Test future lies in youth
Without putting up a semblance of a fight to stave off a second successive 4-0 whitewash in away series, India stand exposed as a team that could not sustain for long their premier status in Test match cricket. Continuous batting failures, which saw the team touch the 400-run-mark only once in 16 innings in eight Tests in England and Australia, were symptomatic of the depth of the defeat. Stand-in skipper Virender Sehwag’s insouciant dalliance with chance in a last ditch effort at defying the Aussies was an eccentric counterpoint to the defeatist mindset that had taken hold of the team.
Considering India’s batting strength had largely been instrumental in the team reaching the top rung in world Test rankings, it is easy to see how difficult the road back is going to be. The team has to move on to a future in which there is no place for sentiment even towards champion performers like Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman, who distinguished themselves in long careers. The pusillanimity that featured many of Sachin Tendulkar’s dismissals Down Under was also indicative of the general decline of our players in terms of competing abroad on sporting pitches that offer some balance between bat and ball.
The hardest part of the rebuilding process will be to inculcate in the new generation the need to compete in all formats of the game, including in the critically acclaimed Test cricket. Cricketers accustomed to the riches of the newfangled T20 cricket may not be inclined to learn the ethics of diligence. Even so, the future of Indian cricket lies in its youth. That is the only way forward.
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