Indian cricket is certainly on the up and has seen a great rise in fortunes by going on and winning every major international trophy in the last ten years. A lot of the good fortune must go down to the selectors of the Indian team and here are the biggest decisions they’ve taken:
1) Making Dhoni the captain:
Probably the biggest decision ever taken by the selectors was making MS Dhoni the captain of the Indian team. He went on to become on to become one of the greatest cricketers and leaders the game has ever seen.
Dhoni also bought glory to India in all formats and is widely considered the most successful captain of all time.
2) Replacing the legends well:
The Indian batting order was our biggest strength and they managed to remain the same for almost a decade and a half. The likes of Sachin, Ganguly, Laxman, Dravid and Sehwag as well as Kumble were however, replaced by the right players and they are forming their own legacy.
The new blood of players such as Kohli, Pujara, Rahane, Dhawan, Rohit, Ashwin and Jadeja have ensured that the team have remained successful as ever and India will hope they do so for many more years.
3) Allowing youth a chance:
The Indian team selectors have been very generous in terms of handing youth players a start and giving them an opportunity to shine. The rise of Virat Kohli is the best example. Indian selectors took a big call in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 by playing Kohli at number 4, ahead of MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh. The way Indian selectors and MS Dhoni backed Kohli in his early days gave him a lot of confidence and now he is, arguably, the best batsman in world cricket, across all three formats of the game.
In the last couple of years, we have also seen the likes of Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and KL Rahul go on and make themselves regular starters in the team.
They have managed to rotate the team very well and rested players when needed, which has made our team fit as always.
4) Emphasized on fitness:
When Dhoni took over the team, he emphasized the need for fitness to play a key role in the Indian team. The selectors agreed and this has been the reason that the Indian fielders today are regarded as some of the best in the world.
Such fitness levels have made a huge difference in certain games and has gone on to show the hunger and desire with which these players play the game today.
5) Forming a B-team:
With so many talented players unfortunately not able to breakthrough to the Indian team, it would have been a waste as they would have never realized their dream of playing for the country. The selectors have however, created a B team to tour countries like Zimbabwe which have helped these players gain necessary confidence and experience.
The likes of KL Rahul, Manish Pandey and Hardik Pandya would have never been able to make their debuts if it wasn’t for the tours they took to gain confidence.
By Rohit Nair
