In sport, the future reveals itself in different ways. Early success does not always convert into long careers. The reverse is equally true. A poor start can sometimes evolve into a sparkling career. It is not always in the hands of the individual player, though.
The opener Madhav Apte, for example, made an unbeaten century to save a Test in the West Indies in the 1950s, and at the end of seven Tests had an average of 49.27. But he never played for India again. When Ravindra Jadeja, on the other hand, made his Test debut, it surprised many. He was a slow starter, but he is an indispensable part of the side now, with 60 Tests and 242 wickets.
Special from the start
Then there is the player who is seen as special right from the beginning. There is an inevitability about his progress through the junior ranks, and even as he makes the national team, it feels like it’s only a matter of time before potential and performance come together. Such was the case with Sachin Tendulkar, and before him Sunil Gavaskar.
Some players seen as special from the beginning fail to deliver immediately, but enlightened selectors persist with them, and are rewarded for this. After Richie Benaud made his debut as a 22-year-old leg spinner of great promise, he didn’t do anything special for six years. In his first 24 Tests, he didn’t have a five-wicket haul. Then he developed into one of the greats, as bowler and captain.
Generational changes now tend to occur quicker than before. This is unsurprising given both the number of matches played and the range of formats in the game. It is difficult now to see an individual playing 200 Tests like Tendulkar did. James Anderson (173 Tests) and Stuart Broad (157) are anomalies — they are an extension of the previous generation, Anderson having made his debut in 2003.
Five years hence...
Of those who represented India in their most recent Test in Birmingham, only of two players can it be said that they are likely to be in the team five years from now — Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill. Over the next couple of years, a generational change will be taking place during which one of these two will probably be captain. Pant will be 29 then, and Gill 27.
Both entered the Indian team as special players (from our category above), who just needed to be given time to hit their stride in international cricket. Pant has already established himself as one of the most exciting players in world cricket today, the man most likely to take over from Kohli as the side’s mascot and the player with the most attention focused on him.
Gill has been slower getting there, but his century in Zimbabwe — admittedly not against the most challenging bowling attack in the world — should unclog whatever has been impeding his progress, from a lack of patience to too much of it, depending on the format.
Gill is a natural in the middle order, perhaps even as high as number three, to succeed two of India’s finest in that position, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rahul Dravid. He can be an attacking number three like Australia’s Ricky Ponting.
In the Brisbane Test in Australia, it was his 91 as opener that first brought ideas of victory into the Indian camp. The bowling wasn’t too shabby: Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazelwood, Nathan Lyon. There was an amazing self-confidence in the youngster that augured well for Indian cricket.
Natural timer of the ball
He gives the impression of being a thinking cricketer who knows his game well and who responds to game situations intelligently and without fuss. He is a natural timer of the ball, and has the quality that set Tendulkar and Kohli apart from the start — a photographic memory of exactly where each fielder is. He plays into the gaps with incredible consistency. If he captains India, it will surprise nobody.
It will be interesting to see just how much he will let white ball cricket affect his approach to the red. Like Kohli, and Tendulkar before him, he has not had to invent strokes to make runs in the shorter formats. But opposing captains have still struggled to keep a field to counter his orthodoxy.
The short arm jab that sends the ball screaming past mid-on or the old-fashioned leg glance which he plays fine complement the drives on either side of the wicket which ensure he is always conscious of moving the score along. Interviewed after his hundred, he said his strategy had been to reduce the number of dot balls bowled to him.
The post-Kohli, post-Rohit generation is emerging with the same kind of poise and conviction that the older men displayed when gradually replacing the Tendulkar generation, and that can only be good for Indian cricket.
