It came as a bolt from nowhere. India, the World Champions and No 1. Test team in the world were whitewashed 4-0 by England and, if anything, the scoreline flatters us.
Numerous reasons have been floated – poor planning by the BCCI, lack of desire by players who have achieved success, fame and fortune too early, ageing stars in decline, injuries, greed over national pride, T20itis, etc.
No doubt there are many factors but the lingering memory I have is of a weary Dhoni telling the press that the players had played 200 days of cricket in the previous year. That number, for a professional sportsman, is verging on the crazy.
Burnout is now a well researched phenomenon – it’s defined as the experience of long term exhaustion and diminished interest resulting in lowered efficacy. When this is accompanied by physical injuries there are few places to hide and only one solution – rest.
There is little our tired team can do but go on but its recent failures are, as all failures are, potentially a wake up call. It’s for those of us who have been working relentlessly to note – we may survive on the adrenalin generated from winning but it can only go on for so long. It can all go horribly wrong horribly fast.
We all need rest.