India on brink of golden age according to Darren Berry

Of course he saw a lot of their young talent first hand during the IPL.
Despite the loss of ageing stars, India is on the brink of a golden eraDarren Berry
October 26, 2008
India is the real deal.


Mohali was no fluke. India has had the edge on this changing Australian team for a while now and things may stay that way for some time, though there is no doubt the Australians will be stung by the humiliating loss in the second Test and will come out determined to make amends in Delhi.
India has an ageing batting line-up, but plenty in reserve to continue its push to the top.
Sourav Ganguly has done well to claw his way back into the team after a bitter falling out under the Greg Chappell regime. Ganguly may not be popular in Australia, but he is treated like a prince in India, loved and respected by the masses. He has announced that this is his last series and I wouldn't be surprised if V. V. S Laxman is heading down the same path. Rahul Dravid and the master, Sachin Tendulkar, are rapidly approaching the end as well. India must stagger their departures to avoid a mass exodus.
The frightening thing for world cricket is that India has some super talent - with both bat and ball - waiting in the wings. Make no mistake, the Board of Control for Cricket in India is the most powerful body in world cricket and its introduction of the hugely successful Indian Premier League earlier this year was a masterstroke. Not only was it a monumental financial windfall but, even more importantly, it exposed and unearthed young talent, albeit in the Twenty20 version of the game.
The traditionalists will argue that this "Mickey Mouse" game is detrimental to developing batting technique and crucifies bowlers. This is narrow-minded thinking and totally incorrect. The best players will adjust their games, something that was clearly evident throughout the IPL tournament.
In terms of batsmen, watch out for some of the following in the not too-distant future- Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yusuf Pathan and Shikhar Dhawan. Raina and Sharma can really play and it wouldn't surprise if one or two appeared before this Test series is finished, especially if India can secure the Border-Gavaskar trophy in Delhi.
India's bowling stocks are also impressive - Zaheer Khan swings it prodigiously and Ishant Sharma is tall, fast, bouncy and can move it off the pitch - and there is more of the same in the background waiting for a chance. Munaf Patel, 25, has already had a taste at the top and will be better next time around. Tall and strong, with the ability to move the ball both in the air and off the wicket, he is reminiscent of Paul Reiffel - unassuming and underrated but a mighty fine bowler.
Shanthakumaran Sreesanth is another, a genuine swinger of the ball, and along with R. P. Singh, the back-up quicks are top quality. Also pencil in Pradeep Sangwan as one to watch. He's a young left-armer fresh out of the under-19s who was impressive at times during the IPL.
Anil Kumble has been a champion but his time is also coming to an end. Amit Mishra was superb on debut in Mohali and now the Indian selectors have a tough call to make on two fronts. Kumble the spinner and Kumble the captain. Don't be surprised if Delhi is a dust bowl and India plays all three spinners. Laxman would lose his spot moving M. S. Dhoni up to No. 6 in the batting order.
Mishra will take plenty of Test wickets. They also have another little beauty by the name of Piyush Chawla, another leggie with magic in his fingers.
Harbhajan Singh is a quality off-spinner with plenty of time left in the game. Matthew Hayden recently referred to him as an obnoxious little weed, but the Aussies need more than the Zero wand to wipe him out.
Dhoni is the new prince in India. He is massive. He should inherit the captaincy sooner rather than later. His tactical nous is very good, his ability unquestioned. It is time to stop the revolving door of Indian captains and let Dhoni settle in for the long haul. His glovework is inconsistent - sometimes brilliant, other times awful as we have witnessed during this series. However, he can really bat and, just like Adam Gilchrist, can change the complexion of a game in the space of a few overs.
Indian cricket has long craved to be the best in the world and at various times it has seriously threatened. It has a habit of being derailed mainly due to instability and political unrest in and around the team. It appears it may finally be on the brink of a golden era.

This Darren Berry Propaganda broadcast was sponsored by the BCCI....

Darren Berry says a lot of things...

I think this author is out of his mind. The best talent on display in IPL were Australians. And Twenty20 has nothing to do with test cricket.

The best talent on display in IPL were Australians.

You mean Shane Watson?

Watson, Marsh etc.

Well comparitavely speaking, I don't think that the likes of Watson, Marsh, White, Siddle, and Haddin signal the start of a golden age for Australia.

Henry wrote:Well comparitavely speaking, I don't think that the likes of Watson, Marsh, White, Siddle, and Haddin signal the start of a golden age for Australia.

tait.

Henry wrote:Well comparitavely speaking, I don't think that the likes of Watson, Marsh, White, Siddle, and Haddin signal the start of a golden age for Australia.

Nor do I think that Raina, Rohit, Gony, Yusuf Pathan, Dinda and Ravinder Jadeja signal a golden age for India. So obviously the author is day dreaming while writing this article!

Dhoni, Sehwag, Gambhir, Rohit, Yuvraj, Ishant, Mishra, Zaheer, RP Singh, Pujara, Dhawan, Kohli, Raina, Chawla, M.Tiwary, Harbhajan, Sreesanth, I.Pathan........

Imo there's enough of a talent base there to be the number one team in all forms of the game by 2010.

