Why nothing went right for the Men in Blue in the defining phase of campaign

While England and New Zealand were slogging in the nets on Tuesday ahead of the first semifinal of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, the Men in Blue — most of whom were away from home since March — joined their families in their respective hometowns.

For the first time since the World T20 in 2012, India failed to make the cut for the knockouts in an ICC Championship. While the management has been quick to point at toss, dew, bubble fatigue as reasons, “not excuses”, for the debacle, here is a look at the primary factors that made Virat Kohli’s last hurrah as T20I captain and Ravi Shastri’s final assignment as the head coach a big disappointment.

Selection: When the original squad of 15 had five spinners and just three pacers, it was clear that the squad could not be more imbalanced. A last-ditch effort was made to rectify it by bringing Shardul Thakur in place of Axar Patel.

If the selectors had erred in getting the balance right, the team management added its own touch to it. In conditions where many teams preferred to play with three spinners, India benched R. Ashwin for the first two ties. With neither Varun Chakravarthy nor Ravindra Jadeja able to pick wickets in the middle overs against quality opposition, India’s bowling looked ordinary.

Once Ashwin was included in the team, him and Jadeja looked like a potent spin combination. But by then, it was too late.

Less said the better about persisting with Hardik Pandya — who, according to chief selector Chetan Sharma, was to bowl “in every match” — right through the tournament.

Batting order: India’s first-choice top three — Rohit Sharma, K.L. Rahul and Virat Kohli — was always going to be a risky proposition. More than lack of a left-hander, the trio’s tendency to get themselves in before going after the bowlers is an outdated ploy in the dynamic world of T20 cricket.

As a result — despite getting Ishan Kishan to open against New Zealand — India never got going against either Pakistan and New Zealand. With the next T20 World Cup less than a year away, the new think-tank will have its task cut out to get the batting order right.

Bubble fatigue: Once India was all but out of the race for the semifinals after losing the opening two games, bubble fatigue was used as frequently as the toss and dew by the team during its limited interactions with the press.

It was conveniently forgotten that just before the tournament, the team was touting IPL’s second half as an ideal preparation heading into the World Cup, being played at the same venues.

No doubt the players have been staying away from home for almost six months. But all the players in England got a three-week break between the World Test Championship final and the first Test in June-July.

Besides, it cannot be ignored that a few cricketers from England, New Zealand and Australia pulled out of IPL’s second half to focus on World Cup preparations. There has been no instance of an Indian cricketer even expressing his desire to skip IPL and prioritise World Cup instead. With the Indian cricket’s ecosystem — starting with the BCCI — putting the cash-rich IPL ahead of international cricket, an Indian player seeking rest from IPL is easier said than done.