Brave new world

The IPL gave a chance to India’s young talent to showcase their skills. Gopal Sharma writes about the boys-to-men journey of hitherto unknown players, who are the future of Indian cricket

Manic moments, passions running high, smashing performances, a slapgate, cheergirls for the less cricket-oriented and a final which extended till the very last delivery of an humdinger of a contest — the Indian Premier League cricket matches had it all.

After India’s disastrous World Cup campaign in the Caribbean last year, which ended even before it could take off, one was forced to consider whether there was a paucity of talent in the country. Further when Dilip Vengsarkar, BCCI’s chief selector, said that the bench strength was not impressive and not many juniors were coming through the ranks, many began to believe that competitive players were hard to find. However, the T20 world championship in South Africa and the IPL have erased that anxiety and amply demonstrated that there is no dearth of promising players.

The emergence of many young and talented players like Swapnil Asnodkar, Ashok Dinda, Manpreet Gony, Amit Mishra, Shikhar Dhawan, V.Y Mahesh, Abhiskek Nayar et al was doubtless the most refreshing feature of the IPL. Their sterling efforts belied the claims that talented players were hard to find. With the debate still on whether the senior players and known faces of the Indian cricket should still be allowed to represent the country, these youngsters have proved that they have skills to don the national cap.

With the world and India’s best and established names, playing alongside totally unknown players, the latter proved they were as good or in some cases even better. This has been the biggest gain for the Indian cricket.

A span of one-and-a-half months has brought to the fore a number of youngsters who showed an amazing pluck, skill, technique and temperament and impressed the keen observers of the game.

In fact now the selectors may not have any other choice for the national team’s selection but merit, skill and talent as their only criteria.

While some of the youngsters were not more than a couple of games old in first class cricket, there were others who had not even played for the Ranji Trophy squads of their states.

But now plucked out of obscurity they showed that they had it in them to compete with the best in the business and make their mark.

Opening for Rajasthan Royals, pint-sized Swapnil Asnodkar was a revelation. He played with gay abandon irrespective of the reputation or stature of the bowler. Asnodkar jolted Kolkata with a furious 34-ball 60, paving the way for victory for his team. Asnodkar effortlessly clobbering Makhaya Ntini over the boundary in the final was a treat to warch as was as an equally energetic Abhishek Nayar batting with same impetuosity for Mumbai Indians.

His intrepid batting display was a remainder of the equally diminutive Kaluwitharane setting the 1996 World Cup alight with his fireworks along with Sanath Jayasuriya. Nayar proved to be a roaring success for the eventual winners Rajasthan Royals and amassed an impressive 311 runs in nine games.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha, who joined the Bengal Ranji squad after regular wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta joined the ICL, was later chosen to play for Kolkata Knight Riders. Saha gave Kings XI Punjab a scare in Mohali with his impressive batting. With Kolkata tottering at 50 for 5, Saha kept Kolkata in the hunt with a 28-ball 50, completing his half century with the fourth six, bringing his side within sight of victory.

The talent and skills of Ashok Dinda and Manpreet Gony also shone through. With the pace that he generated (touching 140 kmph at times) with appreciable control, an unheralded Dinda impressed even Ricky Ponting. He had the full backing of Kolkata skipper Sourav Ganguly, who gave him the new ball even ahead of Ishant Sharma.

Sharing the new ball with Makhaya Ntini for Chennai Super Kings, Punjab lad Gony’s reliable performance was one of the reasons for his team reaching finals. With 17 wickets he finished the highest wicket-taker from the side along with Albie Morkel. Similarly sprightly seamer Yo Mahesh’s bowling also proved vital for his team, the Delhi Daredevils. Mahesh outdid his more illustrious colleagues like McGrath and Farveez Maharoof in terms of wickets to end up being the most successful Delhi Daredevils bowler.

Sreevats Goswami, playing for Bangalore Royal Challengers, blitzed Delhi Daredevils with a scintillating half century. Though Royal Challengers lost the contest, the wicketkeeper-batsman stole the show with his rollicking knock. He showed no nerves facing a formidable Delhi attack. His impressive display fetched him the Player of the Match award in his first outing.

Haryana leggie Amit Mishra was another player who bowled his way to the center-stage after being in the wilderness for long. Bowling with amazing control and variety, Mishra was among the three bowlers, who claimed a hat-trick in the IPL.

