The performance of the Indian cricket team in the West Indies is perhaps as low as in the 1975 World Cup, with the memorable innings of Sunil Gavaskar carrying the bat and scoring only 36 in 50 overs. But then the excuse was Gavaskar being naive and our team not understanding the shortened game well enough.

India have come a long way from there and cannot use that explanation for their shameful debacle in the ninth edition of the World Cup.

The media created the hype and every former cricketer/expert/panelist voiced his opinion and confidence about India’s chances of winning the cup. Now that they have failed, the same people are citing the reasons! But perhaps we don’t need reasons. The Indian team simply did not play well enough to warrant a place in the Super 8 stage.

Fans throwing stones at the players’ properties and burning effigies showed the discontent, but also highlighted how much they did not deserve their team to win. Fanatics have no place in sports. Administration cannot control fans or the media.

The governing body has to be circumspect in what went wrong at their end. Is their money-grabbing technique the correct way to take the sport ahead? Agreed, marketing of the team is an important issue and raising funds for the BCCI is a key aspect in developing the game in neglected areas of the country. But is that the reality? Not going too much into the administration, it is more significant to know if the selection panel, for example, does the right kind of research and takes committed efforts to the best of its abilities. These are some crucial questions to be answered.

On the game itself, a lot of drastic changes have been demanded by one and all. Greg Chappell was appointed with a specific task of getting India to perform better or at least on a par with their last outing, where they finished runners-up. But is he the lone person to blame?

The Aussie tried hard to instigate a policy of 'Perform or perish'. It sounded great but the parameter negated was its efficiency in the Indian arena. The policy falls short if you cannot define a standard for ‘performance’. Chappell would most certainly give way.

Rahul Dravid’s term of captaincy is highly unlikely to be renewed. So does he become accountable? He has been mediocre, to say the least. Making his fast bowlers send down 30 overs on spinner-friendly wickets; not giving Sachin Tendulkar or Verinder Sehwag enough overs against Bangladesh; deploying a defensive field against Sri Lanka after having them reeling at 97 for three in 25 overs. It all showed how much he was out of the game. A captain has to lead the ship, especially when in still water, because you know there's storm coming and have to be prepared.

Sourav Ganguly was the only mentionable performer in the series. He did a perfect job with the bat. As for the bowling, Ajit Agarkar was at his peak against the Lankans, troubling them with his in swinging deliveries to the left-handers. Zaheer Khan had the nip and Munaf was miserly. But where were the spin wizards? Harbhajan Singh was at his best – which is ordinary! The only other bowler worth mentioning was Tendulkar, who bamboozled the islanders with his military swing going either way.

The most important questions to be asked of the team are:  What has Sehwag done that Mohammed Kaif didn’t in the last two years? What exceptional success has Harbhajan achieved that Romesh Powar didn’t? Why wasn’t Dinesh Karthik given a chance after performing so well in South Africa? What had Robin Uthappa done to warrant his place, apart from scoring runs in one match against Sri Lanka at home?

There are a lot of questions to be answered and a lot of analysis ahead, but the best way forward is to keep it simple. A strategy is to be formulated to decide and limit the number of chances to be given to an individual.

The leadership conundrum: It’s a major issue, not only because this one can be marketed well in India but also because the team needs someone inspired enough to take them ahead. Every sport sees such humiliating defeats, but the key is to take it up from there. The biggest positive is to know that it cannot get worse!

It is time for Yuvraj Singh to step up and take the job of captain. He has been in the Indian team for a long time, and is the sort of man who loves to be involved. This would be the ideal time for him to take up the job and see how he goes about it.

One thing is for sure, though; the dismal performance at the World Cup has to be taken with a pinch of salt and Indian cricket must move ahead. Politics must be thrown out of the game and more emphasis put on creating athletes and putting emphasis on fitness at grass-root levels.