9 March,2015.England faced one of the most humiliating days in their cricketing history as they were knocked out of the 2015 ICC World Cup in the group stage itself by an inspired Bangladeshi side. Fast forward the clock a year and England were the finalists of the 2016 World T20.
So what changed for England that in a year they transformed from an under-performing team to a world beating one. One conspicuous change was the influx of youngsters in the team which shed the baggage of old performances and brought in a bundle of energy. The ebullience of youth brought the fearlessness required for the shorter formats of the game and the results followed.
Can India follow the cue?
Though Indian team hasn’t by any means touched the nadir in the limited overs setup that England did in 2015 but still it seems a great option for them at present to follow England’s cue. The next ICC tournament is a year away, which is the Champions trophy and the ODI World Cup is in 2019 and the World T20 in 2020. There is enough time with the Indian team to build a team looking at the future.
It is better for India to not get to the phase Sri Lanka found themselves in , where they had the compulsion to bring in the youngsters after the retirement of their stalwarts. What this has done to the Sri Lankan team is that it has reduced the quality of the players making the cut to the international team.
India will do well to bring in the youngsters at a time when they have the luxury to face a few failures and have some experienced professionals to seek advice from.
Let the deserving youngsters take their spot
The old foxes like Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Nehra and Harbhajan Singh might not be the best bets considering the long term scenario. However hard Yuvraj tried in his comeback, he still seemed a shadow of his old self. Nehra looked the best Indian bowler on show in the World T20 but it will be a ninth wonder if he stays fit till the next World T20 four years from now.
Considering the future, India will be better off investing in young spinners than bringing back Harbhajan for the shorter formats. And India has enough talent in all departments to fill in the big shoes of the senior stalwarts.
Shreyas Iyer is making runs for fun at the domestic level and he seems perfectly capable of making a successful transition to the highest level. Some years of ignorance from the selectors can make him rust at the domestic circuit.
Karun Nair is another such talent who has performed enough at the domestic level to demand a chance at the highest level. Why not blood them now in the national team when they are at the zenith of their confidence and at an age to afford failures? The presence of these youngsters will ensure that players in the national team are kept on their toes.
With India’s spinning cupboard seemingly empty after Ashwin and Jadeja, India can give a chance to Kuldeep Yadav who practices an art rarely seen and can be difficult for batsmen to read. A chinaman in the team can add a completely new dimension to the side.
A few years ago a talented spinner named Harmeet Singh was lost to the system which didn’t give him chances at the right time, India will be happy to avoid the same mistake.
Even in the fast bowling department, instead of going back to the likes of Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav who never seem to reach the next level, India can give chances to Jasprit Bumrah and Nathu Singh.
We have all seen what Bumrah can do with the ball and there must be something in the young Nathu Singh which made Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir take special notice of him. Also fast bowlers are better off introduced at a young age when they are free from niggles.
Let Virat Kohli take control of the young side
MS Dhoni remains one of India’s best limited overs player and captain.There is no valid reason for him to not play for the national team when he is fit as a fiddle and hungry to score runs. But looking at the future and the young team India can build, Virat Kohli seems to be the best bet to lead the side.
The aggression of Kohli can rub on the youngsters and he will bring in fresh ideas with his captaincy. Dhoni’s calmness might have been best suited with an established team but with a young team, it might be a good step to let the aggressive Kohli take over from the wily and calm Dhoni.
India has proven senior talents like Virat, Dhoni, Ashwin and Rohit in the limited overs side. But there are also players like Raina, Dhawan and Umesh who perform at a consistency level way below the one required at the international level.
India can build a team with the performing senior players as its nucleus and the youngsters completing the cell. They have both the time and talent to do the same.
