Virat Kohli with bowlers Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Siraj in a practice session ahead of the World Test Championship final cricket match between India and Australia in UK on May 29, 2023. Photo Credit: PTI
In about a week, the two sets of players, many of them engaged in the IPL, will clash in the final of the World Test Championship in England. Whichever team – India or Australia – does worse will face a line of criticism. It would be said that playing the IPL so close to the Test final was a mistake and the players did not have enough time to acclimatise.
But such thinking, which was plausible until recently, no longer holds true. The modern cricketer is a model of adaptability, and can move from one format to another, center to centre, or continent to continent without his game suffering. This is partly due to better fitness and partly because playing competitive cricket (in any format) is good preparation anyway.
Most international series these days are played without first-class matches in the build-up. In 1986, India played before the first Test in England, by 2002 this had reduced to two, and by 2007 to none.
Rock Star
The modern cricketer, as an associate, is like a rock star, touring 300 days a year, performing in different countries and venues, adapting his set lists and styles to each one. Fitness and compatibility are key.
England’s premier batsman Joe Root felt that the IPL this year, where he did not get much playing time, was a good preparation for the Ashes. “I think I’ll come back ready and excited to dive back into Test cricket,” he said in an interview.
When Jonny Bairstow prepared for England’s home series by playing in the IPL last year, he faced criticism. Nevertheless, he followed that with an impressive performance of four centuries in six Tests.
Maybe the batsmen find it easier to adjust. Bowlers may need to work harder to be aware of ‘Test match length’ rather than ‘T20 length’. Then again, maybe not. India’s bowlers are experienced and are now regularly changing their approach.
There is a saying in sports that the greats of any generation will be greats in another. But in this one regard – adaptability – the mods score higher.
When the first T20 World Cup was played in 2007, India’s top players, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and others, didn’t think it was for them; It was seen as a hit-and-higgle tournament, mainly for young people who wanted some fun. The next year, the IPL was played for the first time and everything changed. Later before the tour of West Indies, Ravi Shastri even went so far as to say that it would be a good training ground for the IPL.
face of ipl
This year’s IPL final was about the rise of one star, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and the rise of another, Shubman Gill. In many ways, Dhoni is the IPL, the face of a tournament and everything it stands for, from cricket to elements beyond. The response from the all-India fans has been astonishing for any player who quit international cricket four years ago.
Perhaps the time has come to rename the IPL trophy as the MS Dhoni Trophy. Dhoni has won it multiple times, influenced the course of the tournament quite a few times, and is perhaps the greatest white-ball captain of all time.
He may or may not be around next year – he himself is not sure – with age (he will be 42) and fitness being the main concerns. The IPL is a hotbed of experimentation in the game, with Dhoni likely to emerge as cricket’s first non-playing captain. Or remain a wicketkeeper and operate from behind the stumps, something he has been doing so well over the years. He is still a marketing man’s favourite, and CSK can use him even more creatively.
pleasant and effective
Gill, currently the face – a clean-shaven one unlike most of his fellow Indian cricketers – is the ideal combination for a batsman to be an all-format player who is both pleasant and effective. There is a calmness about him that is not unlike Dhoni, and a broad outlook that bodes well for the future.
As players change clothes and formats without missing a step, India know they have a batting unit in good form, and will have to decide whether to play a second spinner. Or extra batsman. They have to think out of the box. Ishan Kishan as wicketkeeper? Jaydev Unadkat wants variety in fast bowling? Good days are ahead.