The Indian men’s cricket team is in the middle of its worst slump in T20 International cricket since the format’s inception. Months after lifting the T20 World Cup title, India have gone five consecutive T20Is without a win – their longest winless streak in the format.
The slide began with an unexpected bilateral series defeat to Ireland and has continued in England, where the visitors trail 2-0 in the five-match series after the opening T20I was abandoned without a result.
The latest setback came in Nottingham, where India were bundled out for 76 – their second-lowest total in men’s T20Is – before slumping to a 125-run defeat – their heaviest ever in the format by runs.
The downturn has also made for an extremely difficult start to Shreyas Iyer’s tenure as India’s new T20 captain.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir, however, refused to sound the alarm, insisting the team’s recent struggles were part of a rebuilding phase. He also defended India’s ultra-aggressive approach in the powerplay despite it backfiring in successive outings for the reigning world No. 1 T20I team.
“We did that during the T20 World Cup as well. Our top three were firing and we wanted to play that high risk, high reward, but then we had (Nos.) 4 or 5 who were still able to build the innings and probably anchor the innings as well, and that is something that we lacked today,” Gambhir said.
However, the former opener admitted that players needed to read situations better instead of relying solely on power-hitting without context.
“I think that it is important to assess the conditions, no doubt about that,” Gambhir said. “But it is also important (to know) how to read the game. Breeze can play a huge part as well. Sometimes one side where the dimensions are much bigger than the other side. So, these small things in a T20 game can make a huge difference.
“When everyone in a batting line-up starts playing high risk, high reward, sometimes these things can happen. Probably the middle order, the experienced guys who have played enough international cricket, need to adapt and probably play according to the situation as well.”
Gambhir also urged patience with a squad undergoing a significant overhaul in addition to the leadership change.
“When you go for that reset, it takes a bit of time. If you see, a 15-year-old (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi) is opening, Prince Yadav is in his second T20I, Harshit Rana is coming back from an injury.
“We ultimately look only at results, and no doubt results are important in international cricket, but we have to be practical as well.
“Sometimes you give players time to develop. England is a high-quality side. If you put players in against such teams, you have to give them time to develop. Because after a reset, things take time,” he added.
India will look to arrest their slide when they take on England in the fourth T20I in Bristol, needing victories in the remaining two matches to level the five-match series.
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