Cricket Editorial IND vs BAN 2024 Indian Cricket

By shredding winning template, Rohit and Gambhir are taking India out of the comfort zone  

September 28, 2024
<a href="https://revsportz.in/author/boria/" rel="author" class="url fn n" itemprop="url"><img alt='' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/e660b408ca5a915f1c718d0cd98a879b?s=32&d=mm&r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/e660b408ca5a915f1c718d0cd98a879b?s=64&d=mm&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-32 photo' height='32' width='32' decoding='async'/> <span class="" itemprop="name">Boria Majumdar</span></a>
Scene from India vs Bangladesh, Kanpur (Image: BCCI)

The best teams adapt to different situations, and that’s what makes them great. May I say that’s what this Indian team is all about. For the longest time, it was a given that India would go in with three spinners on home soil. The fast bowlers would bowl a few overs, and then the likes of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja would take over. Add Kuldeep Yadav to the mix, and it is a lethal threesome. At home, this was the template. So much so that even the likes of Jasprit Bumrah could be rested.

What is also important to state here is that this was a successful template. India haven’t lost a series at home since 2012, and that is a staggering record when you come to think of it. But then, the best change when things are going well. When they know that the change being proposed is voluntary and not forced. Abhinav Bindra, whose birthday we celebrate today, had once said to me, “I was shooting my best in Athens in 2004. But then I realised that’s when I needed to change. To take things to a different level. It could be difficult for the time being, but in the long term, it was much needed”.

This is what Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir are doing. Making changes that will get India ready for a five-Test series in Australia. Help them adapt better. They now know that the tried-and-tested formula is no longer the only one that India have in front of them. They can continue to win at home by trying different things. Going in with three fast bowlers in home conditions, leaving a match-winner like Kuldeep out, is one such.

 

With serious success behind him, Rohit is now willing to experiment. He is ready to do things that people before him had not done. And with Gambhir, you always get out-of-the-box thinking. Playing Akash Deep in this series has been a statement. That India doesn’t depend on the turning-pitch template anymore. That, even at home, India can win with their faster bowlers doing the job early on and the spinners taking over thereafter. It is a statement aimed at all teams who will visit India in the future. The western media’s narrative of rank turners has been thrown into the garbage bin, and a strong statement has been made.

The best teams are those that always challenge themselves. They try and get out of their comfort zone. The wicket in the first Test, for example, was challenging. It tested the Indian batters on day one. There was serious bounce and carry. At home, India could easily have prepared a better batting wicket and helped the top order pile on the runs. But then, that wouldn’t set them up for the tough matches to follow.

Rohit and Gambhir are not bothered about the short term. Rather, they know that even if they do things which aren’t really the norm in India, they can win. And do so comfortably. That’s the new India. A team full of confidence ready to make a statement and embrace adversity. Get ready for the bigger battles, and don’t bother unduly about short-term gains. It will be interesting to see what happens long term, but for the time being at least, it is an exciting change. And a welcome one.