Change with caution: The path ahead for Indian cricket team
They will reference the one-sided World Cup final at home where Australia crushed India. And, finally, they will stay with the most recent setback, the defeat to South Africa in the first Test match at Centurion, which killed all chances of a maiden Test series win in South Africa.
But, to be fair to this Indian team — and that is something they do not always get simply because of how emotional responses to their performances are — 2023 was hardly doom and gloom.
The glass half full set can emphatically state that the team was excellent enough to be No. 1 in all three formats of the game.
Also, that India won 10 matches on the trot at home in the World Cup against all comers in all conditions. What’s more, they made it to the final of the World Test Championship, a second year running.
If looking back is something that does not help, save to learn from mistakes and try and be conscious not to repeat them, looking forward is not that much clearer for the Indian team.
After all, Rahul Dravid, whose position as coach has come under serious fire recently for India’s results, is only on board until the Twenty20 World Cup, which is halfway through 2024. Dravid’s original stint ended with the 50-over World Cup but he was persuaded to stay on, as the South Africa tour was upon the team and, following that, only six months remained for the next global International Cricket Council (ICC) tournament.
As the year drew to a close, Dravid was one of at least 15 support staff members at the nets in SuperSport Park in Centurion, overseeing an optional net session for which nine players turned up.
