Reasons for debacle. 1. Team Building and Selection
Too much of experimentation i) staying with Raina ii)tryinng to find a batsman out of Pathan iii) Removal of Ganguly as a player and captain from oneday and test team, when he was just showing signs of recovery from bad form.
2.Rahul-
i) Failing to captilise on the team and team spirit build up by Saurav. ii) Unnecessarily trying to block the entry of Saurav and speaking against his inclusion whenever such proposals came up before the selection committee. iii) Failing to build up a team sprit and showing the leadership qualities like Saurav.
3. Kiran More, Chappel and Raj sing: Expressing personal grudge against Saurav disregarding his contribution. Saurav might not be the greatest of the indian batsmen, but he had the rare quality of leadership and an imposing personality. Dislodging of Saurav created a confusion among the team members. Frequent experiment of selecting and dropping of players created an uncertainty and they became shaky and visionless as they were never sure abour their positions. 4. Exclusion of Kaif Nehra and Laxman- At least these three in the past have saved India from many crisis situations, and played matchwinning inningses. They should have been given some more chances than going for players like Raina. 5. Romesh Powar , Ranadev;- Ramesh Powar deserved a chance as he had lots of experience and the world does not know much about his technique the way they know about Bhajji and Kumble. Ranadeb Bose is a great bowler with both way swing at a stedy speed of 120 kmph with about 60 Ranji wickets last season, with out a sin.gle no ball for over stepping. 6. Politics With too much of politics from the selectors, board, and people close to power (not necessarily Pawar), players themselves India is rightly served.
I can only pray merit should be the only criterion for the selection of Captain and players in future and captain's merit should be judged only by his performance as a captain and not as a batsman or a bowler. Some individual player however brilliant they are, can never make a team unless they are charged or enthused by a captain- a true leader. I still believe Saurav is the greatest of the captains of India. The mantle should go back to him for a very brief period of on or two seasons and a fresh team and new captain should be selected by that time. In no case Sachin Rahul Saurav trio be allowed together to play for long. They should also be given chance by rotation according to performance only and that too for not more than another two years.
