Indian cricket: Opportunity during adversity

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.