At the end of India’s match against New Zealand, Virat Kohli, the captain, said that he and his batting group were not “brave enough” to face the opposition.
“I don’t think we were brave enough with bat or ball. We didn’t have much to defend but we weren’t brave enough when we got on the field. When you play for the Indian cricket team you have a lot of expectations. There are – not only from the fans, but also from the players,” Kohli said.
“So, there is always going to be more pressure with our game and we have embraced that over the years. Everyone who plays for India has to adopt it. Just because you are the Indian team and there are expectations doesn’t mean you start playing differently. I think we are fine, there is a lot of cricket left to play.”
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The thing is that nothing is right.
India will make major changes after this tournament with a new captain and a new coach. But even now it seems that India is playing a different game in this competition.
India’s game is built at the top which includes KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. While each of these players is match-winners, the way they have been positioned in this Indian team suggests a conservative approach rather than one that encourages bravery.
Already, in two matches, this victory has been interrupted, with no real result for India.
Essentially, Kohli says that the only way to be good at Twenty20 cricket is to be fearless.
But, so far they have not shown that they know how to be fearless. He hasn’t played a single innings for India or Royal Challengers Bangalore which can be called reckless.
In any case, Kohli takes on too much, and probably believes that the weight of the world is on his shoulders.
Kohli came out to bat with Rohit first. Later Rahul and Rohit were facing the new ball.
After two extensive defeats, India still do not know who is their best opener.
Conversely, their next opponent, once considered a side that was just for making numbers, is a Twenty20 giant.
Afghanistan’s history may not be in his favor but he plays a cricket for which a team like India has no real answers.
Afghanistan is the definition of fearless with the bat.
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From start to finish, every batsman is capable of eliminating the opposition, no matter what the bowler.
Watch the ball, hit the ball.
Apart from this, he has three very skilled spinners.
Rashid Khan is a pre-eminent Twenty20 bowler who has found success in the league. His mix of leg breaks, googlies and other variations have ensured that he is the darling of the crowd.
Mujeeb ur Rahman is a little different in that he is not yet a star in different geographies. At 20, he is still learning the trade, but his manner of bowling, classified as off-break even though he bowls, is another threat.
Then you have Mohammad Nabi, who is an out and out off-spinner. He doesn’t bowl second, and he doesn’t even pretend to be something he’s not. And yet, it is difficult to escape his bowling.
India have 12 overs of slow bowling to negotiate and that is their challenge.
After two matches and no points on the board, things should be easy.
But they won’t.
If you look at Afghanistan’s batting, they have a simple philosophy. From the openers to the number XI, they all work hard on the ball. He doesn’t swing the bat at anything without thinking, but his method is to hit a six off every ball. If not, maybe four, and in the worst case run one.
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“Honestly, we are facing the game one by one. But the plan is to qualify for the semi-finals, inshallah. And we can’t say before that, oh, we beat India,” Hamid Hasan said. “The day we are playing against any team, we focus on that day. Or for the next game or the next day, we take it that way – the plan is clear just play one game and target one team and these other matches we’ll see what happens next.
India is next. The target is set.
Fearlessness will prevail.
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