From a Team of Champions to A Champion Team
It is now a week since June 29th. I have been itching to write something ever since that day but was unable to put 𝗉̶𝖾̶𝗇̶ ̶𝗍̶𝗈̶ ̶𝗉̶𝖺̶𝗉̶𝖾̶𝗋̶ fingers to keyboard to jot my thoughts due to various reasons. A week later, the happiness is still there but the elation has died down. Hence I’m thinking more objectively now than a week before. Incidentally, I also watched the rendezvous between PM Modi and the team today which compelled me to get off my back and finally publish my thoughts.
The Prime Minister stressed on how the continued success and fame achieved by India in cricket is spreading to other sports as well. It is true — PV Sindhu, Neeraj Chopra, Sania Mirza, Suil Chetteri are champions. Sumit Nagal is a well known name in the country. He highlighted how sports is not limited to bigger cities now, and even towns and villages are producing champions. He further stated how all round sporting successes are essential to take India towards being a developed nation.
The “all round” word is imprinted in me. The PM asked various players to share their experiences — all of whom contributed heavily towards this win — Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya. He also talked to Suryakumar Yadav, the best T20 batsman in the world, but curiously the chat wasn’t about his batting but that one phenomenal catch that he took in the final over. Rahul Dravid described how “SKY” practicsed around 150 catches on the boundary to prepare for this very moment. The PM discussed whether it was even possible to practice these kind of catches.
Axar Patel was another one. He was an important batter, he took many wickets but the talk focused on that screamer that dismissed Mitchell Marsh when the game was in balance.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are the tallest players in the team today and have the same celebrity status that the “big four” commanded back in the day. But Jasprit Bumrah is not far behind. Bumrah is a genuine, legitimate celebrity today.
The Prime Minister talked about all round success in sports around the country, but it is noteworthy how Indian Cricket has evolved from a batting only mindset to all round abilities in cricket. It is not that India did not have great bowlers or fielders earlier. Today that ability is recognised by the fans and the celebrity power is not confined to batting.
Before this era, only Kapil Dev was a genuine celebrity who was not a batter (and he himself was a bowler and batsman). The focus on bowling and fielding (bhaad mein jaye pitch) that started from Kohli/Shastri era has continued in the Rohit/Rahul era even if it is not “in your face” as it was earlier. This is true progress of Indian cricket.
For all the change in mindset, though, some things did remain the same. Kohli and Rohit were committed to leave their comfort zone and show more aggression to keep up with the evolution of T20 cricket. Rohit succeeded but Kohli struggled throughout the tournament. It required India in a tricky situation which forced Kohli to go back to his comfort zone. The early wickets meant Kohli became the accumulator than the aggressor where the team batted around him and successfully put up a decent — even if not great — total to be competitive. And it is better this way. There is still a place of fast twos in T20 cricket as showed by Kohli.
The team exuded calmness through the tournament — specially evident in the game against Pakistan and, of course, in the final. India, completely out of the game in both matches, brought themselves back in the game …. Ball by ball. Wicket by wicket.
The shift in Indian cricket is evident. India was a group of champions. Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman. In this tournament, no one particularly stands out. Everyone contributed but no one was heads and shoulders above the others. From a team of champions, India has become “A Champion Team” (hat tip to The Grade Cricketer for this phrase).
Perhaps this all round shift in our team reflected on our coach, Rahul Dravid, as well. The coach with copy book defence, The Wall, one of the greatest test batsmen of all time, orthodox, gentle and humble couldn’t lift the test championships. He failed to lift the ODI trophy. But he led India to victory in a format which he’s most ill suited to — the brash, arrogant, fast paced, unorthodox, young format of the game.
Truly, A Champion Team.
