Agonising as it is, India’s exit from the Cricket World Cup does not need hindsight. Contrary to what experts had been harping on, India went to England without a permanent No. 4 batsman. Ambati Rayudu was unceremoniously dropped and all sorts of experiments were carried out with team selection. Rishabh Pant, who was drafted in only after Shikhar Dhawan suffered an injury, should have been included in the original squad. When Vijay Shankar got injured, Rayudu’s inclusion should have been a no-brainer, as he was in the official list of reserves. But Mayank Agrawal was called in, without any past ODI experience. Over the last two years, a number of players have been tried and not allowed to settle down at No. 4. And India paid a price for this misadventure.

In the end, it was a perfect, three-dimensional performance from New

Zealand on Wednesday.

Saurabh Sinha,

Bhilai

Millions of Indian fans were disappointed. Universally acclaimed finisher M.S. Dhoni should have been sent at No.5, which would have had a calming effect on the likes of Pant and Hardik Pandya. Sending him at No. 7 was a tactical blunder. Ravindra Jadeja, though not in the playing 11 in many of the matches, showed extraordinary prowess with both the bat and the ball, apart from displaying some excellent fielding. This is not to take anything away from New Zealand’s brilliant performance. Matt Henry’s spell and Jimmy Neesham’s catch were the highlights.

D.S. Rajagopalan,

Chennai