Indispensability is like a fallacy – it sinks in but with time as reality strikes, your sense of logic is reincarnated.
No, Mr. Shashi Tharoor – the invincibility of Virat Kohli has been tried and tested but the show must go on. What say, Sir?
Seniors enter the twilight zone and make way for a younger crop of players to take over.
Yes, everything isn’t hunky dory to start off – you are crushed and success is elusive but patience pays off.
Why do we buttress this claim?
The almost-incredulous victory of Shubman Gill’s boys over the hosts England in a cliffhanger at the majestic Oval, without doubt, ushers in a new dawn for the Indian Test side.
Before the team descended on the English soil, Indian cricket was riled up by the controversial exits of stalwarts like R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli.
The media was on a speculation spree with a myriad of reasons behind their decisions popping up from all quarters.
Were Rohit and Virat forced to hang up their Test boots? Did coach Gautam Gambhir play the villain to ensure their swansong in the longest format of the game?
To be brutally honest, the signs were ominous as a 25-year-old Punjabi lad boarded the flight carrying an unimpressive batting average alongside.
To exacerbate the uncertainty, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah’s pick-and-choose policy was a headache too.
And add to it the inexperience in the squad gearing up to lock horns with a group of agile English boys determined to begin the World Test Championship cycle with a big thunder.
But close to two months down the line, all those precarious moments as anticipated are now conspicuous by their absence.
Let’s face it – over-dependence on Bumrah has been belied. The Gujarat seamer featured in two losing causes, didn’t he?
In Bumrah’s absence, the likes of Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna broke the English citadel, taking India home not once but twice.
Now Bumrah fans, please don’t get infuriated – the anecdote is meant to drive home the point that it’s a team game that rides on collective contributions.
Indian batting was on song in the five-match Test series with skipper Gill, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ravindra Jadeja chipping in with invaluable contributions.
Circa 2020-2021 Test series Down Under when an Indian team ‘handicapped’ by the absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli, who chose family duties over the nation, made a memorable comeback to script history.
Even in Oval, India took the field without their wicket-keeper-batter Pant, who had literally toyed with the English bowlers.
Both Virat and Rohit have left their T20I careers behind too, but Surya Kumar Yadav’s boys are only going from strength to strength.
So, what does this imply? It’s a no-brainer that one needs to look ahead. There could be thorns in the way, but eventually, the team settles down on the back of consistency.
No, Mr. Tharoor, Virat has called it a day. Let him enjoy his life post-retirement (ODIs still beckon though).
Thank God, after the Oval triumph, your doubts on the ability of the current lot have vanished into thin air.
It is time to trust this transition and exhort the younger lot to take Indian cricket forward.
ALSO READ: India’s thrilling victory at The Oval proves Test Cricket is the ultimate winner
Seniors like Rahul and Jadeja are still around, so is Bumrah and they have to play a stellar role as erudite pros bolstering their little brothers to ride over every storm staring in their faces.
DISCLAIMER: NO OFFENCE MEANT FOR VIRAT AND ROHIT BUT LIFE NEVER COMES TO A STANDSTILL…
