Former cricketer Atul Wassan feels India’s current position in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy comes down to “collective failure” and star players’ incapability to make runs has been a well-known issue for the touring party. Wassan believes India is missing “unglamorous” batters in its lineup like Cheteshwar Pujara, who used to see out the entire session while solely relying on his defensive prowess. India fell to a 2-1 series trail after receiving a humbling by Australia in front of a sold-out crowd at the MCG in the Boxing Day Test. Throughout the match, India’s pace attack looked out of ideas in patches, and the top batters looked out of their depths across both innings.

While there were moments of individual brilliance from the likes of Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Jasprit Bumrah, it wasn’t enough to save the day for India.

To chase down the 340-run target on the final day was a big ask as India pushed for a draw to keep the series and its WTC final chances alive till Sydney.

However, Pat Cummins led from the front, forcing India’s back against the wall in the final session. India lost seven wickets towards the end of the day and succumbed to an 184-run defeat.

When India needed its big guns to come to its rescue, the established batting stalwarts misfired. The story has been the same since India left Perth, with just the venues changing.

“It was a collective failure. Everybody knows what is the issue. Star players are not making runs, and it has been casual batting. Youngsters who are batting well are being sent too deep in the order. Something should be done. The batting order should be changed, Virat should come down, and Reddy should be promoted,” Wassan told ANI.

In the ongoing series, Virat Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma, two of the most experienced stars, have failed to deliver. The seasoned opener, Rohit, has just 31 runs from five innings, with an average of 6.20. On the other hand, Virat has 167 runs to his name in the series at an average of 27.83.

When India needed someone to hold on to the wicket at one end, Pujara was the answer to the problem. The veteran made a reputation of being one of the most capable Test batters of modern-day cricket.

He was one of the prominent faces during India’s back-to-back BGT series win in Australia. Wassan feels the current Indian side is missing a player like Pujara, who can bat “dirty.” According to him, the touring party is filled with all the “glamorous batters.”

“It is all about application. The way Pujara batted, dirty batting, ugly batting. He used to play the whole session, unglamorous batting. It is missing we have all the glamorous batters,” he added.

Pujara’s value is reflected in his terrific numbers in Australia. In 11 matches, Pujara has slammed a whopping 993 runs at an average of 47.28, including three centuries.

Rohit Sharma could be on the cusp of retirement from Test cricket but an exit might not be too far from Virat Kohli too. The duo’s performances in Australia have triggered a big debate over their future in the longest format of the game. For Rohit, an end seems to be inevitable after the conclusion of the Australia tour whereas Kohli’s case remains touch-and-go. Former India cricketer Atul Wassan has urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to have an exit plan ready amid the talismanic batter’s inability to resolve form issues.

Kohli, aged 36, has been struggling to resurrect his career for long. He has already quit T20 internationals and his Test career is hanging by a thread. While Wassan feels Virat’s best might just be around the corner, he wants the BCCI to be ready with a successor and an exit plan.

“Virat has got runs, but he also knows what’s happening. They are very sorted mentally. A player always thinks that ‘my best is around the corner’. I’ll do it just now.’ It’s such a long spell; it’s hurting the team, and there is questioning, saying you should be dropped. A lynch mob comes after you,” Wassan told news agency ANI.

“They also know what is going on. I think an exit plan, like a succession policy, must be clear, it’s not fair on the management, the team, and the cricketing structure, we don’t know what’s there in your mind,” he added.

In Australia, the outside-off delivery has troubled Kohli time and again. Though the batter showed a little bit of discipline in the first innings of the MCG Test, scoring 36 runs, he was dismissed while chasing a 6th or 7th stump delivery in both innings again.

Before the start of the 4th Test, Kohli himself admitted that he has lacked the discipline required to excel on Australian pitches. With just the Sydney Test to go now, another failure with the bat might force Kohli to rethink his future in red-ball cricket, especially considering the way certain youngsters have performed on the tour.

Team India in action© AFP