Indian Cricket Team Seniors: What the future has in store for them

This is the best time to be an Indian cricket team fan. Nine consecutive victories on the trot, including three convincing wins against the reigning world champions, are glittering proof that the team's preparations for the World Cup, just under two years from now, are on track.

The team seem to have found solutions for all of their problems: the dearth of a genuine all-rounder, the death bowling conundrum, and the lack of attacking spinners, to name a few. Team India also boast of a subtle blend of stalwarts and young turks who have staked their claims on the back of some consistent performances, shunting aside some experienced campaigners whose chances of making it into the side seem quite bleak.

But it is not impossible: the best example being the prince of Kolkata, Sourav Ganguly, roaring back and scoring an elusive double century in his reincarnation. In this article, we analyze the possibilities of the old-timers returning to the limited-overs circuit.

Ishant Sharma:

Ishant Sharma burst onto the scene over a decade ago, with those long curly locks and impressive pace. The 2007-08 CB Series Down Under unearthed many young gems of Indian cricket, and Ishant was one of them.

He was immensely successful in Tests as well: a lanky 18-year-old pacer troubling a legend like Ricky Ponting was like the Biblical David-Goliath battle. Though he was lacklustre during India's away whitewashes in England and Australia, his seven-wicket haul at Lord's in 2014 saw him being touted as the leader of the Indian bowling attack after Zaheer Khan's retirement.

However, he couldn't come close to replicating his Lord's heroics, and after a series of indifferent performances and injury-related issues, he was dropped. Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami made the most of his absence with some commendable efforts. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has established a niche with his prodigious swing and handy batting lower down the order. The emergence of a certain all-rounder Hardik Pandya has not helped Ishant's cause.

Ishant has always been an impact bowler, capable of turning a match on its head when on song, but lacking the consistency to churn out such performances regularly. For the time being, he has a chance of making the lineup only when India decide to go in with three quick bowlers, and one of the three mentioned above is injured.

Suresh Raina:

Raina has not received a BCCI contract renewal this year

The image of a 20-year-old Suresh Raina leading India to an unlikely target of 227 after half of the lineup was back in the hut with the score at 92, will never fade away. The temperament and maturity exhibited by someone who had not even played 10 ODIs until then spoke volumes of his talent with the willow.

That, coupled with his electric fielding and sportsmanship, made sure that he was not one to fade into obscurity.

Raina is an absolute legend when it comes to the IPL, and T20s in general, and he has the distinction of being the first Indian to score a hundred in T20Is. The southpaw was a vital cog in the middle order in the late 2000s and during India's World Cup triumph in 2011.

In Tests, however, he wasn't a regular due to his infamous weakness against short balls. Lately, the same weakness has let him down in limited-overs cricket as well. Though gutsy as ever, his batting prowess is frequently overshadowed by his vulnerability to bouncers and balls just outside off stump.

This Indian side have a handful of quality fielders, and Raina's exceptional fielding is no longer an X-factor. That he was not offered a BCCI contract this year does not bode well for him, and though he has age on his side, he is unlikely to return to the fold any time soon.

Harbhajan Singh:

A young Turbanator was totally unplayable on Australia's 2001 tour of India

Kuldeep Yadav's hat trick in the second ODI of the ongoing series against Australia made me recall a similar feat achieved by a young Harbhajan Singh at the Eden Gardens against the same opposition.

Though he was more successful in Test cricket, Harbhajan was one of the regulars in the ODI squad as well, especially after the retirement of arguably the greatest Indian spinner ever, Anil Kumble. The emergence of Ravichandran Ashwin as the frontline spinner and Ravindra Jadeja as a reliable option to bowl a full quota of overs have annihilated Bhajji's chances of a return.

265 ODI wickets is no mean feat, but the selectors can't be blamed if they feel Bhajji is past his prime, especially since he is 37. The presence of young guns Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal and now Kuldeep means Harbhajan has a mountain to climb to get back on the selectors' radar. But knowing how tenacious he can be, one cannot simply write him off, until the Turbanator himself hangs up his boots i.e!

Gautam Gambhir:

Elegant, classy and effective, but what about lucky?

Yes, Rahul Dravid was the analogue of Christopher Nolan's Batman in the Indian team. But if there is another man to rival Dravid's claim to the throne, then it is certainly the Delhi lad Gautam Gambhir.

Going about his task in silence, his accumulating innings were often overshadowed by his more flamboyant teammates: be it his 75 in the 2007 WT20 final, his consistent performances Down Under in 2008, or the 97 in the 2011 WC Final. Though he has been charismatic while leading KKR in the IPL, producing inspiring innings on a regular basis, he has not quite been on the radar of the selectors.

Among all the players on this list, Gambhir perhaps has the least chance of clawing his way back into the team, because of a multitude of reasons: he's almost 36, and will be past 37 by the time of the next WC; he is an opening batsman, and out of all the areas, India's opening department is of the least concern due to the well-established pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan; and finally, due to his spats with current Indian team skipper Virat Kohli in the IPL.

Although he deserves a farewell series for his contributions, much like anyone else on this list, the chances of that happening are quite slim.

Yuvraj Singh:

The Warrior: In every sense of the word

The hero who ended India's 28-year long wait for a World Cup, and above everything, the inspiration to thousands of cancer survivors all over the globe: yes, he is the perennial fighter, Yuvraj Singh.

From his debut in the 2000 ICC Knockout Cup to his belligerent knock against a hapless Pakistani bowling in the recently-concluded Champions Trophy, Yuvraj has given Indian fans plenty of memories to cherish - my personal favourite still being the 2001 Natwest Trophy triumph which made me a fan of the game forever.

Yuvraj stormed back into the Champions Trophy team on the back of some scintillating knocks in the domestic circuit, but couldn't retain his place in the side owing to some indifferent performances.

He has been 'rested' for the ongoing series against Australia which means he is still in the thick of things. Things which may work against him are his age, his diminishing fielding prowess and the fact that he isn't rolling his arm these days. But given his experience, the natural penchant for hitting big and the never-say-die attitude, he may eventually get back his no. 4 spot, where he revelled in in the past.