New Delhi: Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar blamed hero-worshipping and icon culture for India’s ‘generational’ slump in Test cricket. India have struggled massively in the longest format under skipper Rohit Sharma, hitting new lows over the last few months. The hosts suffered a humiliating 0-3 clean sweep in the Test series against New Zealand at home before losing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 against Australia 1-3.
Back-to-back series defeats under skipper Rohit have exposed India’s woes in Tests amid questions being raised over the future of the senior players. Skipper Rohit and senior batter Virat Kohli have been facing the heat over their poor show in Australia after the team failed to make it to the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 final.
Both Kohli and Rohit flopped in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as they failed to step up with the bat for the visitors. While Kohli ended the five-match series with 190 runs from 5 Tests at a disappointing average of 23.75, Rohit could only manage to score 31 runs in 3 Tests before eventually being excluded from the playing XI for the 5th and final Test in Sydney.
Explaining the reason behind India’s dramatic slump in Tests, Manjrekar blamed the senior players, who are dragging the team down by continuing despite their below-par performances. The former India batter said it is nothing new in Indian cricket as the team has struggled to move on big names in the past as well.
“India are a sought-after cricket team that the world wants to eagerly host. They play a lot of matches in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia) countries, so it is fair to be judged to the highest standards. This ‘generational slump’ is inevitable for all teams. It’s what we know as the transition phase and among the best teams in the world, I believe it affects India the most,” Manjrekar wrote in his column for the Hindustan Times.
“The one foremost reason behind this is the icon culture we have in India and the hero worship of certain players. Be it 2011-12 or now, it’s the same scenario that gets played out — iconic players featuring prominently doing the opposite of what they did their entire careers, thereby dragging the team down with their diminished performances,” he added.
Hero worshipping and icon culture have been the major reasons behind India’s recent slump in Test cricket as the team continues to struggle to move the big names who have underfperformed in the longest format. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
