Gautam Gambhir will not step down… BCCI came into action after consecutive defeats, Board Secretary gave a blunt answer

New Delhi. The time after winning the T20 World Cup title has been like a nightmare for the Indian cricket team. The sudden decline in the team’s performance just after becoming world champions has not only disappointed the fans but has also created panic in the corridors of BCCI. In view of this poor performance, BCCI has now decided to take strict measures. Board Secretary Devjit Saikia has confirmed that the Board will hold an important review meeting with the core members of the Indian cricket team after the current England tour ends. This decision has been taken in view of the team’s recent very disappointing T20 performance.

Fans were hopeful that the Indian team, which lifted the glittering trophy of the T20 World Cup at the beginning of the year, would maintain its dominance in this format. But as soon as the international season started again, the story completely changed. India has played a total of six T20 International matches in the recent past, out of which it has faced a crushing defeat in five matches, while one match was washed out due to rain. Due to these five defeats, India has lost two consecutive T20 series. The biggest shock in this came last month, when the Indian team had to face a historic series defeat against Ireland. This was the first time in cricket history that Ireland defeated India in a T20 series. After this, Team India’s flop show continued in the ongoing T20 series against England, which forced the board to think.

What did BCCI Secretary Devjit Saikia say?
Taking cognizance of this falling graph of the Indian team, BCCI Secretary Devjit Saikia clarified the situation while talking to news agency PTI. Saikia said, ‘BCCI is currently keeping a close eye on the performance of the Indian T20 team. The team’s performance in the current series against England has not been as expected. However, this is not an unusual thing to happen in international cricket. We are considering this purely as a ‘bad phase’. Sharing further plans, he said, ‘Once the ODI series ends on July 19 and the team returns home, we will hold a review meeting with the key members of the team. In this meeting, it will be discussed in detail where the mistakes happened in England. Since the ODI series is still pending, we are hopeful that the team will come back strongly and return to its old form.

Devjit Saikia has made it clear that the upcoming review meeting will be completely focused on the performance of the team, in which only how to rectify the shortcomings will be discussed and apart from this, no other issue will be discussed. Along with head coach Gautam Gambhir, chief selector Ajit Agarkar will also be present in this important meeting. However, it is not yet clear whether T20 International team captain Shreyas Iyer will be available in this meeting or not, as he is likely to leave for the three-match series against Zimbabwe.

Main agenda of the review meeting
Many tough questions are expected to be asked in this meeting which will be held behind closed doors wearing suits and boots. According to sources, the following points can be specifically discussed in the meeting. After the World Cup, the balance between the rest given to senior players and the opportunities given to the youth will be reviewed. Questions are sure to be raised on slow batting in the powerplay and directionless bowling in the death overs. The strategy of the captaincy and coaching staff of constantly changing playing eleven and not finding the right combination will be tested.

Hope to return from ODI series
Even though India’s performance in T20 has been very poor, the ODI series ending on July 19 is a great opportunity for Team India to make a comeback. The eyes of the board and selectors are fixed on how the team performs in this format. Cricket experts believe that there is a need to prepare the team afresh after coming out of the World Cup hangover. The continuous defeats have made it clear that if changes and reforms are not made in time, the path ahead may become more difficult. Now it remains to be seen what major changes are seen in Indian cricket after this review meeting.