Don’t let it just go away
This young team with confidence, character and camaraderie augurs well for the future of Indian cricket
At the start of this historic Test series against Australia, skipper Virat Kohli said: “I am the representation of new India. For me, that’s how I look at it. In my mind, it’s not (about) being compared to the Australian mindset as such. It’s how we have started to stand up as the Indian cricket team and my personality has been like this from day one.” Kohli also added that the young India is not afraid to take on challenges. “The new India takes up challenges and is filled with optimism and positivity. We make sure that we are ready for any challenges that come our way.”
Battered, Bruised
At the end of the tour, the battered, bruised and abused Indian team came out victorious with a 2-1 series win to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. It showed the confidence that Kohli had in his team — despite being bowled for India’s lowest Test score of 36, he himself returning home on paternity leave and the Aussies predicting a 4-0 sweep for themselves. One of the toughest, bravest and the best Indian teams vanquished the ‘arrogant’ Aussies.
The odds were stacked against India as they lost Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma before the start of the series and by the time the last Test at the Gabba Fortress started, they did not have Kohli, Mohd Shami, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, G Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin (all injured). In came rookies like Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill, Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar and T Natarajan. The last three were in the team as net bowlers and were drafted into the playing eleven after a series of injury niggles forced Vihari, Bumrah and Ashwin out.
The pandemic was a big obstacle. Staying in quarantine, the team showed tremendous character and resilience in taking on the full-strength Australian team that had four world-class bowlers in Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon. When Kohli-led India made history in the 2018-19 tour by winning the series 2-1, cynics said the home team did not have the likes of Steve Smith and David Warner. But now India turned the tables with ‘A’ team players. Coach Justin Langer rightly said that they have learnt their lessons and will never underestimate the Indians. India breached Australia’s fortress in Brisbane, a place where they last lost in 1988, pulling off a stunning three-wicket win with another rearguard, gutsy final-day display.
Cricket7 even put up legendary Sunil Gavaskar’s special video on Team India, with the caption: “What we’ve witnessed in this series is something extraordinary. The resolve, fortitude and reserves of spirit displayed by these players have been inspiring.”
Utterly Astonishing
It was a bitter pill to swallow for the Aussies. Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who had predicted a 4-0 win for the home team, had to say this: “Considering everything the Indian cricket team has been through in the last five or six weeks, with the captain leaving, all the injuries they’ve had – they’ve been through 20 players – (Australia) have been at full-strength all bar Davey (Warner) missing early on, so it’s really hard to comprehend. But having been there, you can see how it’s happened, because (of) how resilient they’ve been.”
India blooded five debutants against an Australia side that entered the series as the ICC’s top-ranked team. Stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane also failed to win a toss. And Ponting put it well – “The cold hard facts of it are pretty much that it was the India A team that played this Test match and (India) still won.” And former England captain Michael Vaughan wrote: “I predicted that Australia would win the series 4-0 after Adelaide, and with good reason. India looked short and with all the selection issues they had, even their most one-eyed fans would not have predicted a comeback. Well, they have left me with egg on my face.”
“That was one of the best Test match victories of all time, and one of the greatest series wins, too. Every Englishman knows how hard it is to win in Australia, but to do so having been bowled out for 36 in the first game at Adelaide, to lose so many of your first-choice players – including the captain – as the series progressed and to put up with some of the off-field nonsense they have been subjected to, particularly the alleged racist abuse from the crowd in Sydney, makes it utterly astonishing.’’
Controlled Aggression
Coach Ravi Shastri, who was chastised after the Adelaide debacle, had a big hand in shaping India’s fortunes. Former India off-spinner Arshad Ayub, who was the manager of the Indian team in the past, credited Shastri for the huge success. “He is the pioneer of bringing aggression to the team. Even in his playing days, he would say you need to play to win. His attitude rubbed on the young team. That is his character. Ravi (Shastri) and Kohli combination is lethal. The way they think and execute their plans is different. It is controlled aggression and definitely brought a change in the mental attitude of the team.”
SL Venkatapathy Raju, the former Indian left-arm spinner, recalls the nasty blow Ponting received on his face from Javagal Srinath in a Test. The pace bowler ran to the batsman and in return got choicest abuses. Shastri did not like a wee bit of Srinath’s reaction. “He would often say we have come to play fearless cricket. That has continued as a coach. This ‘youngistan’ raised the bar and Shastri and the wonderful coaching staff instilled in the self-belief.”
MSK Prasad, former chairman of the selectors, says there are two reasons for India’s new concept of playing fearless cricket. “One is A tours and the other is the IPL. Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Vihari, Saini, Siraj, Sunder and many others were part of the A tours where Rahul Dravid as a coach made the players tougher. The process of grooming starts from these tours. Secondly, the IPL has definitely helped young players, who gain experience by playing with them and against them. Earlier, we never got a chance to play against Glenn McGrath or Shane Warne before any international matches. Now there is a change in attitude as these players are exposed in IPL, which builds a strong platform for stronger international fields,” he says.
While it is heartening to see the finely tuned new guns shooting straight from their hips, this young side should form the core of the future. They should be persisted with fervour to fortify their confidence and character and help India reap a rich harvest. There is tremendous camaraderie in the team, and this augurs well for the future of Indian cricket.
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