Young guns harbour big hopes

November 19 - a day when India went into mourning following the catastrophic World Cup defeat to Australia on home turf. A month has almost gone by, but the pain of witnessing their team being cut to shreds by the ruthless visitors at Ahmedabad's Motera Stadium still lingers in every Indian's heart.

The young guns in the Indian team, who are currently on a limited-overs tour to South Africa, are aware that the management will strive to go all out to make up for the six-wicket drub in the World Cup final. Though the next edition of the cricket extravaganza is still some months away, the recently-concluded T20I series on home soil offered India's sprightly bunch of Gen-Next stars a chance to alleviate some of the pain their senior counterparts suffered against the Australians during the six-week event.

The confidence that was eked out from a superlative effort against the Yellow Brigade does not have any real replacement with India having ticked several boxes over the course of their four matches. But the job is far from done.

That there was so much less at stake against Australia in a series held within 72 hours of the World Cup is known to even the most partisan Indian loyalist. Australia's core bowling unit was rested after a strenuous battle with India's unrelenting heat for about nine weeks and most seniors were as well too tired to stay back in the country after the third T20I. In that context, the South Africa series is the final major T20 International series for India, followed by another against Afghanistan.

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A clearer picture about India's core in the T20I setup would emerge when the players are thrown down the gauntlet more than a thousand miles away from home against a sturdy South African side. After a washout in the series-opener robbed the auditioning youngsters of crucial game time and an under-par performance with both bat and ball in the second match, it is natural that the Indian think tank will feel a spasm of panic sweeping over them.

With skipper Hardik Pandya remaining out with injury till the start of IPL, their lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah being allowed some rest and no certainty over Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's T20I future ahead of the World Cup, one wouldn't be able to read much into either success or failure of the relatively younger Indian team in South Africa.

And this is a thought that is playing on their minds.

Skipper Suryakumar Yadav did his bit to play down these concerns in the pre-match press conference, but he is aware that a lot remains at stake for the team seeking to restore a semblance of pride in the Indian dressing room.

"The World Cup defeat was a disappointment, and it is tough to move on from it. But the series win against Australia was a big boost even though it came in a different format. The players put their hands up against Australia and came up with fearless cricket, and we need to play the same against South Africa. I just told them (players) to do exactly what they do in franchise cricket," he told the media.

The only other T20I series India play before the World Cup is against Afghanistan at home next month, forcing selectors to consider only IPL performance for selection of the World Cup squadron, amid endless questions brewing over the scheduling of India's T20 commitments before the global competition. With senior pros like Kohli, Rohit, and R Ashwin taking the helm in longer formats, a transition in the shorter format could be in store sooner than one could imagine.

If Indian cricket is to come out with flying colours, upholding of merit and prompt grooming of the players is imperative. After all, we reap what we sow. If Yadav and Company, courtesy a couple of young guns, take a crunch bilateral series encounter against South Africa down to the wire, at least the management will be spared a ‘selection migraine' that they have grown so accustomed to.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Mid-Day India.