Has Delhi overtaken Mumbai as the batting powerhouse of India?

Mumbai has been the side to beat in Ranji Trophy for many years and their consistent performances can be put down to their ability to produce quality batsmen. As the years have rolled by and cricketing infrastructure has improved in India, cricket has traveled through the streets of our cricket-crazy nation as the game tries to grab every talented player available. We have seen the rise of some stunning talent from smaller towns and even lesser known Ranji teams have contributed key players to the Indian side.

However, big cities like Mumbai and Delhi have retained their importance by continuously producing complete cricketers. A look at the Indian batting line-up of recent years will reveal that these two powerhouses have contributed the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan to the Indian side. The key reason for such success in these big cities is that the talent is spotted early and has the wherewithal for development thereon.

Batting has been a traditional strength of Indian cricket and in a sense it is in our DNA, just as Pakistan has a general aptitude for producing fast bowlers. In addition to that, there are coaches at the grass-root level who not only nurture talent but have the ability to push them to the next level. These players then get further exposure by going through a routine in U-17 and U-19 sides. In the recent past, the ICC U-19 World Cup has become a great platform for players to show their skill and come through to the International level. That was the case with Virat Kohli as well as Unmukt Chand, to name a few.

Delhi have filled the Indian top-order in recent years with Sehwag, Gambhir and Virat Kohli running a long and successful spell in the Indian side. Mumbai has produced a graceful right-hander in Rohit Sharma who continues to be rated highly throughout the world and especially impressed with his batting overseas. Moreover, Ajinkya Rahane has been pushing for a place in the Indian team and his time is not far away. IPL 2012 saw a young wicket-keeper batsman by the name Aditya Tare come into limelight by filling in for the injured Little Master himself, and with success.

Delhi holds an edge over recent years but there is no question that Mumbai is at par domestically. In fact, if one looks at the Ranji Trophy results of last year, Mumbai performed much better than Delhi, clinching yet another trophy. Mumbai have had the upper hand over Delhi. Delhi won their last trophy in 2007-08 after which Mumbai has already won three more.

The important thing is that these two teams continue to be the standard of cricketing excellence in this country. Not only have they produced quality batsmen, but have also given India their bowling spearheads as well – from Ajit Agarkar to Zaheer Khan to Ishant Sharma. There have been other names in between who have had a considerable impact on the cricketing fortunes of this country and one that certainly comes to mind is that of Ashish Nehra. Since they have been producing such level of excellence for their country, they must be emulated at all levels.

If one does sit down to make an observation of what sets them apart, a number of non-cricketing factors intervene. Levels of economic well-being and lifestyle are much better in these two urban cities and therefore as you move from Mumbai and Delhi to more remote towns, things such as quality of equipment and quality of training dwindle considerably. On the other hand, factors such as motivation and resilience may see a rise. Mumbai and Delhi have, no doubt, done well to cash in on these factors but they can’t be ignored as that would be unfair to those cricketers who have had to struggle and climb their way up against all odds.