The T20 World Cup success in June was massive in the context of India triumphing in an ICC event after 11 years. But was the follow-up to that even more successful?

Or, does the script change thereafter?

On Track in T20Is

When a relieved Rohit Sharma laid on the Kensington Oval turf in Bridgetown on June 29, after Team India snatched victory from the clutches of defeat in the final against South Africa, one felt a new era for Indian cricket was being ushered in after the captain had accomplished his mission in his last appearance in T20Is. Even after Rohit, former skipper Virat Kohli, and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja bid adieu to T20Is, India seem to be on track in this version of the sport.

Since their unbeaten run to World Cup glory, they have lost just one T20I, which was against the Proteas in November. Sanju Samson, around for quite some time, has got into his groove, being a lot more consistent and diligent with his shot selection. Hardik Pandya lost the T20I captaincy to Suryakumar Yadav but has been steady with both bat and ball after a colorless showing in IPL 2024. Left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh has been relatively consistent with the new ball as well as when bowling at the death overs. Spinner Varun Chakravarthy followed up his super successful IPL campaign for champions Kolkata Knight Riders to launch a brilliant India comeback, finishing with 17 wickets from seven appearances. Bowling-wise, even in Jasprit Bumrah's absence, these bowlers have shown they can take care of the proceedings quite well.

As for India's biggest gain in T20Is following the Cup triumph, it has been Tilak Varma. Having proven his mettle in the IPL in Mumbai Indians colors, the young left-hander vindicated the national selectors' faith in him, showing how devastating he could be with his back-to-back centuries in South Africa back in November.

Surprise loss in Lanka

But then, what about India's performance in Tests and ODIs this year?

Talking about their 50-over performance first, losing the series to a developing Sri Lanka team in Sri Lanka 0-2 in a three-match series (the first ODI being a tied game) did not bode well at all for India. Agreed, the wickets in Colombo were extremely spin-friendly and became tougher to bat on later. Besides, India had to bat second in all those three matches.

However, Sri Lankan spinners were not of the stature of a Muthiah Muralidaran, Shane Warne, or a Saqlain Mushtaq. They were short on experience as well, while the Indian line-up featured batters who scored in bulk to be instrumental in the team's 2023 ODI World Cup runners-up finish. Yet, they cut a sorry figure against those Sri Lankan spinners. Though it was only three ODIs, 2024 goes down as a year where India hasn't won any 50-overs-a-side contest.

At the same time, that Sri Lanka tour also wasn't an ideal start for Gautam Gambhir in his first assignment as India head coach, though the team won the preceding three T20Is against the Islanders.

Home Discomfort

That loss in Sri Lanka had a deeper implication, which bigwigs of Indian cricket could not decipher. Severe weakness against disciplined spin bowling was the message that the ODI series defeat to Sri Lanka had sent, and that was found out in the 0-3 embarrassment in the home Tests against New Zealand.

Preparing raging turners in Pune and Mumbai was Team India's strategy after the 46 all-out debacle turned out to be the main reason behind their eight-wicket defeat to the Kiwis in the series opener in Bengaluru.

The brilliance of Sarfaraz Khan - who had also impressed on debut against England earlier in February in Rajkot - and Rishabh Pant in the second innings of that game which helped India fight back was the biggest positive India rode on going into the second Test in Pune. But, in a Ravichandran Ashwin spin-friendly track there, the Indian batting group, including big names and stars in the making, fell apart like a pack of cards, looking clueless before Mitchell Santner's left-arm spin.

Result: India lost their first Test series at home in 12 years. "This (series loss at home) can happen once in 12 years," was Rohit's infamous comment, which did not go down well in several quarters.

If that wasn't all, the Black Caps won the third and final Test in Mumbai too on another raging turner, whitewashing India: a result the entire cricket fraternity never thought of. What pained more was being swept by an average side that got thrashed in Sri Lanka in its preceding Test series. Santner still had his share of variations in Pune, but in his absence, Ajaz Patel - a bowler with limited ability - was still able to wallop the Indian batting line-up at the Wankhede.

The likes of Rohit and Kohli failed the spin test, youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill weren't solid in their defense, while Sarfaraz looked worse in those conditions. The home Tests against England did give a warning or two of the current Indian side's frailties against spin.

But India managed to get away in that home series largely because of one game-changing spell of 6/45 from Jasprit Bumrah in the Visakhapatnam Test along with the Bazball-obsessed England's faulty tactics and shot selection during critical junctures.

Looking Ahead

Premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who reached the 500 Test wickets milestone, earlier this year, will now no longer be available , having announced his retirement from international cricket on December 18.

If India don't qualify for the World Test Championship final in June, the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy could well be Rohit's last in Test cricket.

There's also no certainty over how much longer the Test careers of Kohli, Jadeja, and senior pacer Mohammed Shami will last.

So, will the young batsmen, who have already proven their abilities at the highest stage, be able to pull their weight in challenging conditions as well? Seamer-all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy's robust batting and bold approach so far in the Australia Tests, though, showed he has it in him to be a game-changer in red-ball cricket too, provided he remains disciplined.

Bowling-wise, in terms of the pace attack, Akash Deep's arrival and promise is certainly one positive, though he's yet to get the opportunity to prove his mettle in T20Is and ODIs.

Spin-wise, Washington Sundar proved he can be a handful on turners as well as a contributor with the bat in the middle order. But what may matter most for India is the comeback of Kuldeep Yadav. The quicker the left-arm wrist-spinner returns to action, the better it will be for India in all formats.