In an elite league, and loving it
MUMBAI: Youngsters with the dream of playing for India know what it means to get a Test cap. All anonymity will vanish overnight as they are accorded pride of place in a cricket-mad nation’s consciousness. One must shed butterflies in the stomach and make it count. A debut away from home, that too in daunting Australia, can demand all that and much more of a newcomer.
On Sunday, two of them—one made a forgettable debut in 2018—looked at home, in Australia’s fortress that is Gabba, and against the world’s best bowling attack. Washington Sundar, the debutant, and Shardul Thakur, in his second Test, knew they were not even second choices on this tour. They also know once Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja report fit, they would be relegated to the reserves, to their state teams.
Sunday though was about living in the moment. Sundar and Thakur seemed to embody the confidence and awareness IPL has helped instill in the current set. Rarely has a domestic player drafted into the team at the last minute showed he belongs at the highest level. Australia is often about intimidation and meek surrenders. Take the 1999 tour. As India were beaten by massive margins in all three Tests, nervousness in MSK Prasad, Devang Gandhi, Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Vijay Bharadwaj, picked as back-up for Sachin Tendulkar,
Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, was evident.
Ricky Ponting played in that series; he predicted India will lose 0-4 after the 36 at Adelaide. But the calm assurance of Thakur and Sundar was a breath of fresh air. India faced a huge first innings deficit in reply to Australia’s 369, but the seventh-wicket stand almost got India level.
The mindset change has been stunning and experts see the IPL impact on how Sundar and Thakur soaked in the pressure. “For the last seven-eight years I’m part of IPL and see so many youngsters doing well at the highest level,” said former India batsman Pravin Amre, an assistant coach with Delhi Capitals.
“They are sharing the dugout with legends. That improves their confidence. They believe they belong at that level. I compare myself with these players, and we suffered due to that. We used to respect the players, but sometimes it became a complex. The current players believe in themselves,” said Amre, who played 11 Tests in the 1990s.
Playing for high-profile franchises—thakur is with CSK and Sundar is in Rcb—has its own pressure and they have benefitted. “Both are in teams where big leaders (MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli) are there, they know the expectations. They are not the main players in their teams, so have limited opportunities. You can’t survive in IPL unless you have the attitude. Pushing yourself when the chips are down,” said Amre, who was Mumbai Ranji Trophy coach when Thakur made his debut in 2012.