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Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal has said that India’s success in international cricket over the past few years has had a lot to do with the importance they have given to red-ball cricket.
Team India are currently the top-ranked side in the game, as per the official ICC Test match ratings. They are set to face New Zealand in the World Test Championship (WTC) final in Southampton next month.
Speaking on his official YouTube channel, Kamran Akmal pointed out that, except MS Dhoni, all other big names in Indian cricket from the 90s and 2000s retired after playing Test cricket. According to the 39-year-old, that fact proves that India have had their priorities in the right place. Kamran Akmal elaborated in this regard:
“India have not compromised on their red-ball cricket. At school level, India have two-day, three-day cricket. Today, they have a pool of 50 players because Indian cricket has given a lot of importance to Test cricket. Among all the legends of Indian cricket, except MS Dhoni, no one has retired after playing white-ball cricket. All the others played a Test match as their last one. That gives us a great idea of their vision: how to build a team, how to bring in players into the Indian set-up.”
While MS Dhoni retired from Test cricket at the end of 2014, his last international game was the 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly all exited the international stage after playing Test matches.
India’s domestic players enter international cricket with 4-5 years of experience: Kamran Akmal
Kamran Akmal further pointed out that India have a strong domestic structure, and most of the players already have experience of a few years before they arrive in international cricket. Kamran Akmal said in this regard:
“Their white-ball or List A players, when they enter the international scene, they have already played 40 to 50 games. Take the example of Suryakumar Yadav, who recently made his India debut after a long wait. Most of these players have a minimum domestic experience of four to five years. When they come into the Indian team, they are already mature enough.”
Kamran Akmal also lauded the likes of Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble for giving back to Indian cricket by coaching and mentoring younger players.
“The mindset of Indian cricket is commendable. Look at all the Indian legends from the 90s - from Rahul Dravid to Anil Kumble to VVS Laxman - all of them are involved in Indian cricket in some way or the other. That is helping the new generation. And this not just for IPL; they keep an eye on domestic cricket as well, be it Virender Sehwag or Yuvraj Singh. They (India) haven’t changed their (brand of) cricket, but they have elevated their existing level,” Kamran Akmal elaborated.
Dravid is likely to coach the Indian limited-overs team in Sri Lanka. India’s white-ball specialists will take on the Lankans in three ODIs and as many T20Is in the build-up to the T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held later in the year.
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