Openers’ failures contributed to team’s loss: Aakash Chopra

Moments after India’s rather unceremonious exit from the Twenty20 World Cup Pratik Dogra and Sudeshna Guha Roy met Aakash Chopra on the sidelines of a promotional event at the NCR.

Moments after India’s rather unceremonious exit from the Twenty20 World Cup Pratik Dogra and Sudeshna Guha Roy of Zeecric.com met Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra on the sidelines of a promotional event at the NCR. Grabbing the opportunity of a chat with someone who has shared the Indian dressing room, we, without more ado flooded him with all the questions that we could have thought of about our ‘Men-in-Blue’ as well as the IPL. The sportsman indulged himself well into the discussion and gave us a slice of his thoughts.In a exclusive tête-à-tête with, Delhi skipper revealed his thoughts about T20 World Cup and why KKR failed at the IPL season 2.

What do you think was the reason behind India’s debacle in the T20 World Cup? Aakash: It is hard to pin-point on any particular factor. It is a team’s loss. You cannot blame any particular player. There might be a couple of reasons; openers didn’t click, bowling was toothless. But we had to remember that the team has won in the past and brought many laurels to the country. It is a very capable bunch and I am sure it will bounce back in the past. Ques. T20 format was comparatively new when the inaugural World Cup took place in 2007. This year, the format has been well understood by all. What is your understanding of it? Aakash: The format is not easy and is very unpredictable, and one can expect numerous upsets. The beauty of this format is that one bad innings, or 3 good overs, or even one bad over can throw you out or bring you back into the tournament. So, it is not wise to under-estimate any squad. Ques: There were rumours about tensions within the team. Do you have any idea about this? Aakash: I don’t think there was any other issue in the team apart from Viru’s injury, something which has kept him out of the tournament till now. And I feel all the rumours were baseless. It was all a figment of the media’s imagination. If at all there was any truth in the news, I am sure either Dhoni or Viru would have mentioned it at some point of time. If they haven’t said anything, it means that nothing of that sort has happened. Still, if the media wished to believe in such rumours, they are free to do so. Ques: You are known more for your expertise in Test cricket. How difficult is it to adapt to the T20 format? Aakash: It is more like expanding your horizons and challenging yourself, and that is what cricket is all about. You grow as an individual and you grow as a player and that is how I look at this (T20) format. It challenges you and that is great. I love it and I am hoping to improve with every outing. Ques: Talking of the IPL this season, what do you think went wrong with Kolkata Knight Riders? Aakash: Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. You can’t really pinpoint a finger on one particular issue, as that will be unfair. I personally feel that this format is lot about momentum. If you lose momentum early, it becomes very difficult to play the game. In a 45-day tournament, you are playing back-to-back matches, and there is a lot of travelling between the games. So things obviously did not go well for the KKR side. And that is what reflected in the results. We started badly and then we lost quite a few last over games. Those actually hurt. It can go either way, but unfortunately it didn’t go in our favour. Ques: But then KKR also won a couple of matches in the end! Aakash: Of course, the way we finished the tournament was obviously great. But the whole pleasure of winning a game was actually taken away because by the time we started winning, we were totally down and out. There was nothing left in the tournament. But yes, it is always nice to put some wins on the board. It helps the team’s morale. You can build from that for the next year. Ques: It was said that the leadership was uninspiring. The McCullum-Buchanan combo couldn’t inspire the team the way Sourav Ganguly would have. Aakash: You can have plenty of debate on that. We all are wise after the event and we can say that this-could-have-been-done or that-could-have-been-done. But the decision was taken before the tournament began and it is only later when one can see what the results are. So, all the speculation that ‘he should not have been there’ or ‘he should have been there’ is all hypothetical. Ques: Personally, do you think Ganguly would have been a better captain than McCullum? Aakash: It is a tough call. I have not played enough under McCullum, to be honest. I have played just two games under him and to pass a judgement on someone’s leadership skills, or any skill for that matter after just a couple of games is just a little unfair. The results suggest that the team didn’t do well. Having said that, it is important to remember that we didn’t perform that great last season as well. Again, we can’t take anything away from Ganguly; he has been an exceptional leader, probably the best captain the Indian cricket team has ever had. So Ganguly holds his place, we hold very high regards for him. But it was the team’s decision to have McCullum this year. That’s the way it is. Ques: Do you think next season, Ganguly will be re-instated as the KKR Captain? Aakash: I have no clue. I have no idea whatsoever. It is 12 months away, so anything to say about that right now would be illogical.Ques: It was also said that KKR lacked good Indian bench strength. We didn’t have good local players, who could perform well. Aakash: Well, you can’t really blame anyone. We did have some good local players like Sourav Ganguly, Ishant Sharma, Ajit Agarkar, Murali Kartik, Ashok Dinda and Wriddhiman Saha… 7 out of 11 players were Indians. Our overseas players didn’t actually play that well. You can’t really put a finger on one player for the entire debacle. Ques: Talking of the underdogs this year: Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers Bangalore were low performers last year. This year, they emerged out to be the finalists. What is you opinion on them? Aakash: That is what this T20 format is all about. It will have upsets and that’s what we saw this year. T20 is very unpredictable, very spontaneous and is all about momentum. You will see a lot of upsets. And whichever team gains that momentum in the beginning, it becomes very easy for them to capitalise on that. On the other hand, if you lose momentum, it is very difficult to come back in the tournament once you are playing back-to-back games. Ques: It is said that the T20 is for the young generation. But this year, we saw experienced players like Anil Kumble, Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist emerging as the high-performers in the IPL. What is your pick on that? Aakash: I don’t think that any format is meant for youth or older players in particular. I feel its all about skills. Whoever has got better skills will perform, regardless of his age. As long as one is fit, he can perform; and that is what was proved in South Africa. The conditions there were to bat and bowl. So those who had skilled players on their side, played well.