Is IPL killing the cohesion in the Indian cricket team?

If the row between Sreesanth and Harbhajan is any indication, the Indian cricket team may end up paying a heavy price for IPL. IPL seems to threaten Indian team’s cohesion. Apparently, after the match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab, Sreesanth who was on the winning side walked up to Harbhajan Singh — the captain of Mumbai Indians — shook his hands, and said, “Hard luck”. Seems like that was enough to provoke Harbhajan into hitting Sreesanth under the eye. If the bad blood continues, it doesn’t take a whole lot to figure that having both of them on the Indian team may actually do more harm than good. Worse, what if we see such spats among other players as well?

One could argue that Harbhajan Singh has had a bad history to begin with, and is hardly an exemplary sportsperson. Also, Sreesanth’s antics on the field are soon becoming folk tales. But that doesn’t change the fact that we are going to have people like them in our cricket team. So how is the Indian cricket team going to fare under IPL constant barrage of situational conflicts?

Another argument is that IPL, the format, and the dynamics of teams is still nascent with IPL. Once it matures, these issues will disappear. But I am not convinced. Assuming that IPL does mature, and that IPL does discover new talent for our national cricket team, will an all-star Indian cricket team win more matched? Deccan Chargers have demonstrated that it is not always the case. A lot more goes into a successful team than an all-star roster. The key is teamwork and confidence, and that’s exactly what IPL is eroding away from the national team. And this, is not a wild leap of logic, its based on the empirical observation with the US basketball dream team. Its an all-star team with the best players on paper, but still cant seem to win championships for over 5 years now. Is this going to be the chronic trend of the Indian cricket team?

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