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India were humbled by 2010 T20 World Cup champions England in the second semifinal of the ongoing 2022 edition in Adelaide on Thursday, November 10. Chasing 168 for the win, Alex Hales and his opening partner Buttler ran rings around the Indian bowlers, with Buttler scoring 80 runs off 49 and Hales scoring 86 runs off just 47 balls.
After the match, head coach Rahul Dravid was quizzed on whether India are faltering at ICC tournaments in recent years because their players were not playing in foreign leagues, and while admitting that this might be an issue, Dravid reiterated that such a move will cause damage to domestic cricket in India. He gave the example of the poor state of West Indies cricket.
"With the kind of demand for Indian players, if you allowed Indian players to participate in foreign leagues, our domestic cricket and Ranji Trophy will be finished. We've seen what it has done to West Indies cricket," Dravid explained to the press after the debilitating loss.
Striking the ball at a rate of 182.97, Hales' innings included 4 fours and 7 sixes. He set up a brilliant partnership of 170-run partnership with his skipper Jos Buttler, who scored 80 runs off 49 balls himself. The Indian bowlers had no response for the England onslaught and this delighted Hales, given the quality that the Men in Blue possess.
Dravid also added that although a majority of the cricketers have experience playing in Australia because of the Big Bash League, Dravid had an explanation for Indian players skipping that tournament as well. There's no doubt about it that a lot of their players have experience playing in Australia. But it's difficult for Indian players to play BBL as we have peak cricket season during that time," he added.
It was a dominating victory for England, who will now face 2009 champions Pakistan in the final.
