Hunger and passion are two things that are essential ingredients for players representing the country at the highest level.
Be it any tournament, regardless of its importance and profile, a player donning the India colours and strutting out for the nation is a representative of the collective aspirations of a billion plus people.
And this is not just an emotive thought but something that players need to realise while they are out there on the ground in action.
Pandya's shocking statement after series defeat
Putting this perspective in context, if one analyses what Indian skipper Hardik Pandya said post India's defeat in the fifth and final T20I against West Indies in Lauderhill, it would be ironical in that sense.
Pandya was of the opinion that 'it's ok to lose sometimes' since we are able to learn things from the defeats.
There is no denying the fact that be it in life or cricket, failure teaches us a lot more than success and the learnings from failures leads us to the path to success.
However, this doesn't mean losing a series where you are in a position to grab the opposition by the scruff of the neck and take complete control.
Batting failures lead to downfall
After India's convincing win in the fourth T20I, the team were looking to the openers to repeat a similar performance in the crunch decider, that wasn't to be.
Apart from Suryakumar Yadav, none of the Indian batsmen could rise to the occasion and deliver the goods in the all-important decider.
What was disappointing to watch was the lack of intent and hunger that the batsmen showed while the wickets were falling at regular intervals.
Lack of application
The likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson showed a lack of application and could not mentally lift their game when it was needed the most.
Tilak Varma had a great debut T20I series but after a quickfire 27, the youngster played a careless check shot back at Roston Chase, who made no mistake in taking the catch.
There is a saying: Making a mistake is not a mistake, not making a mistake is a mistake but repeating a mistake is the biggest mistake.
The Indian team have been culpable of doing this on several occasions in the series. Playing needless and false shots at the wrong time and throwing away their wickets at crucial junctures.
There is one mistake too many that a team like India with all their IPL experience cannot afford to make at this level. And that too against a team like West Indies, with all due respect, who had failed to make it to the main round of last year's T20 World Cup in Australia.
Pandya justifies India's defeats
The reaction of the Indian captain Pandya is appalling to say the least not because of the statement he made regarding losing but the manner and context in which he made it.
This was a series that India was expecting to win given the array of top class batsmen in their ranks, who are all IPL superstars in their own ranks.
It's all fine to put up a brave front when you lose a series but to express your disappointment with the casual attitude that Pandya showed is disappointing.
Pandya has a long way to go in becoming a successful Indian T20I captain given these immature indiscretions that he makes.
And if he is looked upon as someone who will take the mantle from Rohit Sharma in the ODI format, then the Gujarat Titans skipper has a lot of work to do.
The Indian selectors will also have to introspect with regard to what kind of a captain they want at the helm in T20Is and ODIs in the future. Do they want a skipper who is hungry to win and disappointed to lose or are they ok with someone who is 'ok to lose sometimes'?..
Some tough questions and answers ahead for the five wise men in Indian cricket.
