The Indian Cricket Team is in red hot form at the moment, and have handed a real pasting to the England side in the ongoing series. After their dominant performances in their Test series, the ODI series has followed the same template.
Any team is only as good as its players, and thus it is only fair to give due credit to the selectors for having done a stellar job in their selection meetings. Theirs is a thankless job, and when the side is not doing well, they receive undue flak from all quarters. Hence, now when the team is in the midst of a purple patch, they deserve all the credit for selecting a number of players and then giving them a long rope across all formats.
Here in this list we take a look at 5 players who got all the success in the ongoing season and one of the main reasons was the confidence shown in them both by the selectors and then the team management.
#5 Jayant Yadav
The Haryana off-spinner was one of the finds for the Indian cricket in Test matches. Drafted in the playing XI in place of Amit Mishra against England, he took to Test cricket like a duck takes to water.
He made his Test debut in Vishakhapatnam and immediately earned praise for his temperament. With the bat he looked assured and had a solid techinque which gave India a cushion later on in the batting order.
With the ball he was tight and prized out many crucial wickets at important junctures. Towards the end of the series he scored 1 century and claimed 9 wickets. He displayed immense promise and could be an exciting prospect in the coming years for India.
#4 Hardik Pandya
The Indian Cricket Team’s perennial search for an all-rounder has been a well documented one. Many players have come in but have soon fizzled out.
However, this search could end with the promise and performances of Hardik Pandya. The Baroda-lad caught the eyes of the selectors with his brilliant performances in the Indian Premier League for the Mumbai Indians.
He was included in India’s T20 squad for both the Australia as well as the World T20. However, a very poor IPL 2016 saw him drop out of favour, but he made his comeback into the Indian ODI team after having given a good account of himself in the India A squad.
Ever since his comeback he has shown tremendous improvement with both bat and ball. He generally takes the new ball and does a decent job with it.
With the bat he has acheived far more assurance and looks stable at the crease. His innings in the first ODI against England was played under pressure and he dragged the team across the line.
Promising signs indeed, and a big thumbs up to the selectors!
#3 Kedar Jadhav
The Maharashtra man has been one of the most consistent performers in Domestic circuit and keeps on churning out runs for fun. However, he never made it to the top level owing to lack of spots in the Indian team.
Things finally took a turn for the better when the selectors decided to stick with him for the New Zealand series in which he displayed admirable promise with the bat. Coming down at number 6 or 7, he gave the late impetus to the innings.
Apart from this, he was a surprise package with the ball and bowled many tight spells in the middle overs.
This convinced the selectors and the team management to give him a go in the ongoing series against England, and in the first ODI he produced one of the most stunning innings ever played by an Indian batsmen in ODI innings in the recent past.
His innings of 120 in Pune wrested the match away from England, and his partnership with Virat Kohli would go down as one for the ages.
#2 Karun Nair
This has been a season of sterling first-impressions, which is a testament to the belief of the management in the ability of the young players.
Karun Nair created history when he scored an amazing triple century in the final Test match against England in Chennai. He did not have a very good debut, but the management decided to stick with him for the final Test and this belief yielded dividends when the Karnataka boy became only the second Indian to score a triple century.
#1 Yuvraj Singh
The selection of Yuvraj Singh for the limited overs leg against England induced plenty of debates and divided a lot of opinions.
Fans and pundits believed that the step of picking a 35-year old was a step backwards, and that this opportunity could have been given to a young prospect.
However, the selectors believed that Yuvraj deserved the inclusion owing to his Ranji form and his experience. Even captain Virat Kohli backed the stalwart to the hilt.
The southpaw did not disappoint either, and he wound the clock back in Cuttack when he smashed 150 and annihilated the England attack. His partnership with MS Dhoni evoked plenty of emotions for the Indian fans, and the selectors decision to bring back Yuvraj stood vindicated.
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