Former India cricket greats have called for an overhaul of the test team and say the future of the veteran batting line-up must come under scrutiny following the humiliating 4-0 series defeat by Australia. India has lost its past eight overseas tests, most by big margins, creating a consensus among fans and commentators that changes are overdue.
India was comparatively competitive in the opening test of the series in Melbourne but defeat there was followed by routs in Sydney, Perth and Adelaide.
"If the Indian team had performed better in Melbourne and perhaps have won the match the result of the series could have been different," former captain Sourav Ganguly told the Aaj Tak news channel. "If the team keeps losing like this, changes are inevitable." Sunil Gavaskar, who is considered along with Sachin Tendulkar as India's best-ever batsmen, said the time had come to try younger players.
Ravi Shastri, a former India allrounder, felt the senior players such as Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, V.V.S. Laxman and Virender Sehwag should be consulted about their future in the team but that age was "conspiring against them."
"I do feel they need to be heard rather than shoved aside," Shastri wrote in his column in The Times of India. "But it's time they are asked about their future plans."
Meanwhile, former Australia captain Ian Chappell blamed the losses partly on a national team set-up which gave too much power to the big-name players.
There was some joy for a veteran Indian player in Australia on the weekend, albeit in tennis, where Leander Paes won the Australian Open doubles title, as well as finishing as a runner-up in the mixed doubles.
The win completed a career grand slam for 38-year-old Paes, and his thoughts on the status of older players could apply to cricket as much as tennis.
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