Future bright for transitioning India

Dharamsala, March 10

The thumping series win over England was not only one of India’s finest at home, it also reaffirmed their supremacy in the longest format with young and old combining to smash ‘Bazball’ out of the park.

The likes of Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami were not available throughout and injuries to KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja after the shock loss in the series opener threatened India’s enviable dominance at home but India found a way to put pressure back on their aggressive opposition over the next four games. Four out of the five debutants — Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Akash Deep and Devdutt Padikkal — showed they were ready for the big stage, while the pillars of the team such as captain Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwin also stood tall with timely performances.

No. 1 in all formats

Dubai: India have claimed the top spot in the ICC Test rankings, overtaking Australia. India, who are already heading the WTC standings, are now at the summit of the ICC rankings in all three formats of the game.

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The future does look bright for a team in transition. The standout performers that allowed India to maintain their upper hand over England were young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav.

“It’s just nice to see the confidence of the young India players in some ways. Young boys who have a lot of confidence in their ability and a lot of exposure,” said Dravid.

It was India’s 17th straight series triumph at home, a remarkable feat that is often taken for granted. “I think sometimes we just take it for granted,” said head coach Rahul Dravid. “What is especially heartening is over the last 10 years or so, India have had this dominance… in spite of the exposure that the foreign players get in this country compared to what they would get in the 90s or the 80s or even early 2000s, before the IPL,” he added. — PTI

Need each other to succeed: Dravid to youngsters

Rahul Dravid underlined the importance of staying together and functioning as a unit to be triumphant in the tough world of Test cricket while delivering a motivational dressing room speech after India registered a memorable 4-1 series win over England. “A series like this has to be earned and this is tough. Test cricket is hard at times. It’s hard in terms of your skill. It’s hard physically, as you’ve seen, it’s hard mentally,” Dravid said. “For a lot of you young guys, especially coming into this group, you are going to need each other to succeed. Whether you’re a batsman or bowler, your success is tied in with other people’s success,” he added.