“I am the representation of new India.”
Virat Kohli was massively trolled and criticized for his comments that had come just hours before the Indian cricket team had been shot out for a mere 36 runs against Australia in Adelaide. The Indian batters, who had always struggled against swing and seam bowling, were unable to tackle the lethal deliveries sent down by Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, which prompted critics to question the side’s approach. The “new India” still had the old weakness against anything that moved in the air at over 150 clicks an hour, and the “new India” were still tamed when they traveled overseas to play Test cricket.
It only took a month, however, for the cricketers from India to move away from their old habits and adopt a more determined approach. Two wins and a draw later, as the Indian team, with players who could barely walk, went around at The Gabba for a historical lap of honor, it was clear that the future belonged to them. Just as West Indies and then Australia had proceeded to dominate world cricket, it is getting clearer and clearer by the day that the Indian team is here to stay, and can no longer be considered underdogs even on overseas tours.
It was not just the win over Australia at Brisbane, the home team’s fortress since the 1980s. It was not about the series win even after being all out for 36 in the Pink Ball Test. It was not only about surviving a whole day to ensure a draw at Sydney. It was rather the way they proceeded after their skipper had headed back home on paternity leave. It was about how the side looked at injuries that ruled out one star player after another. It was about the team’s strength when their entire first-choice bowling attack had been ruled out by the end of the fourth Test. It was about tackling the injured wrists and the hamstrings and the groin injuries and the fractured thumbs and the back spasms and the bruised ribs, and it was about never giving up.
Source: Twitter (BCCI)
Only Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara managed to play all four Tests Down Under, while the bowling attack of the last game was strung together from the net bowlers who had flown down with the side. T Natarajan and Washington Sundar made their debuts in the last Test, while Mohammad Siraj, Shardul Thakur, and Navdeep Saini had a total experience of four Tests between them – the most inexperienced bowling attack that played for India since 1933. And yet, despite it all, even at their lowest, they got the better of Australia in Australia – which, on many levels might not be the best thing to happen in world cricket considering the bridge between the top four and the bottom four teams is increasing.
But back to the positives. A lot of India’s new grit has to do with the rich talent pool that is present in the country. After the series defeat, head coach of Australia Justin Langer admitted that a country of 1.5 billion people will always have players oozing out skills. The talent was always present, but it is the current system that has allowed those talents to nurture into match winners.
In the last decade, the country has developed a strong ‘A’ team courtesy of the efforts of former skipper Rahul Dravid. In the last five years alone, the India A team played 33 games across countries – more than twice the number of games that the Australia A or England Lions played. The fact that the senior Indian men’s team will play two practice matches against the Indian A side ahead of their Test tour to England this year highlights two important points – one, the domestic stars are believed to be almost as good as the senior players, and secondly, the experience that the A team will get will further help to strengthen their game.
Source: Twitter (IPL)
The IPL, often criticized, has been a major factor in adding to the talent pool as well. Players such as T Natarajan and Washington Sundar, who do not have a lot of experience in domestic cricket, did not appear rusty when they were asked to play in dire situations. The fact that the young players are already fearless and confident after rubbing shoulders with the greats for almost two months every year ensures that when India wants a quick replacement, they have a variety of players to choose from.
With the IPL all set to expand to 10 teams from 2022, the stage is all set for brighter stars to emerge, which will, in turn, make India more formidable on the world stage. The talent pool is likely to increase, and it won’t be a surprise if the Indians dominate every format for the next decade at least.