India’s stunning decline in T20 cricket has raised a difficult question for the world champions: did they move away from experience too quickly?
After lifting the T20 World Cup earlier this year, India appeared ready to begin a bold new era. But back-to-back series defeats to Ireland and England have turned that transition into a crisis, exposing a young squad short of stability, leadership and proven match-winners.
India’s 2-0 defeat to Ireland was the first major warning. Their 4-0 whitewash against England then turned concern into alarm, ending their long stay at the top of the ICC Men’s T20I rankings after more than 1,600 days.
The absence of senior figures has become central to the debate. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are no longer part of India’s T20I set-up, while Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya missed the England series due to workload and injury-management concerns.
More controversial, however, were the decisions involving Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson. Suryakumar, who captained India during their World Cup-winning campaign, was left out of the touring squad. Samson, who had recently been among India’s most effective white-ball performers, was dropped after a poor start on tour.
Their absence left India heavily dependent on a young and unsettled batting order. Teenage opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, despite his promise and huge reputation from franchise cricket, struggled to adjust to international conditions. His scores of 14, 13 and 15 reflected the difficulty of moving directly from domestic and league success to the pressure of overseas international cricket.
India’s batting failures were especially severe in England. At Nottingham, the visitors were bowled out for just 76, suffering their heaviest T20I defeat by 125 runs. In Bristol, England chased 159 with nine wickets and more than six overs to spare. In Southampton, Jos Buttler and Harry Brook dominated again as England completed the clean sweep.
The bowling attack also lacked authority. Without Bumrah’s control and Pandya’s all-round balance, India’s younger bowlers were repeatedly put under pressure by England’s aggressive batting. Brook, Buttler and Phil Salt exposed the lack of experience in both planning and execution.
Captain Shreyas Iyer also came under scrutiny as India failed to win any match under his leadership on the tour. The pressure has now increased on head coach Gautam Gambhir, who has repeatedly described India’s current phase as a reset.
A reset, however, requires balance. India’s mistake may not have been trusting young players, but removing too many experienced options at the same time.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India has confirmed that it will review the team’s performances after the England tour. That review may need to answer one uncomfortable question: whether India’s future was pushed onto the field before it was ready.
