Perhaps we are just not good enough (now)
Why can we not admit it? We are just not good enough.
With the exception of one or two players, the team is packed with mediocre players and pipeline doesn't look promising. With the exception of just a few players, the team is full of also-rans and the pipeline looks bleak.
We are just not a very capable team - be it in T20s, ODIs, or Tests. How else have we been losing on a regular basis to associate teams during the run up to this world cup? Yeah, we can beat the top 8 once in a while but unless our losses to the associates are considered upsets, there is nothing for us to be proud of.
Am I pessimistic? Yes, partially. I have noticed a certain regression in team. Granted we've had ups and downs but the projection was always upwards. We were moving up - albeit not as fast as I would have liked but we were.
Ever since the WC we seem to have been on a downward trajectory. Only the skills of Shakib and Tamim with the occasional contributions by a few others have given us some periods of joy. The rest of the time, it has been painful to watch the mediocrity and the way this mediocrity is celebrated.
Our sights should be set forward on the Kiwis and the Windies and not behind us. At this stage, beating the likes of AFG and IRL should be a given, no matter how quickly they are developing and how strong they are now. If we do not, the implications is that not only are we not developing, we are regressing.
Look at where the team stands now.
We really only have Tamim and Shakib. Mushy seems to be in a very long off-form patch. Nasir hasn't quite matured enough to bring real value. Zia is unTested (pun intended). All the other batsmen are just water boys. We have no one else a power hitter. We have no one else who can stay the course. The team hasn't yet mastered the simple skill of running between the wickets. They get bogged down and thy hit out (and get out) under pressure.
As for bowlers, the picture isn't rosy either. Rubel is missed. Mash is getting old (while he is still young) and doesn't have the brains to bowl at the death. All the remaining pacers are that in name only. Let's face it - the bowling is one-dimensional. We have a slew of SLAs who are as wont to give gifts (ala Razzak) as to take wickets (ala Shakib). We have not variety - no offspinner, no leg spinner, and no real fast bowler.
The biggest issue I see is the bipolar disease of complacency and lack of self worth. This is quite evidence from the garbage that spews from the mouths of our cricketers when they are interviewed. They are complacent enough to not work professionally. They are complacent enough to be satisfied celebrating scraping through a series with an associate. They have a serious case of " we are not good enough-itis". If you do not think you are good enough, you will never be good enough. I do not see a professionalism - I do not see a professional work ethic. All I see is a bunch of overpaid crybabies chaperoned by a bunch of overpaid guardians who may not be doing the job they need to be doing. I will hold off on commenting on RP for now but in all other areas the team seem to have denatured - bowling, fielding, batting, cricket sense et al.
Ok, time to pack and catch a plane later today...
/RANT OFF
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