From 1999 to 2001, Australian test team under Steve Waugh went on a world record streak of winning 16 consecutive test matches. Team still gets lot of credit for this run. But what does not get lot of credit is decisions made by Australian selectors beforehand about replacing keeper Ian Haley with Adam Gilchrist. In 1999 season, Ian Haley was struggling with the bat. He wanted to play one more season, but selectors didn’t. So, he then made another request to allow chance to play farewell test at his home ground Brisbane. This request was also rejected as selectors didn’t want to change team in middle of the series / season. So, Ian Haley after playing for Australia for nearly 11 years and 344 test matches announced his retirement.
This behaviour of Australian selectors is in stark contrast to behaviour of Indian selectors in recently concluded Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT). Before Indian team flew to Australia, they had lost home series against New Zealand courtesy a lacklustre performance. Much hyped Indian batting unit failed miserably. Indian captain Rohit Sharma flew to Australia late as he was with his wife for arrival of their child. In his absence Jasprit Bumrah led the side to a victory in Perth test. Rohit Sharma then joined the team and being captain took his position back in team. This is where the problem lies.
Indian selectors like what Australian selectors did in 1999, should have told Rohit Sharma not to travel to Australia at all and spend more time with his family. Sharma joined the team after the first test and did not play in any practice match. Combination of bad form and not playing practice match meant odds were always stacked against Rohit Sharma. And this also meant in the second, third, and fourth test, Indian batting line up was light, and Rohit Sharma’s presence created more problems than helping the team.
This was not the only mistake. Team selection for Australian tour did raise some questions. Batting line-up actually consisted players who are better suited for T-20 or ODI format than the test format. Test format requires you to stay in middle and have patience, composure and grit. Another glaring mistake was there were not enough practice matches scheduled to get used to conditions and bouncy Australian pitches.
Hopefully, there would be an inquest in these administrative aspects and team selection as well. Without it, any exercise of holding people accountable would just be superficial…