New Delhi: On March 8, India wrote history by becoming the first team to successfully defend the T20 World Cup title. Exactly four months and four defeats later, the Indian cricket teamunder the new captain Shreyas Iyerhe slipped into uncharted territory, losing four of his last five games and yet to open his account in the new cycle. The conditions certainly came as a rude shock to the players, who cruised on batting-friendly surfaces for two months in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and during the home series that preceded the cash-rich league.The bowlers found it difficult to adjust to the breeze and dimensions. In general, the world champions were overtaken by Ireland and England. The team selection was questionable, the batting order was questionable, and the side looked completely at sea away from home. For a team that “didn’t want to be a 160-170 outfit” and made 200-plus totals the new normal, hitting their biggest defeat in the format was a reality check. India were hammered by 125 runs on Tuesday. It is the first time the Men in Blue have gone winless in five consecutive T20Is, and the road ahead offers little hope.
When you go through that reset, it takes a while. If you see, a 15-year-old opener, Prince Yadav is in his second T20I, Harshit Rana is coming back from injury. Gautam Gambhir | Head Coach
Yes head coach Gautam Gambhir It is to be believed, India has pressed the “reset” button in the format, as many players who featured in the T20 World Cup final in Ahmedabad against New Zealand are no longer part of the side. Jasprit Bumrah has been rested, Hardik Pandya is injured, Suryakumar Yadav has been dropped, and Sanju Samson is missing from the Playing XI.“When you go for that reset, it takes some time. If you see, a 15-year-old is open, Prince Yadav is in his second T20I, Harshit Rana is back from injury. In the end, we just look at the results, and no doubt the results are important in international cricket, but we have to be practical as well. Sometimes it gives players time to develop. England is a high quality side. If you put players against such teams, you have to give them time to develop. Because after a reset, things take time,” Gambhir said in the post-match press conference.
Shreyas Iyer and Gautam Gambhir (X-BCCI)
Transition backgrounds are back, this time in a format that India had dominated well since winning the title in 2024. This has increasingly become a pattern in the head coach’s interaction with the media, but the use of the transition narrative seems to depend on the outcome of the series. Immediately after being whitewashed in the Test series against South Africa at home, Gambhir spoke at length about the team in transition in both departments and urged patience with his inexperienced players.“You don’t think that in Indian cricket something like this has happened where the transition has happened in the spin-bowling department and also in the batting department. Normally when your batting is confident or your batting has experience then your team goes through a bowling transition. But with this Test team, obviously the transition has happened in both skill sets,” Gambhir had told reporters in Guwahati.
India coach Gautam Gambhir (PTI Photo)
Months before that statement in Guwahati, Gambhir was in the hot seat thousands of miles away in Manchester, and the ‘T’ word came back. The setting was very different from the second Test against South Africa as India, despite an injured Rishabh Pant, managed to draw the match and keep the series alive. Then, the transition carried a different meaning.“I do not believe that the team is in transition, because it is still an Indian team. And this is the best 18 that will represent India. Most importantly, it is not a transition, it is just a bit of inexperience,” Gambhir had said while answering a question about the transition in the Test side.Transition has become the buzzword during Gambhir’s tenure as the team has witnessed significant movement across formats. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and R Ashwin are no longer playing Test cricket. Rohit Sharma has been replaced by Shubman Gill as ODI captain. Suryakumar Yadav was dropped as T20I captain months after leading India to the T20 World Cup title. The team moved forward relentlessly, took bold calls, but the “T” word remained the one constant.Its use, explanation and interpretation were greatly influenced by the situation of the match or series. Although it was replaced by “reset” in Nottingham on Tuesday, the underlying sentiment remained the same.
