Talk of transition has been reverberating through the corridors of Indian cricket for some time now.
Leave aside the Test and ODI formats, Suryakumar ‘SKY’ Yadav’s T20I side is truly in control of the circumstances and has the nucleus of an indomitable unit already in place. Here are a bunch of players who can dare to dream and throw caution to the winds when it comes to exploring and redefining batting pyrotechnics.
No record has been deemed safe in the last six months since the T20 World Cup triumph. Batting first, they have gone past 200 seven times in their last 11 matches, 297/6 against Bangladesh being the highest.
Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma’s explosive hitting in the top order has denied opportunities to most of the others from plying their trade. Even the long boundaries
and alien conditions in South Africa didn’t prove to be an impediment.
England's Adil Rashid during a training session at Eden Gardens on Tuesday. Sanat Kumar Sinha
It’s only fair to expect more such big-hitting ways in high-scoring venues like Calcutta, Chennai, Rajkot, Pune and Mumbai against England. The five T20Is will provide a sneak peek into the fitness and form of players from
both teams, though much attention will also be on the three-match ODI series, beginning February 6, ahead of the Champions Trophy.
The bounce and carry on the Eden Gardens wicket will work in the batters’ favour on Wednesday though the winter chill and dew could aid lateral movement. Mohammed Shami couldn’t have hoped for a better start to his return to action since his 24-wicket haul in the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Following a day’s break, Shami did bowl for a while in the ‘open’ nets late on Tuesday afternoon without any signs of discomfort. His wicket-taking skills, especially with the new ball, will help captain Surya though Arshdeep Singh’s parsimonious bowling could prove to be more effective in the T20 format.
Much like Shami, England’s Jofra Archer’s fitness will also come under scrutiny.
To keep away any talk of discord and internal bickering, the team management even got involved in a bonding session at their Bypass hotel on Monday evening. Samson posted singing a duet with assistant coach Abhishek Nayar on social media.
“Generally, the atmosphere is great. We had a team dinner yesterday... This camaraderie will reflect on the field as well,” Surya assured at a news conference on Tuesday.
England perhaps needed a coach in Brendon McCullum to push them to their limits in the white-ball format. Their potential can’t be undermined given the presence of Jos Buttler, Phil Salt, Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone.
Surya will hope to exploit Varun Chakravarthy’s mystery spin in a bid to tame the big-hitting Salt and Livingstone and cripple England’s progress in the middle overs.
None knows it better than Gautam Gambhir.
