India’s depth in squad is scary

All rightthinking cricket opponents must have been dreading the day India got it rightThatrsquos the day when India unearthed all the talent that was available and then fully capitalised by selecting their best team That time is well and truly upon the rest of the cricket world as India has showcased its amazing depth in the last few monthsThe emergence of such talents as Shubman Gill Mohammed Siraj Navdeep Saini Washington Sundar T Natarajan and Axar Patel wouldrsquove been monumental in the space of three years let alone just three months These players all made their Test debuts in that period and when you consider that Shardul Thakur excelled in just his second game and the ebullient Rishabh Pant was an international matchwinner before his 20th appearance it really is a rosy pictureA rosy picture that is if yoursquore an Indian fan for the rest of the cricket world it strikes a note of fear Itrsquos even more imposing when of those debutants only Gillmdashand possibly Sirajmdashwould play when every player is available for selectionAnd the picture attains a veritable glow when Ishan Kishan Suryakumar Yadav Prasidh Krishna and Krunal Pandya have all made successful white ball debuts while England is on tourSituation akin to WI OzPossessing such an abundance of talent is reminiscent of the West Indies and Australia during dominant periods when they overflowed with good players many of whom struggled to make the first elevenIn the West Indies case it was mainly a surplus of fast bowlers during a dominant span that kept serious pacemen like Wayne Daniel Sylvester Clarke Winston Davis Patrick Patterson and Ezra Moseley from having substantial Test careers While Australia was dominating at the turn of the century capable batsmen like Matthew Elliott Darren Lehmann Stuart Law Martin Love and in the early part of the period even Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer struggled to find a permanent placeSurpluses like that provide selectors with a bellyache from gorging but itrsquos a whole lot better than the pain caused by searching a bare larder for morselsNot only is India now in the enviable position of having a surplus of young talent but the candidates are also highly competitive cricketersLong gone are the days when some Indian players would quietly go up to an opponent and confess ldquoYou are my idolrdquo As one former Indian cricketer told me ldquoThere used to be players who just wanted to own the sweater and caprdquoTherersquos also no chance yoursquod hear in the current Indian dressing room the utterance ldquoWhy merdquo as happened when a Test team was announced during the 197778 Australian tourIt was MS Dhoni born in Ranchi whose success provided the inspiration for young cricketers from outlying areas to suddenly believe they could play for India The belligerent Sourav Gangulyrsquos captaincy style encouraged all players in the Indian team to believe they were the equal of their opponents This belief has grown under the guidance of Dhoni followed by the highly emotive leadership of Virat KohliIndiarsquos recent successes in Australiamdashparticularly the latest onemdashhave only reinforced the playersrsquo belief in their ability to win under any circumstancesIn an era where teams struggle overseas India now has the depth of talent to alter that pattern No longer can opponents afford to say when India are on their doorstep ldquoJust pick a string of fast bowlers with long run ups and the series will be oursrdquoDifficult propositionCan India replicate the dominant periods of the West Indies and Australia Itrsquos a much more difficult proposition these days with an extra form of the game a frightful schedule and the riches of the IPL not to mention a pandemic to circumnavigateHowever India has finally got the equation right and as long as they avoid the pitfalls often associated with continuing success they are better equipped than any team to produce an era of dominance The rest of the cricketing world beware