CHENNAI: The two batsmen in the middle during the start of India’s 18th over in the Nidahas Trophy final were the embodiment of India’s theme for this event: an amalgam of experience and fresh talent.
In only his fifth T20I, Vijay Shankar had been shoved into the deep end. Mustafizur Rahman had slid four off-cutters past a man with zilch batting experience at this level, skewing the odds in Bangladesh’s favour: 34 runs, 12 balls. At the other end was Dinesh Karthik, standing at the diametric end of the proven-credentials spectrum.
Twelve balls later, the Men in Blue had laid hands on the Nidahas Trophy. The Karthik-Vijay split for those dozen balls: 29 not out off 8 to 5 off 4. These numbers aren’t meant to berate Vijay. Having batted more than a month ago — that too in the Vijay Hazare Trophy — his deep end would have assumed the depth of the Mariana Trench.But, as former India wicketkeeper and selector Kiran More points out, there’s a lesson for both Vijay and his ‘band of newcomers’ comrades to learn from those 12 balls.
“The presence of (Rishabh) Pant, Shankar, Shardul (Thakur), (Jaydev) Unadkat and others in the team is evidence enough that they have potential. Shankar was definitely unlucky to be thrust into that kind of a situation, but what all these guys need to do is look at players like Karthik and learn how to make their opportunities count.”
Washington Sundar may have been an exception to that remark, courtesy his Scrooge McDuck-like thrift with the white ball, but introspection in this regard may be due for the rest, especially for some members of the new-look bowling unit. Both Shardul and Unadkat did translate their chances into a platform for showcasing their talent, but each instance — the right-armer’s four-for against the hosts and the left-armer’s three-for against Bangladesh — eventually turned out to be their sole outliers.
Despite ending the tournament as the joint second-best wicket-taker (7), Unadkat conceded 139 runs in his four outings, with his economy reading 9.92. Shardul finished one rung behind with six wickets, but his bowling statistics had been subjected to a similar vivisection: 176 runs at an economy rate of 9.02. In his sole outing against the runners-up, Mohammed Siraj suffered a mauling, ending his day with 1/50 in his four overs.
Much in line with Washington’s forte with the ball — sticking to his strengths, that is — More suggested a similar salve for these newcomers to make use of for bettering their future. “Both Shardul and Unadkat can be good with the ball, no doubt, but they need to stick to the basics first to get better results. Even Pant, for that matter. He knows how to give the ball a wallop. All he needs to do is exercise better judgement as to which balls he should be going after. “Shardul has used the knuckle-ball effectively now and then, yes, but he needs to focus on not overdoing it in terms of variations. Unadkat has his off-cutters, but he needs to adjust his length better, especially during his first spell. The same goes for Shardul.”
With the IPL being the next destination for all the aforementioned players, it doesn’t take a primer in rocket science to discern that irrespective its nature, international experience will help catalyse their performances during the event.
“The entire tour would definitely have served as quite the learning curve. They might not have had the best time, but such outings go a long way in terms of progressing as a player. Going into a world-class event like the IPL, this experience will definitely come in handy.”
rahulravi@newindianexpress.com