As you can see Trev that hardly new exciting bowlers are coming through, be it pace bowling or spin bowling. And players you named are not exceptional enough to propel a golden age!

Chandan wrote:As you can see Trev that hardly new exciting bowlers are coming through, be it pace bowling or spin bowling. And players you named are not exceptional enough to propel a golden age!

Huh? Am I missing something here? Did I not just see the most promising young fast bowler and the most promising young leg spinner in the world tear the Aussies apart in the last test? Maybe we were watching a different game....

PlanetPakistan wrote:

Henry wrote:Well comparitavely speaking, I don't think that the likes of Watson, Marsh, White, Siddle, and Haddin signal the start of a golden age for Australia.

tait.

Shouldn't the last 'a' be a 'w'?

Henry wrote:Dhoni, Sehwag, Gambhir, Rohit, Yuvraj, Ishant, Mishra, Zaheer, RP Singh, Pujara, Dhawan, Kohli, Raina, Chawla, M.Tiwary, Harbhajan, Sreesanth, I.Pathan........

Imo there's enough of a talent base there to be the number one team in all forms of the game by 2010.

Hayden and Gilchrist played well in their brief stay in the IPL also.
I'm not so sure about India especially away from home. Tendulker Dravid Ganguly Laxman will be hard to replace.

Some of the above new players you mention are prospects but that's all. SA for example could give them a thrashing in the future.

Henry wrote:

Chandan wrote:As you can see Trev that hardly new exciting bowlers are coming through, be it pace bowling or spin bowling. And players you named are not exceptional enough to propel a golden age!

Huh? Am I missing something here? Did I not just see the most promising young fast bowler and the most promising young leg spinner in the world tear the Aussies apart in the last test? Maybe we were watching a different game....

Mishra is a doubt IMO. He could go for plenty outside India. Too slow and his action is readable.

Para Batsman wrote:

Henry wrote:

Chandan wrote:As you can see Trev that hardly new exciting bowlers are coming through, be it pace bowling or spin bowling. And players you named are not exceptional enough to propel a golden age!

Huh? Am I missing something here? Did I not just see the most promising young fast bowler and the most promising young leg spinner in the world tear the Aussies apart in the last test? Maybe we were watching a different game....

Mishra is a doubt IMO. He could go for plenty outside India. Too slow and his action is readable.

He's only 5' 5", - so can't see him getting much bounce, which is traditionally a leggie's weapon.

Chandan wrote:I think this author is out of his mind. The best talent on display in IPL were Australians. And Twenty20 has nothing to do with test cricket.

The format has little to do with the emergence of talent, IMO. As far as I know, a max of only four foreigners are allowed to play in any one game, i.e. 36% and among all the other foreign participants you single out the Aussies? Pretty biased, I'd say, considering the others played their part with some distinction. And there was plenty of good Indian talent around too. Don't believe me? Ask Shane Warne.

India's future batting stocks look shakey other than Rohit. Yuvraj isn't up to real cricket an no one else is really putting their hands up from what I can see.

jim rich wrote:

Chandan wrote:I think this author is out of his mind. The best talent on display in IPL were Australians. And Twenty20 has nothing to do with test cricket.

The format has little to do with the emergence of talent, IMO. As far as I know, a max of only four foreigners are allowed to play in any one game, i.e. 36% and among all the other foreign participants you single out the Aussies? Pretty biased, I'd say, considering the others played their part with some distinction. And there was plenty of good Indian talent around too. Don't believe me? Ask Shane Warne.

Chandan is from India.

If India can produce another foursome of the ilk of SRT, Gangles, Dravid and VVS (and this is a VERY BIG "IF") and dig up another Ishant Sharma, they could dominate World Cricket for the next decade, as Aus have done for the past decade.

In other words, it ain't going to happen!

Aye Bas, which is quite remarkable given the population of the place.

How is it that little ol' Aus with it's 20 million can produce such a dominant side since the mid 90s (now on the wane) yet India, with 1 billion, have never been able to do it?

skully wrote:If India can produce another foursome of the ilk of SRT, Gangles, Dravid and VVS (and this is a VERY BIG "IF") and dig up another Ishant Sharma, they could dominate World Cricket for the next decade, as Aus have done for the past decade.

They'll still have to tour with their own pitches and conditions in their luggage.

I see a decade of mixed results with no clear leader and home advantage a huge factor

skully wrote:Aye Bas, which is quite remarkable given the population of the place.

How is it that little ol' Aus with it's 20 million can produce such a dominant side since the mid 90s (now on the wane) yet India, with 1 billion, have never been able to do it?

Talent spotting, decent coaching, oh and a little bit of luck thrown in for good measure!

Para Batsman wrote:

skully wrote:If India can produce another foursome of the ilk of SRT, Gangles, Dravid and VVS (and this is a VERY BIG "IF") and dig up another Ishant Sharma, they could dominate World Cricket for the next decade, as Aus have done for the past decade.

They'll still have to tour with their own pitches and conditions in their luggage.

I see a decade of mixed results with no clear leader and home advantage a huge factor

Probably.