Former India opener Navjot Sidhu sums it up succinctly. He says that the IPL has brought to the center-stage so many young and talented cricketers in the span of just a month-and-a-half, which otherwise, would have taken the Indian cricket years to discover.

Superlative show

IPL has also proved wrong the fact that the T20 is for youngsters. The superlative display by the old warhorses like Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Shaun Pollock, Sanath Jayasuriya, Adam Gilchrist, Sourav Ganguly etc squashed the impression that T20 was meant only for the youngsters.

Former Aussie bowling spearhead was quite miserly and crafty while bowling in the "corridors of uncertainty". McGrath collected 12 scalps with an amazing economy of 6.61.

Pollock was quite effective with his in-dipping and outgoing deliveries bowled with pinpoint accuracy. He shouldered the bowling responsibility with aplomb and took 11 wickets with an economy rate of 6.54.

Warne, who had to double up as the skipper and the team coach, remained an enigma to rival batsmen and looked good enough for the international cricket. He was constantly tempting the rival batsmen with his tantalising deliveries and ended up with 19 scalps, behind only Sohail Tanvir, who took 22 wickets, the most by any bowler in the competition.

When he slammed Mumbai bowlers all around the park and completed a 42-ball century, Gilchrist proved that the age had blunted none of his reflexes.

Sanath Jayasuriya took some time to get into his groove. But once there, he proved as big a threat to bowlers as he was during his heydays. The 45-ball century that he hit against Chennai Super Kings was the second fastest in the IPL, only behind Adam Gilchrist. Gilchrist had earlier hit 42-ball century against Mumbai, the fastest in the IPL.

Golden chance

For many already known faces, the IPL turned out to be a godsend for reinforcing Indian talent. Batsman Suresh Raina proved that Greg Chappell’s trust in him was justified. According to Chappell the energetic left-handed batsman was a livewire on the field. It was Raina, who played a crucial knock for Chennai in the semifinal. The Uttar Pradesh sensation celebrated his recall to the national squad with some towering sixes in the final. He has got a berth in the Indian team for Bangladesh tri-series and the Asia Cup later this month.

Rohit Sharma, too, showed why he was probably the best young batting talent in the country. The Mumbai batsman, playing for the Deccan Chargers, improved with each game and proved himself as a complete package. Though his team did not fare well, Rohit’s promising talent was hard to miss.

With his sterling batting and fielding, Shikhar Dhawan was another promising young batting talent. Ashish Nehra and L. Balaji also staged a comeback after being on the sidelines due to injuries. Nehra emerged as the most successful bowler from Mumbai, while Balaji was among the three bowlers to score a hat-trick.

But it was Yusuf Pathan who found his touch once again. Pathan, who played a lone game against Pakistan in the T20 world championship, is known as a clean striker of the ball. He can chip in with a couple of wickets with his off-spin when required. But the way Pathan fared in the tournament, hitting towering sixes at will, demoralising the best of bowlers showed that he is blessed with a sound temperament, needed to slug it out in the middle. In the final with Rajasthan Royals chasing 164 for win, Pathan initially looked out of depth facing ace offie Muthiah Muralitharan. But he refused to bog down. Taking his time to find his bearing, he stunned everyone with two towering sixes. It was his breezy half-century which proved decisive in the chase and the title triumph.

ICC recognition

Other engagements, including their national ties, was the reason behind absence of many key players. Also many players joined late, which proved no good for their teams.

Chennai Super Kings, the eventual finalists, were the worst sufferers when Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey and Jacob Oram had to leave the team after a couple of initial games. The team lost the winning momentum but regained it once again to play in the semifinals.

Similar was the case with Mumbai Indians, who lost all-rounder Dwayne Bravo at the wrong moment. When he left Bravo was well into his groove and had become a key member of the squad. His replacement, Dwayne Smith, could not get enough time to acclimatise and his team suffered due to this.

Kolkata Knight Riders was not the same side after Brendon McCullum left after giving his team a head-start with his sensational 73-ball 158 not out in the opening game of the IPL.

Then there were players who joined late. With not much time at their disposal, players like Younis Khan and A.D Mascarenhas got only one game each to play for the Royals. Similarly Andrew Nel could also play just one game due to his joining late.

But with all its initial hitches, the IPL has been a runaway success. The players, irrespective of the country they represent, have found the lure of lucre hard to resist. Some were even of the view that with the amount of money on offer, the IPL could force pre-mature retirements. Though it is easier said than done, the ICC will do well to find out a window for the event, which has caught the fancy of the players and the spectators alike.