ShanS

Before 2024 we lost 2023 ODI WC final. During the final SA needed 30 from 30. From that we won thanks to BumBum. Compared to that it felt like a walk in the park as NZ never looked to be in the game as they lost wickets one after the other and never matched the RRR. Even the SF against ENG had more thrill thanks to Bethell and Co. always keeping up with the RRR.

People can criticize GG and they have their reason. It is amplified by his outspokenness, his past as BJP MP etc... hence plenty of SM support for axing him. BUT.. why is there no criticism for shocking shot selections? These are not newbies, especially in home conditions. Pant, Jurel, Sai all got out playing horrendous shots in both matches which opened the floodgates. 246/6 to 489.. 70 0dd for 5 to 154, twice SA escaped when we should've pressed home the advantage. Hare brained selections definitely aggravated the situation. But GG can't be blamed alone.

Bumrah as captain will make sense ONLY if we had bowlers like Starc/Boland/Hazlewood to share the workload effectively and reduce Bumrah's burden. Do we really want Bumrah to play each and every test match? Of course not..So who'll be the captain then? Is the team ready to have two different captains?

SA is a deserving candidate. However, I don't remember them playing against AUS and ENG even once in this cycle. If that's true, then it is quite bemusing to say the least. Also, we are playing 16 games vs SA playing only 10. Somehow, the scheduling has to be done so that all the team plays each other.