India have gone wrong in team selections over ICC tournaments: Nasser Hussain

Nasser Hussain, the former England captain, didn’t mince any words in saying that India’s team selection in ICC tournaments hasn’t been all that great. Back in 2013, the Men in Blue won the Champions Trophy in England, beating the hosts in the final. Since then, they have qualified for finals and semi-finals of most tournaments, but haven’t gone all the way through.

After MS Dhoni stepped down, India are yet to win an ICC trophy under Virat Kohli’s leadership. They made the 2017 Champions Trophy final and the 2019 World Cup semi-final, but on both instances, they ended up on the losing side.  Hussain also feels that skipper Virat Kohli should also come forward and take responsibility for the mishaps.

“[Not sure] How much responsibility he [skipper Virat Kohli] takes for this – I would say selection is where India have gone wrong over ICC tournaments,” Hussain was quoted as saying on Star Sports’ show ‘Cricket Connected’.

It’s almost the fault of Indian cricket: Nasser Hussain

In the World Cup, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli scored heavily in the league stages. In fact, Rohit amassed five centuries in the first round. But in the semis against New Zealand at the Old Trafford in Manchester, both got out cheaply.

The middle-order couldn’t survive the heat and collapsed like a pack of cards as well. Hussain sounded confident about India’s top-order. However, he questioned India’s middle-order.

“If you are in a World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, and it [the ball] is doing a little bit, where is your middle order if you are 20-2 and Kohli and Sharma are out?” Hussain stated.

“It’s almost the fault of Indian cricket that they can be a little bit too good at the top. When it’s good and it’s flat, Sharma hundred, Kohli hundred, hundreds at the top, and the lads in the middle don’t get a hit. And suddenly you’re 20-3 because you have come up against [Mitchell] Starc and [Josh] Hazlewood and all these guys, or against New Zealand, Boult has bowled you,” he added.

In the WC semi, after the batting collapse, Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni gave India hope with a 100-plus stand. Nevertheless, both were dismissed and India were knocked out of the mega event after they topped the table in the league stage.