The shortest summary of the English campaign thus far may well carry the proverbial “what might have been” adage. How else can you describe their stunning capitulation after the impressive start in Rajkot. Success breeds success, as does failures too. Sadly, the show at Rajkot has now been consigned to an aberration. In the space of a month, their chances have gone pear shaped. And with it, the promise of an enervating series has vanished suddenly like the December mist.
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As we look through the series the contrasting fortunes of the Indian debutants emerge. Thrown into the deep end of this hard old sport after years of hard “yakka”, sweat and toil, Karun Nair and Jayant Yadav have experienced contrasting fortunes. While the latter has taken to Test cricket like duck to water, the former appears to be stuck in a quicksand.
Yadav’s real test however, begins with heightened expectations from unforgiving fans. His success has been a stark contrast to the nervous mindset of Karun Nair. The young Karnataka batsman, who, despite bucket loads of runs in domestic cricket (the triple ton in the 2014 Ranji Trophy final against Tamil Nadu being an apparent example) seemingly carried a "zoo full" of butterflies in his stomach.
At Mumbai, when all and sundry - barring KL Rahul - filled their boots, Nair endured another failure.
He may choose to see the silver lining as the team is winning and hence, is not made a scapegoat. The downside however, for a young batting debutant is that one does not get too many second inning digs to compensate and further stake his claim. That said, a packed calendar and injuries to Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane could well translate to he being accorded a longer rope than usual to display his prowess.
Grooming cadets to success
I can't help but look back on my fellow contemporary Virender Sehwag, who as a debutante at the turn of the millennium, was ably shepherded by the then skipper Saurav Ganguly. The “Prince of Kolkata”, aside from having an eye to spot talent, also possessed an encouraging heart for the right horse.
I vividly recall a team meeting on the eve of a game versus New Zealand in Colombo in August 2001. Ganguly’s patience was wearing thin and he did not mince words while making the matter clear to Sehwag. Viru had to convert his apparent talent with tangible returns. History will recall what ensued next as a hundred from 60 balls and Viru never looked back since.
A lesser batsman might have folded with that kind of ultimatum, but not Sehwag. He went on to get a century on his Test match debut in 2001 at Bloemfontein in South Africa when batting at number 6. Lesser talents need longer ropes and yours truly suffered a sleepless night on the eve of my Test match debut in Zimbabwe while being pitchforked as a stop-gap opener.
To Ganguly’s credit, I was groomed at a vulnerable number 5 and 6 in ODI's. Despite carrying an image of a bristling, hard as nails skipper, he had his own ways with players - succour and timely. I was thus able to hold my own.
It is in that elusive endeavour that the current set up of Anil Kumble and Virat Kohli need to continue to embark upon. Sending the right signals of hope and promise to aspirants and comeback men is a vital key to future success.
Handled by velvet gloves and nourished by constant encouragements, India can help its cause to create a good bench strength. For, it would be surely and sorely needed in foreign shores, come winter 2017. Thus far, the job appears well done and the duo needs to be lauded.
As I cast my mind on the career upswing of Murali Vijay, who, despite a ton in Bangalore in late 2009 against the might of Australia, was almost lost after a poor showing in the West Indies in 2011. His career was resurrected by an able management in 2013 and India has since reaped rewards.
The opener, by virtue of a second ton in this series, has become the first in the pecking order in the long list of openers in a long drawn season. And in the process, he has shut a few carping naysayers.
As for KL Rahul - another recent greenhorn with overseas centuries to boot - has surprisingly lost his rhythm. And injuries aren’t helping his cause either. By adopting an adventurous approach as an opener, he seems rushed and in doing so, has squandered recent opportunities at home. It is here that the support of the team management plays a big role.
Any youngster is bound to feel the pressure with several potential openers breathing down one’s neck. Players live in a blinkered bubble of sacrifices. They stave off immense competition from others and selves, quelling gremlins and ghosts in the process. Attrition rates are high when the team management, in conjunction with selectors, possess myopic vision in not handling rookies and fragile temperaments with care.
The team management, when seeking band-aid solutions in a climate of mistrust, end up fiddling with the careers of the "has been's” and consign them to “might have been 's”. Such players, when spotted and discarded in a jiffy without proper chances to express their skill, begin to believe the doubts and not so much their abilities. In KL Rahul’s case, should the think tank assuage and calm his nerves, the team would be the biggest beneficiary as the best years are ahead of him.
Virat 's Bradmanesque appetite and the Chennai duo
In notching his third double ton in six months, Virat Kohli has eclipsed his own poor displays on the 2014 England tour. The watershed was breached in Adelaide in late 2014, when he orchestrated a near-impossible chase with ethereal batsmanship. It is almost surreal that Virat Kohli, who oozed shining brilliance at T20 cricket with four hundreds in IPL #9 can adapt so superbly with unreal orthodoxy. He is simply incapable of ‘ugly runs’.
Meanwhile, Ashwin has raised his own bar of achievement. And Tamil Nadu cricket cannot be more proud in the manner in which two of its cricketing sons in Vijay and Ashwin have joined forces. They carry their performances to Chennai - a city battered and bruised in the aftermath of Cyclone Vardah - at the most opportune time.
The duo’s purple patch will surely ensure that their fellow “Madrasis" are offered a platter of delightful cricket to delight and mitigate the calamitous hardship endured lately.
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