Years down the road there will come a time when Indian cricket will symbolise what Bharat could potentially achieve. Historians may differ on the fact that the Gupta Age was the golden period in Indian history. But there will be unanimity that this is the golden age of Indian cricket. Indian T20 Men’s team is the World Cup champion. The team under Surya Kumar Yadav is currently defending the title and is amongst the strongest favourites to do so. Indian women’s team under Harmanpreet Kaur is the world champion. India’s differently abled teams, under different categories, win the World Championship with regularity. Ayush Mhatre led Indian Under 19 team are the new world champions. Most importantly, all these wins have been emphatic.
While Ayush Mhatre represents Mumbai, which traditionally has been the epicentre of Indian cricket, the making of the champion team is truly pan-Indian. From Vijay Manjreker to Sachin Tendulkar, Mumbai cricket has always passed on the baton. After winning the trophy, Ayush Mhatre received the priceless keepsake from Sachin Tendulkar. “I grew up watching you through a screen. Today, I stand at your home, holding a piece of your journey in my hands. Thank you Sir, for this honour. I will carry this with the same respect you carried Indian cricket for years’. The message represents the true essence of the Guru-Shishya parampara, the cornerstone of Indian thought and philosophy. People from Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have over the years boarded trains to Mumbai and have brought about change in their fortunes through hard work and dedication. In cricket canvas, this success has already been portrayed through the heroics of Surya Kumar Yadav and Yashasvi Jaiswal – both of whose parents originally hail from Uttar Pradesh.
Shades of Great Garry
Winds of development have started sweeping the fields of Bihar and Vaibhav Suryavanshi represents this in the champion Under 19 Indian team. Vaibhav Suryavanshi represents the raw talent potential of Bihar. A child prodigy from the Samastipur district, Suryavanshi became the youngest ever to make a century in the Indian Premier League. In Suryavanshi, the connoisseurs of the game have already started seeing the shades of the great Garry Sobers. This perception has come in a two-year timespan.
In the Under 19 World Cup campaign, Suryavanshi had kept his best for the finals against England. Suryavanshi scored 175 in just 80 balls and ensured the defeat of a strong England team. Former England batsman Mark Butcher said: “His bat swing reminds me of the great Garfield Sobers’. Former West Indies bowler and commentator Holding said: “Like all the greats of the game, Suryavanshi has so much time to play his shots. Often it looked like the ball had beaten me and at the very last moment he used to disdainfully hit the ball for the towering six.” While it is true that like every great works in progress, there are chinks in his armour. Suryavanshi will have to work on this defence. He will have to finetune his backfoot play. But, if he sustains the momentum for another two years, the prodigy from Bihar will be the true champion of the champions of world cricket. At least in white ball cricket, Suryavanshi will be the upgraded version of Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan who are already making waves for team India in the T20 Internationals.
While Suryavanshi’s aura was the narrative of the Under 19 World Cup, there are others in the line up who are serious talents as well. When we go through the history of the Under 19 World Cup, there has been the likes of Virat Kohli who more than lived up to his potential and Prithvi Shaw and Unmukt Chand who failed to live up to it. So, in the larger stories of Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Aayush Mhatre, there are smaller stories of Vihaan Malhotra, Aaron George and Vedant Trivedi which cannot be missed out. Indian cricket today is the microcosm of the Indian society today which always gives a space to everyone to grow up. Aaron George is the classic case study. George has got the batting talent which has leads of potential. Born in the Kottayam district of Kerala, George grew up in the city of Hyderabad. His father, Easo, a police sub-Inspector was an aspiring cricketer and his mother Preethi is a maths teacher. In the semi-final match against Afghanistan, George raised his game to score a century and steer his team to the finals.
The land of Punjab has been a fertile ground for Indian cricket for years. From the great Bishen Singh Bedi to Harbhajan Singh and from Yuvraj Singh to Abhishek Sharma and Shubhman Gill – Punjab for years has given Indian cricket the batsman and bowlers who give their heart out for the cause of the country. In Vihaan Malhotra from Patiala, Indian cricket is eyeing potentially another great talent. Vihaan batted consistently throughout the event and bailed out his team on umpteen occasions. If Vihaan develops his game as he goes up in the ladder, he can aspire to find a place in the Indian dressing room. In Abhigyan Kundu, the team has got a wicketkeeper who plays with a cool head. In the entire event, particularly in the initial phase when the top order was struggling, Abhigyan impressed everyone with his cool and calm temperament. His ability to remain unruffled even in the pressure situation makes him a potential fit for the Indian Premier League teams and who knows even further than that. In the Indian team, there is always scope for multi-taskers. The champion Under 19 team has got the multi taskers who will be in the radar of the selectors in the years ahead. The state of Gujarat off late has given Indian cricket exciting all-rounders. It started with the Pathan brothers of Baroda but in Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja – the state gave the country two of the best all rounders of the world cricket, Right Arm medium pacer and a bowler, Patel will be a perfect fit in the Indian Premier League teams. In addition to this, his ability to focus on his strengths and liking for the pacy and bouncy wickets will be an added advantage for the team India. Apart from him, RS Ambrish and Kanishk Chauhan are the other two bowling all-rounders who have the potential to scale the summit in the years ahead.
The Indian dressing room is the most coveted place these days. Entry into the dressing room is not easy. The best of the talents finds it difficult to be there. So, the U-19 champion team cricketers real journey starts from here. But, the talent on display proved the depth of Indian cricket. And the best part was that, the spread of the talent cuts the geographical, caste and economic boundaries. If traditional states like Maharashtra, Gujarat & Punjab keep on giving talents. The emerging States like Bihar and East India are not behind. This was aptly summed up with a video released immediately after the victory. In the dressing room, the players are dancing and the man of the moment Vaibhav demands – play Bhojpuri song, we will be dancing on it and the team starts dancing. This truly is the golden age of Indian cricket.
