5 MAJOR TAKEAWAYS FROM INDIA'S DISAPPOINTING TOUR OF WEST INDIES

When Hardik Pandya led Gujarat Titans (GT) to victory in the Indian Premier League (IPL) last year, plenty of pundits were backing for him to take over as full-time T201 captain of the Indian team...

- RENIN WILBEN

Team India recently concluded their all-format tour of the West Indies. After the disappointment of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final against Australia at The Oval, India got a break and were then hoping for an easy tour of West Indies. However, that was not quite the case. India managed to dominate the Tests and clinched the two-match series 1-0. However, they were given a tough fight in the ODIs, winning 2-1. The most shocking performance came in the T20I series. They lost the first two games, came back strongly to win the next two, but were thrashed in the decider. Here are five key takeaways from India’s disappointing tour of West Indies.

1. HARDIK PANDYA HAS A LONG WAY TO GO AS CAPTAIN

When Hardik Pandya led Gujarat Titans (GT) to victory in the Indian Premier League (IPL) last year, plenty of pundits were backing for him to take over as full-time T20I captain of the Indian team. And while he hasn’t been officially named as leader of the national T20I squad, he has been in charge in almost every T20I series India have played since their loss in the T20 World Cup in Australia last year. The tour of the West Indies proved that Pandya still has a long way to go when it comes to being a leader on the international stage. A lot of his tactics were questionable. His usage of Axar Patel (or the lack of it) was sometimes baffling. The same was true with Mukesh Kumar, who played all five games but was heavily underutilized. Just for the sake of experimentation, Pandya batted first in the decider when the series was at stake. Some of the statements he made pertaining to India’s defeat, the players’ mindset and his overall observations, in general, were quite bizarre. Pandya has it in him to be a good captain, but much refining is needed.