ডাকবাংলা

The adrenaline rush following India’s most memorable season continues unabated. From Australia in November to Pune in March has been an emotional roller-coaster, the magnitude of India’s accomplishments highlighted by extenuating circumstances. Despite having been part of bio-secure bubbles myself, I can’t even imagine what the players have had to endure over the last eight months — starting with the IPL — as they have flitted from one bubble to another.

The highlight of the season has to be the Test series win in Australia. To me, that will remain India’s greatest Test series triumph. To bounce back the way they did, especially after the Adelaide meltdown and without their captain for the last three Tests against a full-strength Australian side in their own backyard, was little short of extraordinary. Significantly, the result was fashioned by a host of young guns and newcomers, which augurs well for the future.

The undisputed star of the show, across formats, has to be Rishabh Pant. His growing maturity and situational awareness manifested itself each time he batted. Equally significantly, I am amazed at the grand strides he has made as a wicketkeeper, especially on difficult pitches at home against England during the Tests when he was scarcely troubled by appreciable turn and unpredictable bounce.

India can also take pride in their conquest of England in both white-ball formats. To tame the world’s top-ranked side on flat pitches despite losing seven of eight tosses speaks to the character and resilience of a team that has clearly been massively influenced by the infusion of positivity from head coach Ravi Shastri. A welcome development is the flexibility in the batting order and Virat Kohli’s sustained willingness to bat out of his comfort zone.

There still are a couple of areas of concern, though, pertaining to limited-overs cricket. With three World Cups lined up over the next two and a half years, there is a pressing need to ensure the presence of a sixth bowling option at all times. More alarming is the steady decline in the quality of spin bowling in the 50-over format, specifically. Lack of skill-sets will be exposed more damningly in this variant. Yuzvendra Chahal seems to have lost the confidence of the team management and Kuldeep Yadav has been out of sorts for a while. 

With the 50-over World Cup more than two years away, it is imperative that the net is cast far and wide and personnel capable of taking wickets in the middle overs identified and persisted with so that they grow into their roles by the time of the mega event. A word of praise for Nitin Menon is in order. He is in his early days as an international umpire but his composure and decision-making have been impeccable, and I see him having a long and illustrious career at the highest level. 

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