Bright spot amid ruins

Call it runs among the ruins. Virat Kohli smashing a hundred in the T20 format against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup was the saving grace for Indian cricket.

It seemed the wait for Kohli to hammer a century was eternal. The former captain was trying hard, extremely hard. Just that the patience level may have dropped a few times but not the concentration and capability.

At a time when Indian cricket looked as much in disarray as a city hit by dust-storm in a desert country, Kohli's scintillating 122 off 62 balls was a welcome sight. To not have hammered a hundred for three years was agonising. That the former India captain was persisted with and given chances was a slap on the face for carping critics.

Kohli has been unpopular for many reasons. He has a strange fan club. Millions love him. But there is another vast cross-section which likes to lampoon him for anything he does or speaks, including a mention of his retirement from Test captaincy.

Call them perverts or call them people innocent of cricket, Kohli continued his voyage. To say that he struggled would be stating the obvious. The words he spoke after the ton in an inconsequential match against Afghanistan was laced with emotion and elegance as he thanked wife Anushka Sharma for the support she offered during troubled times.

From beyond the boundary, Kohli looked like a tormented soul. For years. Yet, he did not allow negativity to weigh him down. Each match in the Asia Cup, barring the one against Sri Lanka in the Super 4 stage, showed Kohli was trying. His fitness, body language and hare-like running between the wickets was as fresh as a spring morning.

Yet, Kohli was not satisfied, nor the fans. Pushed into the opener's slot in the last match, Kohli put in a performance which will be remembered for long. There was aggro and there was a turbo thrust as he collared the rival bowling. It looked like the Kohli of the past, smashing at will, and authoritative in approach. This was the Kohli avatar the world was dying to see, so badly.

And when he got to his 71st international century, after a gap of 1019 days, Kohli smiled like a kid. He has done everything possible to stay relevant in Indian cricket. If he quit one format and was then being nudged to get out of the leader's role in another format in 2021, Kohli had no problems. That he stands today minus any leadership role, officially, has not affected him.

It is this ability to focus as just a player and be counted which matters most. To be sure, it was not just Kohli's hundred alone which mattered. His approach all along in the Asia Cup was positive. Now that he has got over a big mental block, of not having scored a 100 in a long time, he will be able to play even more freely.

If Kohli was positive, then the story about skipper Rohit Sharma and company failing in the Asia Cup was shocking. Just compare the body language of Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Kohli is lean, mean and hungry. Sharma looks unfit, with the pot belly an ugly sight. With the bat, he seemed content just with flashes of brilliance and not carving out a big knock. India needed Rohit Sharma to score, stay at the wicket and build the platform. Nothing like that happened.

It appeared as if Sharma's aura had turned into arrogance. His fielding standards have plummeted to abysmal depths, and the less said, the better about his captaincy. Rohit Sharma's choice of players in the final 11 was shocking for most matches. And if anyone tries telling you it was an experiment process being tried out by the team management, do not believe it.

Last year, at around the same time, captain Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri were being hounded. The plan was to dump them, as they had not won an ICC Trophy. People got carried away by the changes which the Indian cricket board (BCCI) wanted to bring in. Today, between Dravid and Rohit Sharma, there appears to be no cohesive thinking.

It is showing on the field, with almost all players failing to perform. There appears to be no pep talk working, if at all it is being given. Opener KL Rahul, barring the inconsequential effort against Afghanistan in the last match, has struggled miserably. There is a lack of intent, which is reason for worry ahead of the ICC World T20 in Australia in October/November.

Suryakumar Yadav has also forgotten his lines while one man who is thought of as a destructor with the bat has flopped. Yes, watching Rishabh Pant fail with bat and glove, even missing a stumping, is symptomatic of the malaise. Arshdeep tried hard as a bowler in the death overs while the muddle over playing/dropping Dinesh Karthik and not giving Deepak Hooda a chance to bowl was baffling.

Suddenly, when the script had gone awry, R Ashwin was included in the playing 11 for the match against Sri Lanka in the Super 4. Given the conditions and the way the Sri Lankan openers were batting, Ashwin should have bowled early. No, skipper Rohit Sharma went through the motions as if leadership of Team India had been thrust on him.

Failure in the Asia Cup is an indicator that preparation for the big tournament in Australia are haywire. There are two home series against Australia and South Africa at home. Selecting the squad for the ICC World T20 has become a dilemma. Form and fitness are issues. All those who did well and looked good prospects are fumbling. Suryakumar is a prime example.

With Ravindra Jadeja out after a major knee surgery, problems have got compounded. There is also a cloud of uncertainty over the fitness of India's best fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah. He is on a break but the recovery has not been good, says the grapevine.

Not long ago, it appeared Indian cricket had the problem of plenty. Before the ICC World T20, there are big headaches for the selectors. The standard of the game in Australia will be very high. In fact, a team like Afghanistan played more positive cricket, overall, in the Asia Cup. At home, Australia will definitely be a hot side.

Somewhere down the line, it appears very clear that Indian cricket has not learnt lessons from the past. Excess cricket has not done good. At the same time, so many injuries to key players and lack of form is reason to press the panic button.

India may be the superpower, financially, in global cricket. However, just as the loss in the Birmingham Test in July showed how poorly India were prepared, the situation is no different this time. From the opening pair to middle order muddle, it is mind boggling.

Bowling combinations are worrying. Above all, we now have an Indian captain who looks so uninspiring. He has the support of the big bosses in the BCCI. Past experiences tell us it takes very little time for favourites to become liabilities. Like the proverbial sacrificial lamb, knives will be out when the team flops.

After all, when Ravi Shastri was coach, he was proactive. He produced results abroad, even if Kohli was missing from action. The Test series win in Australia was sensational last year. With Dravid as coach, it appears as if he is permanently on silent mode.

The Asia Cup has been a nightmare for India. Think about the expats who live in the United Arab Emirates. When Team India does badly there, the whole atmosphere is one of gloom.

Does anybody care?

Views expressed are personal