“India wins only in India.” You know a good critic when the magic words are uttered. Every series that India wins at home is usually accom...
“India wins only in India.”
You know a good critic when the magic words are uttered. Every series that India wins at home is usually accompanied by a generous dose of sarcasm that points out ‘the pitiful away record’ with unabandoned glee.
The initial statement is often followed by another rhetorical question: “So how many wins do we have overseas?”
Any talk of Virat Kohli’s record as skipper often brings more such arguments to the surface. There is no end to it really – no end to how India’s dominance at home is scoffed at.
While the away record is indeed important because it proves that the team can win in all conditions, it isn’t the sole marker of greatness. Indeed, it can never be.
The question that perhaps takes precedence here is a slightly different one: can one have a good away record without having a good home record?
Most great teams build on a good home record and then take that confidence to the home of the opposition. The wins at home allow players to trust their abilities more, to become mentally stronger and to have belief in the abilities of the group as a whole. One might even argue that across sport, a good home record is the base upon which...
