Audacious performers

If one was looking for bright sparks from Indian cricket in the New Year, two men from different eras and differing ages have set the pitch on fire, literally. Watching Gen Next — Shubman Gill — and old guard Virat Kohli explode on the giant stage has come as a whiff of fresh air at a time when entire India is battling the cold wave.

It does not matter whether you live in the North, South, East or West, cricket has been a unifying factor in many ways. These days, when there are top-class cricket grounds all over India, it is satisfying that the public gets to see such explosive bursts from the Top Guns in Team India.

This is an important year for Indian cricket, with so much riding on the hosts of the ICC World Cup (ODI format). Expectations are that India will do well at home, perhaps a reminder of what happened in 2011 when skipper MS Dhoni and coach Gary Kirsten plotted the great victory, which culminated at the Wankhede Stadium on April 2, 2011.

Dhoni always used to talk about how cricketers who play in the World Cup should have a minimum experience of 100 ODIs under their belt. That may have been a bit of old school thought since, these days, for sheer volume of cricket played, you are not going to get fresh-as-spring cricketers to play with that amount of experience. Why? Because fitness has become a major issue.

Shubman Gill is, indeed, the best example of a youngster who is daring, audacious and exemplifies fearless batting which can leave you clutching at your heart muscles if you are not used to such high adrenaline stuff. At a time when there are vague comparisons being made that T20 cricket has captured the audience and the ODIs are dead, it is good we have two men who are pushing so hard, ODIs have become vastly different.

Sample this, when India won the World Cup in 1983 at Lord’s under Kapil Dev, the overall score of the team was below 200. Today, a young boy, 23 years of age and with just an experience of 19 ODIs, steps out at the Uppal in Hyderabad and hammers a double hundred. This was not some club match on view nor was this some meek team. This was against the Black Caps from New Zealand who know enough about white-ball cricket.

Gill has been a force to reckon with since his younger days when he was part of the under-19 squad. Yet, to come out firing on all cylinders and hammer a double hundred was guts glorified. It had commentators in raptures and the audience, inside the arena and billions watching on television, felt the pulse of the match. This was explosive, this was daring and this was audacious.

Obviously, this is a sort of second innings for Shubman who was part of Team India earlier and then dropped by the wayside. In the old days, once dropped meant you were of scrap value in Indian cricket. Many careers ended like that, unceremoniously. Today, there has been a paradigm shift, for the better. If you are performing in domestic cricket, you do get a call up and if you have worked on your game, then selectors are bound to take notice.

After all, even Prithvi Shaw has served notice of his intent and his triple hundred in Ranji Trophy has led to a comeback. There are some who will argue red-ball cricket and white-ball cricket are different. Well, the modern-day cricketer has to adapt, adjust and innovate, which is why someone like SKY — Surya Kumar Yadav — is now being considered a must for all formats. Agreed, workload management is a big factor but if you are going to inhibit the cricket of Shaw and Gill, that makes no sense. The people who choose the core team for the ODI World Cup are aware, a lot will boil down to fitness and form before the World Cup. That does not mean you are going to hold a trial. Anyone who hammers a double hundred is gold standard and deserves to be marked out as special. That’s Gill.

There are a few guys who hammered the double hundred in ODIs before him, which includes Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, current ODI captain Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan. This is a unique club, men who hammer the ball or tonk the ball. For sheer variety and aggression, Gill reminded us of all the former greats who believed that a cricket ball is there to be whacked. There is a method in his approach and you have to compliment him for soaking in the pressure. Scoring a 100 is a big deal but to convert it into a double century shows mindset and control over nerves. That is why when we talk of exciting players, all of a sudden Indian batters seem to be in abundance.

To be sure, the average fan may get carried away, believing that India has marauders who can tear apart any attack. That would be foolhardy, for the competition level in the World Cup will be different where teams like Australia, England, potent Pakistan and some more teams will come prepared well. There is talk from legends like R Ashwin how to counter the dew factor; play must resume early in the World Cup in India. All that which forms playing conditions will be worked out in coming months.

Right now, there is reason to celebrate the batters who are going bananas. One has to talk about these emotions being produced by cricketers with passion, for sport minus passion is like watching a movie without dialogues. This is where the evolution of Virat Kohli comes in for praise, even more. Words fail to describe his magic, for he does things which are not about being a normal person.

The reincarnation of Kohli began last year in the Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates. From there, he changed gears when he went to the ICC World Cup T20 in Australia and then showed intent, aggression and a voracious appetite. It compares with some human from Somalia who has not seen food. It’s that kind of a starvation mode and then getting to make a meal of it which has seen Kohli blossom. Imagine, in winter, when flowers and leaves dry up, this man comes across as refreshing as a spring-rose. He has mocked critics and he has shown that age is just a number.

For sheer fitness levels, concentration and his ability to use experience and power as a fine blend, Kohli has been growing from strength to strength. You will still find some cranky critics saying that scoring against weak teams is no big deal. But then, this former India captain is like the monk who meditates inwards, unmindful of whatever happens external. He has discovered that if batting be a state of attaining nirvana, he is getting better and better. There is more punch, more taste, like classiest wines which come at a premium.

To think that Virat Kohli is doing this for records is perhaps the most pathetic thought. He has been a team man and when he scores, he shows hunger and performs for Team India. As he keeps adding to his tally of centuries, 74 in all, across various international formats, comparisons are being made with Sachin Tendulkar. That is the most irrational thing because the two men are so different. They are different people and so much has changed in these last few years.

Each champion has his own insignia, his own imprint. What Sachin Tendulkar did will never be forgotten, what Virat Kohli is doing is incredible. And if you still want a hypothetical debate on when he should retire, that’s bizarre. Kohli is in the team on form, on merit and by sheer weight of performance. Mind you, he is setting the benchmark, he is pushing the youngsters harder in Team India. You have to enjoy the batting of Kohli as he is doing things which seemed impossible.

Longevity plus creativity plus aggression, he has shown he can explode like a dynamite. He works like crazy on fitness, has a food diet which is so hard, and defines what it is to have match fitness. He has been pushing his body beyond the limits. Indian cricket is blessed to have the experience of Kohli today. All one needs now is to see skipper Rohit Sharma also start peaking. You can expect that from him, perhaps not from KL Rahul, who is excess baggage in Team India.