Young guns manifest the richness of Indian cricket
Insane hitting by batsmen, especially in the death overs, has been one of the major talking points of the IPL’s second week. Power-hitters like Rohit, Rahul and Samson from the top order, and Pollard and Hardik Pandya as finishers, have peppered the grounds with sixes galore.
Then there is Rahul Tewatia, who hit five sixes in an over to transform defeat into victory for Rajasthan over Punjab, making a Himalayan target of 223 look like a stroll in the park. And Watson, Warner, Russell, Bairstow, Morgan and Pant — who binge on sixes — haven’t yet got into full throttle!
Interestingly, while flat pitches, fast outfields and small grounds (Sharjah) have enabled several scores of 200+ plus already, apart from two stirring Super Over finishes, bowlers haven’t exactly been rendered inconsequential.
Shami, Cummins, Rabada among pacemen and Chahal and Rashid among spinners have been quite superb. If they’ve sometimes still finished on the losing side, it is because their batsmen failed them.
For India’s superstars, it’s been a mixed bag so far. Rohit has hit splendid form and, after losing the first match, has inspired Mumbai to the top of the table as much with his batting as tactical nous in crunch situations.
M.S. Dhoni was able to lift his batting form against Sunrisers yet is still short of the vigour of old that would help him win matches off his own bat. His problems are compounded by the fact that CSK are also bottom of the points table currently.
That RCB were able to clinch a thrilling Super Over climax against Mumbai Indians, and the he hit the winning shot, is only small redemption for Virat Kohli. He’s otherwise had three batting failures in a row, and despite two victories, RCB still look undercooked.
The highlight of the past week for me, however has been the performance of young Indian players, manifesting the richness of cricket talent in the country as well as the role played by the IPL in exposing them to the world.
Take the match between CSK and SRH on Friday. While Warner and Rashid played big roles in the team’s success, it was the rollicking partnership between 19-year-old Priyam Garg and 2o-yearold Abhishek which turned around.
All looked lost when Warner and Williamson were dismissed off successive deliveries before Garg and Sharma played with great intrepidity to break CSK’s stranglehold. SRH’s young bowlers Natarajan, Khaleel and Samad played their part splendidly too.
This is not an isolated example where India’s youngsters have shone. KKR, who have invested in Shubhman Gill, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi and Varun Chakravarthy have started reaping rewards already.
Gill is becoming widely regarded as India’s best young batsman. Coach Ravi Shastri, who I spoke to, thinks very highly of
Sharma things him and sees him as someone who should be a “regular fixture for India in all formats.’’
Leg spinners Ravi Bishnoi (Punjab) and Rahul Chahar (Mumbai) have caught the eye too even if they haven’t claimed as many wickets as Chahal or Rashid.
Getting into a slightly older age group, there is Navdeep Saini, Sanju Samson, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer who are also serving their teams with great efficiency, some of them with excellence.
A bulk of these players have come from the under19 teams, but the IPL showcases their talent to India’s selectors, coaches and captain whose business it is to track performances of players, especially youngsters. The importance of the IPL in fast-tracking players into the Indian team is evident from what’s happened in the past 12 years: R. Ashwin, Rahane, Jadeja, Rahul, even Rohit and Kohli to an extent have benefited from playing in the league.
Of course, not everybody who has excelled in the IPL has made it to the India team or been able to sustain a place, as the examples of Paul Valthaty, Manpreet Gony, Pawan Negi and several others highlights.
Having got the platform and the attention, it is still up to the player to make the most of the opportunity. An India career does not come free, whatever the earnings in the IPL.