did not carry the burden of history on his shoulders when he led India in the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa. This was evident when, in his post-match press conference after leading India to victory, he admitted with a wry smile that he did not remember anything of the 1983 World Cup win since he was only two years old then. “It is not fair to compare. Our victory in 1983 was very special and so was this triumph,” he was quoted as saying. “I will cherish this till the end of my life.” He attributed the team’s victory to determination and desire. Determination to wipe the memories of India’s miserable showing in the World Cup in the West Indies barely six months ago where they failed to make it even to the Super Eight stage and the desire of the players individually and collectively to show the cricketing world what they were capable of. What was so refreshingly different was the manner in which the Indians played. There was a fearlessness to their approach which can only come from total belief in their personal abilities.
But as an astute student of the game, Dhoni must have read, or heard, how that victory in the summer of 1983 changed the fortunes of Indian cricket and its cricketers. And this victory, coming as it does after 24 years (and in the meanwhile India did not taste victory in any world championship in any other sport), could well usher in a new era for Indian cricket. While there is no doubt that no two sporting victories can be compared with each other (given that the format was totally different), there is no denying the fact that history could well judge the Johannesburg victory as the catalyst which ushered in a new era in Indian cricket. One waits to see if that were to happen.
The victory in 1983 as well as the current one have come against all expectations. In 1983 Kapil Dev himself had, prior to the departure of the team to England, promised that the team would do its best. In any case, Kapil, too, was not carrying any burden of history on his shoulders since the Indian team had never done anything of note in the two previous editions of the World Cup (then held only in England every four years). And when India did go on to win the World Cup (defending a low total as they did at Johannesburg) getting past the formidable West Indies team, winners of the first two editions of the World Cup, the cricket world was turned upside down. With that victory at Lord’s, Indian cricket had finally come of age.
The Indian squad was lionized both by the board, which in those days was not flush with funds as it is now, as well as sports buffs since they found a new set of heroes to worship in the Indian cricketers. It was an era that attracted more and more players to the game, more spectators to cricket grounds and more money to the board. But more important than the money and awards handed to the players, it was the respect which the players and the board got in the cricket-playing world.
It was on the basis of the victory at Lord’s that the board was able to persuade the international cricket body to rotate the World Cup among all the cricket-playing countries (and that is how the World Cup was first played in India in 1987), increase the prize money as also the appearance money for the various teams and draw more and more sponsorship for the game.
But how times change! In 1983, the players were happy picking up the odd thousands and the Rs 1 lakh the board gave included the prize money given by the international body. This time around the money is simply flowing in. The board has announced a cash award of $2 million for the team besides the Rs 15 lakh to each member of the support staff. Yuvraj Singh has picked up a cool Rs 1 crore for his six sixes in one over against England as also a Porsche sports car gifted to him by the maverick Vice-President of the board, Lalit Modi. Add to this the prize money of $4.90,000 and one can say the players will have enough to end all their financial problems.
The Karnataka Government has given Rs 5 lakh each to Robin Uthappa as well as bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad, while Joginder Sharma has picked up Rs 21 lakh as also Rs 25,000 for each wicket claimed in the championship from the Haryana Government. Other state governments are bound to do the same for the players from their respective states. And now it will be the hunger for greater glory which will drive the young team members of the Twenty20 squad in the months and years ahead as there is so much of international cricket scheduled to be played by the Indian team.
There are stark similarities between the team of 1983 and the team of 2007. Not only have both teams performed beyond expectations but even the performance of certain players was comparable. If Gautam Gambhir was good with the bat in a low-scoring match at Johannesburg then at Lord’s in the summer of 1983 was Kris Srikkanth, whose batting, of course, was much more flamboyant than that of the Delhi opener. Two players from Mumbai (earlier Bombay) also had a role in the two wins. If in the earlier era it was Sandeep Patil then in the modern times it was Rohit Sharma who left a mark after playing in only three matches of the South African tournament.
What probably helped the Indian team to perform so well in the Twenty20 format is the fact that Dhoni’s squad had no superstars. Every player was treated by the captain on merit. It is this reason why the captain could afford to see Yuvraj Singh opting to miss a match after the record-setting knock against England and in walked Dinesh Karthik in his place in the critical match against South Africa.
In two back-to-back matches, the semi-final against Australia and the final against Pakistan, Dhoni called up Haryana’s rookie Joginder Sharma to send down the last over even though the bowler had taken a pasting in the earlier overs, specially in the final. And then in the final against Pakistan when Virender Sehwag pulled out to a thigh strain (sustained in the tie against Australia), he called up Yusuf Pathan, included in the Indian team for the first time and who had not played a single game in the whole tournament, when he had the option of calling up the more experienced Karthik or even Ajit Agarkar. And each time the player included in the playing eleven came good, it only added to the aura around Dhoni’s leadership qualities.
One thing which came in very handy for the national selectors to select Dhoni as captain for the South African safari was the fact that the big three of Indian cricket, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, voluntarily decided not to play in the tournament. They realised that this version of the game was not for them as they would not have been able to keep up with the hectic pace. And how right they were. But more importantly, the selectors could call up players who were waiting in the sidelines in the hope that their time would come. And when it came, they grabbed it with both hands.
The victory augurs well for Indian cricket. With the “big three” slowly approaching their “use by” date, the time is not far when the selectors will go for fresh talent. Sachin, in fact, has already indicated that it will be one-day cricket which he will give up first and the time is not far when Ganguly and Dravid would think in the same vein. And when that happens, a new era will start in Indian cricket. And India, happily, now seems to be preparing for that.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
