Despite a late blitzkrieg from an unlikely Deepak Chahar, India’s sinking ship couldn’t be salvaged as South Africa completed the whitewash of the Indian cricket team in the first series under the captaincy of KL Rahul.
Things somehow didn’t fall in place and the middle-order seemed too shaky for any imperative contributions that would derail the hosts. With all said and done, there is a lot of cricket that is headed India’s way in the upcoming days.
With India’s most illustrious cricketers slowly heading into the twilight of their career, the nation will be eyeing to establish some important names in the line-up to avert a landslide. This would also ensure a slick transition from the renowned names to the untested ones, who will be carrying the torch of excellence in the offing to arrive.
As we talk about the forthcoming changes, there are a few cricketers that the Indian management will have to support despite their early failures. In this story, we will take a look at five names who can be Indian cricket’s biggest cricketers in future.
#1 Shreyas Iyer
Despite limited appearances from the promising middle-order batter, Shreyas Iyer has got out early way too frequently. In the first and the third match of the South Africa series, he did manage to get those starts but failed to convert them into big ones. Keeping aside the numbers, the right-hander has some classic cricketing strokes up his sleeves and has a keen eye for timing.
He also likes to attack the ball which is a rare virtue in the sport and steers them into the gaps. However, the gear change for Iyer hasn’t been as smooth as he would have wanted it to be. Every single time, he steps foot on the accelerator, he ends up crashing due to lack of proper control. This is exactly where Rahul Dravid comes into the picture. Known for his technical brilliance, he can help Iyer learn from these mistakes and up the ante with due speed instead of rushing prematurely and sacrificing his wicket.
We have seen time and time again, how Iyer has played a few significant knocks for Delhi in the IPL and this gives us hope that he can be a major moniker in the upcoming days for Indian cricket.
#2 Suryakumar Yadav
Despite being a technical giant with the willow, his exploits in the international arcade have been pretty limited. One of the primary reasons to feel like this about him is that he has upped himself to the level of IPL elites and the fluidity that he has shown in India’s domestic extravaganza, makes us feel that he is the perfect man to stabilise the Indian middle-order.
However, he has managed to get the starts but somehow ends up faltering in the crucial phases of the game. On top of that, he is highly inconsistent for the national side that has seen him belting brilliance out in one game while tumbling in the following one. Unless he can cut short this unwanted tryst with inconsistency, it will be difficult for him to sustain himself in the national environment.
He is an exceptionally aggressive player and can be highly instrumental in filling the massive boots at number three of Kohli once he steps down from the mantle.
#3 Shubman Gill
Another highly talented batter in the Indian ranks, Shubman Gill will hold the answer to a lot of questions that will be coming India’s way in the forthcoming days. The youngster is an exceptional player of short balls and has an impeccable calm that allows him to time his innings perfectly.
Even though in the shortest format of the game, his tactics have been highly questionable, when it comes to ODI and Tests, he has been in fine touch. However, his recent injuries have left India bereft of an apt batter in the inimical land of the lions. He is also highly versatile and adds a lot of value to the Indian side considering the fact that his positions can be altered as per the needs of the situation.
He has another innate ability to switch between aggression and composure that makes him an extremely lethal option for India in the upcoming days.
#4 Deepak Chahar
Mostly neglected to the promising likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravichandran Ashwin, Deepak Chahar has already shown it twice that he is an extremely promising prospect for the Indian cricket team.
Despite being expensive with the cherry in his arms, he has shown a sturdy knack for prising out crucial scalps at important junctures of the game. Even in the last game against South Africa, he provided two early breakthroughs for India in the form of Janneman Malan and Aiden Markram.
With all said and done, he has chipped in with a couple of handy match-defining batting cameos. He almost won India the third game of the series only to fall short by whiskers. However, that remarkable knock of his would instill hopes in the hearts of the Indian fans and experts alike. India will have to back this all-round talent to see a formidable force in the making.
#5 Hardik Pandya
This may be a very controversial pick in the list of so many promising youngsters, especially considering the recent decline that one of the most promising all-rounders of India has shown. To make things worse for him, his back injury has almost taken away his bowling from him. However, one of the major areas of concern for India has been their batting at number five. Despite various permutations and combinations, things haven’t really gone India’s way. This is exactly where Hardik Pandya comes to the fold. Despite his bowling possibility being an inevitable question, it would not hurt India to have him as a pure batter.
He is a decent fielder too which leaves India the option of using him as someone who can come in at number four or five and play knocks of symbolic importance. With Deepak Chahar and Ravindra Jadeja in the lineup, India has their question of an all-rounder covered. If they want to play two all-rounders, that opens up an extra space that can allow Hardik Pandya to be accommodated. We are all accustomed to the fact that he is a big match player and thrives exceptionally well under pressure.
His knocks Down Under are a significant ode to the blazing brilliance of the all-rounder. Despite his failure against an undercooked Sri Lanka, he played an important role against Afghanistan to make the Indians believe that anything is possible. Every cricketer goes through a dark patch and deserves a shot at cricketing redemption. Hardik Pandya should also get one shot to prove that he can be the same monster with the willow that left Australia scarred.
