There is much talk of injuries but that is an essential part of playing at this level. The greats have always overcome injury to play for the country in a major event so the odd player carrying an injury is not unusual. But fatigue is. And that is something each player knows and cannot hide. Being on tour for long periods is part of the job now and players must rest and train to counter that. It is a personal responsibility and one that is non-negotiable. South Africa have been one of the best teams in this tournament, and one of the sharpest in the field, and they went into the IPL after draining back-to-back Test and one-day series against Australia. Most of their players were at the IPL too. If India’s players are fatigued they need to look within.

India still have a good captain and still have a good team. One tournament loss doesn’t change that.