for that goes to the administrative level. As if someone tried changing Team India's mindset, then that person was cut on favouring, thanks to politics. However, let bygones be bygones and not dive into what is already gone.
The Champion Team in Blue struggles with a positive mindset, which is a must-win to win big matches such as ICC knockouts. And unfortunately, the streak of losing big games in showpiece tournaments has tormented them to the extent that they are more scared of being knocked out than thinking of sealing the silverware.
Rohit Sharma and co. should be trusted as they are a Champion Team who should take one match at a time to break the mental barrier.
 "Arjun Bhalla")
