India’s World Cup glory brought great joy to a cricket-crazy nation
The 2011 Cricket World Cup was one that brought great joy to the entire nation and left us in a cricket frenzy. Everything was just perfect – beating the 3-time defending champions Australia in the quarter-final, then fierce rivals Pakistan in the semi-final. But the story wasn’t going to end here. The resistant Lankan lions were waiting to face India in an All-Asian final which co-incidentally was being played on Asian soil. India fought against all odds and a resilient 97 by Gautam Gambhir and a dazzling match winning knock by skipper MS Dhoni was enough to give this story a fairy-tale ending. The man who had achieved everything but this, Sachin Tendulkar won the World Cup on his home turf at the Wankhede. That day will be written in golden letters in Indian Cricket history, and will never be forgotten.
But the past is the past. If winning the World Cup in India was a difficult task, then winning one in Australia will be next to impossible. The bouncy pitches are not something our players are accustomed to, which was very evident in India’s Tour of Australia in December 2011. Moreover, the presence of veteran cricketer and Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar is very unlikely. Also, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag and even Yuvraj Singh for that matter are ageing and have been struck by injuries and illnesses.
Therefore, we will have to take a look at youngsters who are not only talented, but are also able to handle pressure and adapt to the situations Down Under. Virat Kohli has risen through the ranks and has been able to prove his versatility and ability on the big stage. Suresh Raina has been a player who has strung some great performances together and taken up the role of a finisher. But there are other players like Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwary, Cheteshwar Pujara and many more who are yet to prove their mettle. Even Rohit Sharma is in the contention, but his form of late has certainly let him down and second thoughts are emerging in the minds of the selectors and fans regarding his future. Ravindra Jadeja and Irfan Pathan will also compete for a place because of their all-round skills.
In the bowling department, new spinners have emerged like Rahul Sharma, Pragyan Ojha and R Ashwin, but the Aussie and New Zealand conditions aren’t spinner friendly and spinners might not have a huge role to play. Looking at the pace department, there is hope in the form of speedsters Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron who can bowl at brisk pace and instill fear in the mind of the batsman. This is something new for Indian Cricket. Still, these two will have to prove accurate and deadly together. We also have bowlers like Vinay Kumar, Praveen Kumar, Ashok Dinda, Abhimanyu Mithun and many more who are looking to get a place in the Indian line-up. So the selectors must make sure they give all of these a chance, so that comparisons can be made and the best can stake their claim in the side.
India has to test all of these players before the World Cup and the upcoming series against New Zealand might be a good platform for the young blood to step up. Towards the end of the year, we have series’ against England and Australia at home which will be challenging tasks.
But the big question is – ‘Can India perform the same way away from home?’
Yes, India’s performance at home on flat and low tracks is remarkable. But, the real test lies away from home on pacy and bouncy tracks where almost all of players have failed in the recent past. The Tour of England last year is something no Indian fan would like to remember. Even the Australia tour was a disappointment. India was whitewashed by England at home and couldn’t make it to the Finals of the Tri-Series in Australia. So, a big challenge lies up ahead.
There is still a lot of time to build the squad before the next World Cup and who knows, some youngsters may emerge from the ashes and do something spectacular. For this, we must remain patient and start planning about the future right from the word go.