‘Be careful what you wish for’ is one of the more confusing, confounding statements. Why should I be careful when I wish for something and that wish is eventually granted? It should be all good, right?
One can’t say with total certainty, but it’s almost a given that for two and a half years, from December 2023, Shreyas Iyer must have wished for a recall to the Indian Twenty20 squad. Forced to watch from the (dis)comfort of his living room, he must have rued not being a part of two World Cup-winning outfits despite holding an exemplary 20-over record and despite having led one franchise (Kolkata Knight Riders) to the title before captaining another (Punjab Kings) to the title round the very next year.
Here are some basic, cold facts. India played the last game of their seven-match tour of Ireland and England on July 11 – that was already seven matches in 16 days. They had hardly set foot on Indian soil before they flew out to Zimbabwe, for a three-match series between July 23 and 26 – three games in five days. Upon return home, from September 13 to 17, that’s five nights, there were three matches against Afghanistan, mercifully all at the same venue. Immediately after the last of those fixtures, the team flew out to Tokyo on its way to Sano for a one-off showdown against Japan (September 22), which was followed by the semifinals and finals at the Asian Games on October 1 and 3 against Sri Lanka and Pakistan respectively.
Almost the entire Asiad squad was picked for the five-match face-off against two-time former World Cup winners West Indies, which meant the team flew out of Japan on October 4 to front up against the Caribbeans in Lucknow on October 6. They got here at 1 am. The former South African pacer knows a thing or two about that aspect and how it affects players, having represented his country 247 times (544 wickets) across formats between 2006 and 2018. 5.
Because of the mental load and expectation on these players, that’s why I sometimes think we can allow them to make a mistake and allow them to have an off game and not be on them,. The 23-year-old left-hander has already played in 70 T20Is since his debut in August 2023, and is Shreyas’ designated deputy, which means that his responsibilities extend beyond providing the final push in his new avatar as the finisher at No. The journey entailed a stopover in Hong Kong, and another in either Delhi or Mumbai, before arriving at their destination. “You have to manage that, you have to be smart with it. This T20 side, the white-ball side — the Asian Games, then right back, straight into a full series now. They had to fly off from Hyderabad to Delhi for a presentation there. And now we have to get them ready for a must-win game. In all reality, that’s something that we get. Without seeking to make excuses, Morkel continued to hold forth on the fatigue factor. “For me, your execution and your skills will be better when you’ve recovered well, when you’ve slept well, once you’ve mentally refreshed. And that is a challenge. We’re going to fly now to New Zealand. It’s going to be jet lag. It’s a jam-packed schedule there as well. And that is sometimes a tricky thing. I’ve got a lot of respect for these guys, with the performances that they are at the moment producing for Team India, with the schedule we have. He will be part of team meetings, he is expected to offer technical inputs and be prepared to step in for Shreyas when the latter leaves the field for whatever reason, or is ruled out for a game or three. For any youngster coming in the team, it will be slightly challenging. But again, you are playing for the country at the highest level. You should be mentally strong enough to prepare for any challenge, any conditions. That way, you can become a bigger player.“ India also pride themselves on being able to put out more than one T20 side capable of beating the best. Maybe there is something to reflect on there?
“People always forget that there’s a mental fatigue also in the game that plays a big part,” Morne Morkel, the Indian bowling coach, pointed out the other night in Bengaluru, on the eve of the (washed out) decider against West Indies. “These guys are also human,” he remarked, plaintively, trying desperately if somewhat unsuccessfully to couch his anguish. “It will be slightly challenging,” he said of the immediacy of having to front up against New Zealand, before quickly adding, “But as professional cricketers, we can’t give any excuses with regard to back-to-back series, different time zones and all those things, because we are used to it now. Like we said previously – goose, golden eggs…
