u/Smooth-Net-2201

I hate being reactionary and yes teams are allowed to lose and have off days so I didn't care much after Ireland loss but yesterday's loss does points to some problems.

And it doesn't lies with players or GG. It's with the selectors. Removing a world cup winning captain was absolutely unnecessary. I know his batting was a bit of a concern but it's evident that his presence in the team mattered. They could have given him one more series and a respectable retirement.

Secondly, if you wanted new captains, it should have been Sanju or Ishan. If it had to be Shreyas then he should have been in the team as a player for one series at least for smoother transition.

And hate me all you want but Vaibhav call up was absolutely unnecessary. He could have waited another year. He is phenomenal but that doesn't mean others are bad. They were doing their job very well and now are visibly under pressure.

Two of our best batsmen in the world cup have hanging sword over their head. Sanju and Ishan have gotten no security despite good performance in world cup. They are also the ones who know what it's like to be benched. This has visibly affected their game. Ishan absolutely played slow yesterday but then again what have they gotten for selfless pay?

Vaibhav problem could have also been solved by simply not adding Shreyas to the team and making an existent player the captain.

The team is going through a transition and requires some slack no doubt but my point is this transition was absolutely unnecessary. It was rushed, thoughtless and has put the team under immense pressure

Might get downvoted to hell for this but I think ipl makes people too reactionary about current form of players and lot of discussion keeps changing match to match.

I have not followed cricket for long but can still tell with certainty that ipl is very different than international cricket. Overseas players themselves I feel do not play it as seriously as they would had it been an international match.

And the stakes and relatively lower for ict players who have a cemented position in the team and much higher for uncapped players who are here to impress so I feel that does distort their performance somewhat.

Like despite having below average season, I think only someone incredibly foolish would ask Bumrah to be dropped because in front of his international stats and a stellar world cup, this season doesn't matter at all.

Stats should only matter for players like Vaibhav or Sakib and only to the extent that they should be called up to India A team or at max a lower stakes bilateral series. Because the stakes, the performance pressure, the pitches and the overseas players are markedly different when it comes to an international match especially during an icc tournament.

I do feel that Rajat Patidar and Shreyas Iyer have had an incredible season but direct calling for them to be captain, when they have not played an international T20 match in so long might not result well. I feel at first they should be a part of team and perform similarly before being made captain.

I feel like we have enough time before the next world cup for a few calculated experiments regarding the playing 11 and the captaincy as well but the performance has to be scrutinized on an international level. Especially on SENA pitches

My entire insta feed is filled with people, mostly Indians crowing about how real cricket is back since Eng vs NZ test match has started. How it is much better than ipl or whatever. While I do agree, who is forcing you to watch ipl? IPL is and has always been for entertainment with additional bonus of providing a bigger platform to uncapped Indian players. If you don't like what it has to offer, with all due respect, don't watch it.

All formats have their pros and cons and all kinds of fans exist who watch it for different reasons. Some love the technicality so they watch test cricket, some love fast paced action so they watch ipl. At the end of the day, to many fans it is solely a reason for entertainment and they decide what kind of entertainment they want and how much time they have to offer. If you don't like a certain thing, don't watch it. Don't go downgrading other people's enjoyment. Get your own and be happy with it

All the people talking about how GT has an slow opener or middle order problem but that has always been apparent. That is why they curate this difficult bowling pitches in Ahmedabad.

It's the bowling- which looks GOAT level in Ahmedabad that seems absolutely mid in any other pitch. I know the pitches are pretty flat but the other team bowlers are still controlling the runs around 200.

And let's not get started on fielding. It doesn't seem like anyone apart from perhaps Shubman was interested in catching

This is something I wanted to post about even before Cummins was back but I didn't have much karma back then. Both of our captains this season have incredible not only with their individual performances but also in backing and carrying the team during tough spots. But what I appreciate the most is the way they take accountability when things are not going so well.

The interviews of Pant, Rahane, Gaikwad,Hardik or even Riyan Parag for that matter, when their team was losing just showed kinda 'who cares' attitude or pointing fingers at their own players but even when we were losing at the start, Ishan showed remarkable maturity and accountability and also backed Abhi when his form was a bit inconsistent during the first few games. He also gave up keeper gloves when he felt the bowlers needed him on field.

And the way Pat Cummins led today by example...oh man. I have heard people saying Hardik deliberately doesn't bowl in powerplay when his bowlers are getting bashed left and right so I really appreciate the way after two expensive overs, Pat himself bowled the 11th over, took a crucial wicket and slowed the momentum Punjab was gaining. Very admirable.

Overall two absolute pookies who are good players but even better captains 🥰