Sydney: When the defeat was in plain sight, India’s stand-in captain walked out of the dressing room during the team’s bowling for the final time in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He took the seat next to regular captain Rohit Sharma and both helplessly sat as Australia went past the finish line.
The look on Bumrah’s face said it all.
The bowler who gave his all in the first four Tests, and the first innings at the Sydney Cricket Ground, wasn’t able to have one final go at the Australians as a back spasm kept him away. There were 50-50 chances, and they increased the moment he came out to bat, but it still wasn’t enough to have him doing what he has done in the entire series – torment the batters. He had the whites on, elbows rested on the knees and he stooped a bit forward to watch the last few overs of the Australian run-chase.
Not many were on the board to defend and it was always going to be difficult to make a contest with just two proper bowlers and three fillers. The four wickets did make it a bit interesting and injected some life into the changing room but it was short-lived as perennial tormentor Travis Head, along with debutant Beau Webster, overhauled the target in just 27 overs.
The celebrations in the opposite camp began as Bumrah descended the stairs for the customary handshakes. Right behind him was regular captain Rohit, still in his training gear, as the visitors dragged themselves off the field after a long tour Down Under.
A series which started with the high in Perth ended with a lot of disappointment in Sydney. India, under Bumrah and Rohit and even Virat, had their little moments but it was Australia’s regular capitalisation of the crucial junctures which helped them end the decade-long wait for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The five-Test series challenged both sets of players, physically and mentally, and India saw the exit of one of their greatest match winners in R Ashwin. Rohit, too, didn’t feature in the final Test as questions were continuously raised on the future of ageing superstars in that dressing room, which doesn’t look happy anymore.
And why would it. Coach Gautam Gambhir had said a few months back that a winning dressing room is a happy dressing room but that hasn’t been the case in the last eight Tests. They have won just one, yes just one fixture, and were saved by rain in Brisbane. The head coach admitted it’s been tough but lauded the entire bunch for the fight they put in the last two months.
“Yeah, it’s been tough. Absolutely no doubt about it. It’s been really tough and obviously these weren’t the results we were expecting in the last eight Test matches but that is what sport is all about. All I can expect from that dressing room is to keep fighting and all we all can do is to be honest and keep fighting and keep doing the right things. What is good for Indian cricket is as simple as it can get but more importantly it’s a result oriented sport and we all play for results and it hasn’t gone our way as simple as it can be,” says Gambhir.
While there are plenty of questions left to be answered, there are some important ones on the future of both Rohit and Kohli. Gambhir, for now, didn’t have an answer to that and emphasised that it’s up to the players also.
“See I can’t talk about the future of any player, it’s up to them as well. But yes, what I can say is that they still have the hunger, they still have the passion, they’re tough people and hopefully they can continue to take Indian cricket forward but ultimately as we all know that whatever they plan, they will plan for the best interest of Indian cricket,” said Gambhir.
There’s still time before India play their next Test, against England in England in June, but for now the coach needs to ensure that the dressing room remains a happy dressing room for the road ahead.
“Happiness will always be intact. Because the reason is that all we can do is try and prepare to the best of our ability, try and be 100% committed on the field, not only on that particular day, every session, every hour, every ball. If you’re committed to what we are doing with honesty, I think that should be fine.
“I have to be absolutely honest and equal and fair to everyone in that dressing room. I know we haven’t got the results and it is frustrating. I’m not saying it’s not frustrating. It is challenging. But whatever we can do with the best interest of Indian cricket, that will continue to happen in the dressing room,” explained Gambhir.
It wasn’t a happy sight to see the dropping shoulders towards the closing moments of the game and Gambhir has his task cut out that the side returns to winning, and remains on happy ways.