Indian cricket: Opportunity during adversity

India’s Shikhar Dhawan celebrates his century during the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy One Day International (ODI) cricket match between India and West Indies at The Oval in London, England on June 11, 2013.

As I write, India has already clinically won four games on the trot in the Champions Trophy being held in England, two of them being friendlies. MS Dhoni’s boys have not only lived up to the expectations of being World Champions, but have also ensured a berth in the semi-finals of this marquee tournament; this is going to be their first semi-final appearance since 2002.

I must say that there’s something about this Indian team that I missed when the squad was first announced in May. Perhaps not the greatest line-up on paper in terms of experience, there were enough apprehensions when the likes of Yuvraj and Gambhir didn’t find a place in the final squad. However, the younger players have reveled in such a scenario and have sufficiently done their bit to prove a number of detractors wrong. Standing out in that list have been three men – Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja.

Ever since he scored that blistering debut Test hundred against Australia at Mohali earlier this year, there has been no looking back for Shikhar Dhawan. He has notched up two back-to-back ODI hundreds against South Africa and West Indies in alien conditions. It’s not just the hundreds, but the manner in which he scored them that stands out; and considering that he opened the innings, from the team’s point of view, it led to the foundation that helped in setting up the score in the first match and chasing down a tricky target in the second game.

I admit that I am not a big fan of Rohit Sharma, purely because I feel that he is such a waste of talent. His lazy elegance that has been heralded by pundits has often led to his downfall. With his tendency to play late, it’s often led to him playing down the wrong line or getting played on. No one can forget the horrendous tour to Sri Lanka that reaped him eleven runs in five matches less than a year ago. To still find himself in the ODI setup proves that he has been provided a longer rope than others and this might just be that moment in time where he starts making the most of the chances. His stable partnership with Dhawan at the top of the order ensured that the danger of the two new balls from both the ends was negated almost perfectly. While I do believe that he could have used his half centuries as launch pads for bigger scores, credit must go to whosoever in the team management thought that Rohit could be made into an opener. Considering the fact that Rohit has that little bit of extra time to play his shots and enjoys the ball coming onto his bat, opening might just be the ideal place for him. Is this going to be a new lease of life for Rohit Sharma? Only time can answer that question.

Ravindra Jadeja, much like Rohit, has been one of MS Dhoni’s stubborn and persistent choices. And over the past few months, anything that ‘Sir’ Jadeja has touched has turned to gold. During the recently-concluded Test series against Australia, it was a tremendous statement on Dhoni’s part when he said that he would bat at no. 6 in Test matches if Jadeja was playing, in order to protect the youngster till he found his feet in Test cricket. Gestures such as these often go a long way to provide that reassurance and self-belief to a player. Although Dhoni has often been criticized for over-backing Jadeja, this time around, the young lad from Saurashtra has been a wonderful addition to the Indian set-up, taking up the role of the attacking or containing fifth bowler, depending on the situation.

LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 11: Ravindra Jadeja of India celebrates his fifth wicket with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni during the ICC Champions Trophy Group B match between India and West Indies

There’s something about the Champions Trophy that Team India is going to miss after this edition concludes and the tournament is wrapped up for good. It was in 2000, when it was still called the ‘ICC Knock-Out’, that India, under the inspirational leadership of Sourav Ganguly, reached the finals only to lose out narrowly to New Zealand, with the latter winning their only ICC trophy till date. It’s worth noting that that particular edition was around the time the match-fixing scandal first hit Indian cricket, which faced an all-time low. The previous captain’s name was under the scanner and a legendary former cricketer-turned-coach had serious allegations leveled against him. It was under these circumstances that Ganguly and his boys chipped in with stellar performances to reassure the fans that all wasn’t rotten. They say that adversity gives birth to champions; and that year in Nairobi, two exceptional cricketing talents were born in the form of Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan.

Indian cricket faces a similar situation now; a double-World Cup winning cricketer just got released on bail with charges of spot-fixing looming over his head. There are concerns about the functioning of the country’s cricket board with most board members finding themselves in a situation of conflict of interests where it’s almost natural for bias to creep into their decision-making. The average fan is riddled with doubt and apprehensions about the game’s future. But if Dhoni’s young brigade can go on to lift the Champions Trophy come June 24th, it will be nothing short of a miracle that might leave a lasting impact. After Nairobi, India’s glorious era lasted right till 2005, and the hurt from the match-fixing episode healed over time.

The wounds have reopened and a lot of ointment needs to be applied, and many fans need to be assuaged. It’s a great opportunity for MS Dhoni to make us believe that all isn’t lost; and that like a phoenix, Indian cricket shall rise again.