Ind vs Eng T20s: Indian camp gets down to soul-searching after series defeat

White-ball cricket has been Gautam Gambhir’s calling card ever since he took charge of the Indian team exactly two years ago — providing him immunity from the embarrassment of Test series defeats now and then. The T20 World Cup at home, the Asia Cup, and a remarkable sequence of 16 bilateral T20 series wins gave the Men in Blue near invincible status — until the ongoing UK tour.

Pressure will now mount on Gambhir as the BCCI, according to media reports, has taken exception to the repeated failures marring India's British summer. BCCI bosses will be reviewing the back-to-back series losses against Ireland and England, with a whitewash looking like a distinct possibility given England's unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

No wonder assistant India coach Ryan ten Doeschate didn’t mince words when he said the immediate challenge for Shreyas Iyer & Co. will be to shed the ‘underachievers’ tag in foreign conditions.

Speaking after a nine-wicket drubbing in Bristol, which came after a 125-run defeat in Trent Bridge, a frustrated ten Doeschate said: ‘’We have spoken so much about adaptability — it's easy to say we need to adapt, it’s easy to say but really it’s a point now where we need to understand the process, what is needed to make those adaptations."

The Dutchman, known for his proximity to Gambhir during their playing days for Kolkata Knight Riders and then as part of his support staff, knows the IPL ecosystem and sub-continent conditions like the back of his palm.

As the myth of the Indian batting line-up — namely the top three comprising world No. 1 Abhishek Sharma, teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (in place of Sanju Samson) and Ishan Kishan — was busted, ten Doeschate hit the nail on its head when he said: ‘’Do we want to be a team that smashes 250 in India and looks great hitting 80m six(es) at Eden Gardens or do you want to come to places like Manchester, Southampton where things are slightly different and further down the line, the MCG?

‘’Those were the places do we want to be the team to excel in different conditions and do we have the mentality to make those adjustments. That’s the mental challenge and we need the players to take that on.’’

The performance of this crop, with the exception of new T20 skipper Shreyas Iyer, stood out in sharp contrast to Shubman Gill & Co., who held out well in similar conditions to leave the Test series drawn 2-2 last year.

While Gambhir had spoken about a ‘reset’ in the team combination — which in the end meant unceremoniously dumping Suryakumar Yadav three months after he led India to a back-to-back World T20 crown — the question is whether 'reset' becomes another name for 'fix it when it ain’t broke’.

While Gill was cast out of the T20 boat after being appointed T20 vice-captain for a while — including last year’s Asia Cup — there now seems to be a premium on the 'sound technique' that the likes of Gill possess, to counter conditions in SENA countries.

‘’I think Jofra (Archer) and (Josh) Tongue bowled exceptionally well and we haven’t made that adjustment as much as we have spoken about it, we have spoken about the need to evolve and what works in India won’t necessarily work here,’’ ten Doeschate said.

The inconsequential fifth and final T20I will be played in Southampton on Saturday, 11 July before the three-match ODI series gets underway with the Big Two of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma making a comeback.