Blame it on the IPL or bio bubble fatigue, India have almost blown up their chances for Semi-Final qualification in the 2020 T-20 World Cup through shambolic displays. For India to qualify for the next stage of the world cup nothing less than a miracle of humongous proportions is required. The “Men In Blue” not only need big wins in their next three league matches but also require Afghanistan, Scotland and/or Namibia to beat New Zealand. Their net run rate of -1.609 is marginally better than Scotland and a few notches below Namibia. In such a scenario, divine intervention or a kamikaze by Kiwis can only help India stay afloat in the current T-20 World Cup. They have had several unforgettable outings in the past T-20 World Cups as well. So, let us relive those horrific moments.
South Africa (2009)
Pakistan were crowned the T-20 champions this year. As for India, they came into the tournament after a grueling series with the host South Africa. Team India was expected to perform better as its members spent close to six months in the country and its pitches. But Dhoni’s boys performed badly in the Super 8 games as they lost all three matches against West Indies, England and South Africa. Resultantly, their campaign ended on a disastrous note.
West Indies 2010
This happened to be the first major ICC title for England as the empire had never won a world championship in cricket before. Coming to India, they endured another ordinary campaign in the Caribbean islands. Indian batsmen fed on the placid Indian tracks found the going next to impossible on the slow-paced wickets in the West Indies. Hence, they crashed out of the tournament after losing to Australia, Sri Lanka and Windies in the Super 8’s.
Sri Lanka 2012
The Indian team was slightly better in the tournament, but not enough to qualify for the next stage. They won two games in the Super 8 stage but the Net Run Rate (NRR) proved to be their villain. Eventually, Pakistan and Australia progressed further in the tournament on the basis of a superior NRR leaving India to endure another gloomy season in the T-20 carnival. West Indies were the champions of this edition, their first after languishing in the corridors of mediocrity for several years in world cricket.
Conclusion
India are still not out of the T-20 World Cup campaign. But the road ahead for them is slightly tricky as their hopes of reaching the Semis rest on other outcomes as well. However, in all these ordinary T-20 World Cup campaigns one thing remains constant: IPL. Whether in 2009, 2010, 2012 or even in 2021, the world cup followed immediately after the cash-rich T-20 league, except for the 2012 season, where the tournament fell two months after the IPL. But it is myopic and ridiculous to attribute the failures to the IPL. The T-20 league has only proved to be a blessing for India as it made accessible a wide range of T-20 talent pool for the country and also familiarized Indian players with the intricacies of the shortest format. The current desert meltdown or previous debacles could be due to sheer bad luck or pandemic-induced bubble culture or poor team selection or the inability to adapt to the T-20 format, but not because of one of the most vibrant and successful T-20 leagues across the world.
