Jadeja absence throws conspiracy theories out of window
The Australians don’t take defeat on their chin and move on. Their last setback, in the first Twenty20 match (T20) coming on the back of another loss in the final One Day International (ODI) at Canberra has put them in a bit of a spot. The reactions of their cricketers, both current and former, to the losses, shows that the confidence they had gained after wins in the first two ODI’s has been shaken and that’s good news for India.
The concussion substitute issue, which has opened debates across platforms, where Yuzvendra Chahal replaced Ravindra Jadeja and bowled India to a win in the first T20 saw responses from the hosts which affirmed their discomfiture. Coach Justin Langer’s head-shaking argument with match referee David Boon during the innings break was followed by Aussie all-rounder Moises Henriques doubts whether Chahal’s was a ‘like-for-like’ replacement for the injured Jadeja.
Former Aussie international Tom Moody commented that he had no issues with the substitution but raised a question if the correct ‘protocol’ was followed since no physio or doctor came on to the middle when the Indian left-hander was struck on the helmet by a Mitchell Starc bouncer. Though these reactions were aimed at officials (match referee and umpires — as the decisions would ideally remain in their domains) they did lead to the perception that the replacement by India wasn’t ‘fair dinkum’ to put it in Aussie slang.
The ‘issue’ unnecessarily raised by the Aussies was because Jadeja suffered a hamstring injury after he was hit on the head and their reactions were bordering on that fact. Coming back, the questions one could ask Moody will be about protocols that need to be followed.
Would coach Langer’s act of arguing with match referee Boon, a veteran cricketer and an Australian to boot, in full public with cameras focussed on them be considered as correct protocol? Would Moody have done the same while coaching a team in the Indian Premier League?
As someone who has been a frontline coach Moody should know what is and isn’t part of cricket’s covenant. It just maybe that the former coach may have suffered a moment of ‘brain fade’ just the way former Aussie skipper Steve Smith did while touring India in the 2017 series.
Cricketers were always taught to respect the umpires decisions as final and any argument about the same was abhorred upon. In today’s parlance, arguments with referees and umpires are taken as part of cricket’s changing scenario which makes for great viewing and juicy stories but is terrible if looked at from the point of view of the spirit of the game.
Looking back, Chahal replacing Jadeja wasn’t exactly a major achievement by India but a mere opportunity for them to get a leg spinner in a game that was helping that genre of bowling. Calling it a masterstroke by India would be a misnomer. Indian captain Virat Kohli was honest enough to admit that there were no plans to play Chahal in the match and the decision they took worked for them this time and may not work in the future. Also, Jadeja being ruled out of the remainder of the T20 series and put under medical observation throws all conspiracy theories out of the window.
The reactions from the Australians will now put Kohli and team India in a better frame of mind as they approach the crucial Test series. They know that the Aussies are riled after two consecutive losses and have given them a foot in the door. The host team’s decision to rest their star bowler Pat Cummins and all-rounder Marcus Stoinis showed that they missed their opportunity for a clean sweep and gave the visitors a much needed lifeline.
The Aussies hate for anyone to get under their skin. We saw how former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly irritated his counterpart Steve Waugh (by keeping him waiting for the toss) in 2001 taking Waugh away from his objective of beating India and conquering the last frontier. This time, they have inadvertently allowed the Indians to affect their psyche. Their adverse reactions to a superficial incident shows that they got complacent, effectively masking their failure to keep dominating over the visitors.
If India do keep up the momentum and win the T20 series (this is written before the second T20 match at Sydney) it will put them in a great position for the Test series. With Ajinkya Rahane’s century and Cheteshwar Pujara’s fifty for India ‘A’ against Australia ‘ A’ in the ongoing practice match at the Drummoyne Oval in Sydney, the mood in the team India’s camp will be upbeat and more positive than it was a week ago — a great build up for the Test series.