ICC World Cup 2019 | You need to have Plan B ready and it should be as good as Plan A, reckons Dilip Vengsarkar

Former India captain and selection committee chief Dilip Vengsarkar has stated that the thought process was not up to the mark while hand-picking the squad for the World Cup. India quickly ran out of options in the semi-final after Kiwi bowlers wreaked havoc and failed to register a win despite Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni’s fightback. India were playing as many as three wicketkeeper-batsmen in the playing XI in the encounter against New Zealand and failed to chase down a modest target of 240.  

“What I have realised is that a lot of thought was not applied before selecting the team. You need to have cover for all departments. You need to have a Plan B ready and it should be as good as Plan A. You are playing three wicketkeepers. Aapke pass batsmen hain nahi kya India mein (Don’t you have batsmen in India)? What is the point of domestic cricket, if you cannot spot talent and try to groom it for the international level. Or is it complete absence (talent) of it? I can’t believe it as lakhs of people are playing in India. In 50 overs, you need four or five batsmen,” Vengsarkar told The Indian Express.

After Shikhar Dhawan’s exit from the World Cup, India’s top-order failed to weave similar magic. Though they were very effective, especially Rohit Sharma, but Dhawan brings stability of a different kind. In the semi-final, the top-order collapsed like ninepins and the job was too difficult for the middle-order to tackle.  

On being asked if India were heavily reliant on the top three, Vengsarkar replied, “Yes, we were highly dependent on them. So we kept a blind eye on the batsman who follows. Till the semis, everyone clicked. In the semis when the score was 5 for 3, it was almost over. (Ravindra) Jadeja played a heroic inning but to expect him to play such kind of an inning is not correct. He is a fantastic all-rounder and there’s no question about his ability, but 4-5 batsmen should be able to take the team through."