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Heralding a new era

Changes brought under Rahul Dravid’s coaching in his short stint looks convincing in making Indian cricket more inclusive and less burdensome

Heralding a new era
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To get the Test cap from Sunny Gavaskar must have been a very special moment for Shreyas Iyer at Green Park — a venue whose history and geography is quite familiar to the master opener. Kanpur has been a dusty and polluted city for decades. If something was needed to brighten up the atmosphere, it was a classy century on debut, which Shreyas Iyer delivered for India, against New Zealand.

Tongues were wagging before the first Test when the stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane announced that Shreyas would be making his debut. Tongues are still wagging as the joke now is if Shreyas, 26, will be putting pressure on regulars in the middle order where fans seem unhappy with the contributions from Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara. The role played by these romantic players over the years cannot be judged by runs only.

They say, one swallow does not make a summer. Yes, Shreyas has arrived, but to rubbish, the contributions made by Rahane and Pujara would be uncharitable. Such debates are best left aside at this point.

For now, one needs to soak in the champagne moments provided by Shreyas who had been waiting in the wings. For the Mumbaikar, this Test debut was as much a test of character and strength as much as it was for adaptability on the low-bounce wicket. He showed class like the most Mumbai batsmen are known for.

When he came in to bat, the situation was dicey, as four wickets had already fallen. Shreyas, touted as a better proposition in white-ball cricket, knew he had to grab this chance. A flop show on debut would have made him, and the new coach Rahul Dravid, the butt of ridicule. Perhaps, Dravid was backing a batsman he had seen from close quarters in the Delhi Capitals IPL team.

The year 2021 has been a mixed one for Shreyas. An injury early in the year meant he had to miss the first phase of the IPL. Not only did he lose the playing chance and captaincy for Delhi Capitals, but he also had to come back and dig in. Not having played top-flight first-class cricket for two seasons, and then coming into the Test squad, was a challenge.

Mind you, so fast has been the pace at which India plays cricket these days, most fans have already forgotten the disastrous campaign in the ICC World T20. From a change of captaincy in the T20 format where India won the series against New Zealand 3-0 to playing Test cricket without a single warm-up match has been crazy. This is where Shreyas stands out. His batting reflected poise — earning him praise.

The shift from batting in white-ball cricket to red-ball cricket seemed very easy for him. While batting on the first day on a fresh wicket, Shreyas showed he has the pedigree. He scored runs by playing shots both in front of and behind the wicket — against fast bowlers and spinners alike. This marks him out as a batsman who respects technique.

The circumstances under which Shreyas was making his debut were strange in many ways. One normally accords the highest priority to Test cricket. Yet, this series against the Black Caps seemed one of an experiment by design, and not default. Virat Kohli took a one-Test break, Rohit Sharma excused himself for the series and KL Rahul, who has become a permanent batsman in all formats by sheer weight of his performance, was ruled out on account of injury. Add to it the rest given to the wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant, and also some of the fast bowlers, it made cricket fans wonder if India was experimenting far more than necessary.

Now that it's established that the sheer volume of cricket that the Indian team plays across all formats is going to make it impossible for players to be part of non-stop series, discovering Shreyas has been magical. He has a 50-plus average in first-class cricket and has done well not to let negativity affect him.

Writing a few words about the thought process in the dressing room is a must. Dravid took charge very recently and has shown he is following Indian cricket very closely. If he plumped for Shreyas, there was conviction. At the same time, one feels bad for Hanuma Vihari, hero of the Sydney Test, who batted almost on one leg. The BCCI selectors seemed to have forgotten him all of a sudden before adding him for India A tour to South Africa.

The way the team composition is changing, getting a chance to play for India is much higher today. Vihari will have to keep proving himself till then and there is every possibility he may get another chance soon to perform. After all, the away series in South Africa looms and one does not know what is the thought process of the selectors on what needs to be done with the middle order. The time has come when new performers will be compared with past performers. Nothing can be taken for granted.

Just as Hanuma Vihari may be wondering what he did wrong, one feels happy for Ravichandran Ashwin becoming a regular in the T20 squad. There was clearly a different philosophy in place when Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri were handling the team. Ashwin was not given priority and Ravindra Jadeja got the nod.

Today, there seems to be a choice of plenty and it's up to the Indian captain(s) and coach to decide on the mix. Not picking Ashwin for the two matches against Pakistan and New Zealand in the ICC World T20 was a blunder. Ashwin showed in the remainder of the matches in the UAE, and also in the T20 series at home, that his utility is very high.

As a classical spinner, he has variety. If he bowls four overs — the maximum in a T20 match — he brings out his best. Ashwin has experience in IPL cricket and he knows how to utilise the conditions. When someone like Rohit Sharma speaks of Ashwin's utility in the power play, where he chokes the batsmen, it is a great tribute.

To say that Ashwin is maturing like wine would be apt. He is a bowler for all formats, though, at 30 plus, he needs to be preserved. In Tests, Ashwin has been a terror in matches at home. Where Ashwin also adds weight in the Tests is with his batting, where his solidity is admirable. He may not be as flamboyant as Jadeja, whose run-scoring ability in tight situations eases the pressure on Team India. Yet, Ashwin has the experience and pedigree to bat with authority lower down the order.

Whichever way you look at the changes being implemented across the Indian teams in white-ball cricket and red-ball cricket, the performance from young Turks is welcome. The time has come when no player can rue missed chances. Today, opportunities do come more often than compared to the time when Sunil Manohar Gavaskar played cricket — be it at Green Park in Kanpur, or elsewhere.

The talent base is rich and multi-layered. Perhaps, once the Ranji Trophy season kicks off, one will get to unearth more talent. After all, first-class cricket deserves the utmost importance, as shown by countries like England and Australia. Good luck Shreyas, you have caught the eye of selectors as well as the fans.

Views expressed are personal

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