More than Virat-Ashiwn’s success, 2016 belonged to Team India’s indecisive selection policy

No, this isn’t about Modi’s governance; or the 60+ U-turns in a fantasy demonetization series. And certainly not about the square turn either that saw Ashwin and Jadeja lunge on to 1-2 of Test match rankings. This is about the twists and turns of 2016, a series of actions --- strictly talking on-field, and not boardroom or courtroom drama --- that left several baffled, many disheveled and steered Indian cricket to utter chaos. No matter how much ICC wants it to believe that 2016 was Ashwin’s year, the average fan on the stands would want to write Virat Kohli on the calendar. By the way, wasn’t this a period --- as all the other routine gung-ho year-enders would suggest --- put India firmly on top of Test rankings and in the top 3 in the shorter formats but frankly 2016 was a year in which Indian cricket remained irritatingly indecisive. A year in which all long-term planning and policy matters on the field were thrown into the dustbin, things happened as per whims and fancy of a select few, and a year which clearly established that process be dammed, nothing is more important than immediate goals. One might bask in the glory of young guns Karun Nair and Jayant Yadav and the process in place at the A and under-19 levels, the fact remains that 2016 was the year which brought back sentimental favourites Gautam Gambhir, Ashish Nehra, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Parthiv Patel all back into the fold --- spanning all three formats. A year which saw several fairytale comeback stories being written and subsequently erased the youth-only policy that the selectors followed for the last three years. So what really happened over the last 12 months? Is it just a coincidence that all these comebacks have come only in recent time despite such situations --- and I mean sudden vacancy coupled with youngsters not performing up to the mark, and veterans scoring or taking wickets by the dozens --- been a repeated occurrence. So is it just cricket? Who is taking that call? What is the brief? How can the selectors who took great pride in grooming youngster and taking India forward suddenly jumped ship and speak about importance of experience in the XI for big-ticket tournaments? How can Varun Aaron, Gurkeerat Mann, Stuart Binny suddenly be so bad that one month they are playing all three formats and next moment, they are not good enough to play anything. The actions of the selectors will reflect strongly at the onset of 2017 also, with the England ODI series being the only preparation for Champions Trophy, where India are the defending champions. So will Yuvraj Singh, Nehra, Gambhir, Raina make the cut for the series in a team which already has MS Dhoni at the helm. India’s problem area is bowling with the new ball, finishing the innings and for the moment, opening the innings. 2017 will be interesting.