Indian cricket would have been somewhat pleased with the year that went by because its young Test skipper and his fledgling team fared well enough to climb the rankings smartly to the number two spot. A tired Dhoni had quit the Test scene leaving the field open to a deserving candidate to try and rebuild fortunes that had come down far too much in his blasé years in an extended lease of life as Test captain. Virat Kohli grabbed the opportunity to prove he is indeed Indian cricket’s man of destiny.
It was a forgettable year for the Dhoni-led limited overs team although his World Cup outfit performed beyond expectations until it ran into the ultimate champs Australia who seemed unstoppable in their home conditions. Given New Zealand’s form in the showpiece event, it is doubtful if India would have got past the Kiwis either if they were to have played them in the last four. To get that far as defending champion was a fair enough performance because playing Down Under is not India’s cup of tea.
Beyond what happened on the field in a mixed bag of a year in which Test performances outweighed limited-overs efforts, unfortunately so in the year of the World Cup, 2015 will go down as one of reform. Problems threatening the very image of Indian cricket had been allowed to linger for long until they were tackled firmly by judicial wisdom. It was the intervention of the Supreme Court that led to a new broom sweeping Indian cricket clean to the extent of banning the chief administrator’s cricket team, along with another embroiled in betting and fixing scandals.
The sheer arrogance of money and power-drunk BCCI could have been countered only by the righteous indignation of the country’s top court. Otherwise, they would have carried on with their total lack of concern for such niceties as conflict of interest, ethics and morality in governance. In a way it is a pity it had to come to this with the former chief being forced to ‘step away’ from the ICC although the new BCCI prez and ICC chairman showed in his early actions that vendetta drives him more than the principles involved over which such drastic changes had to be brought about.
It is important that the show should go on and two new combinations, even if only of old faces, may bring in a breath of fresh air to IPL-9, which needs a clean season more than all the glamour and glitz. To believe the canker of betting-fixing has gone with the suspension of two teams is to be naive. Far more vigil is needed in 2016 if the premier league is to regain the magic of its early days when everything seemed hunky-dory with the gravy train taking off and all players getting on board eagerly. Only a few saw the problems that would come in the wake of money being the sole driver of the cricket economy.
Of the year’s memorable vignettes, the World Cup glistening in Michael Clarke’s hands was a clear highlight. Brendon McCullum and his fellow Kiwis’ attitude and approach may have helped launch the game to a higher level even as it did wonders for an old and pristine image of a gentleman’s game.
As Steve Smith rattled along in what was a great year for him as well as his team, AB de Villiers continued to rewrite the coaching manual with his string of innovations. It wasn’t that great a year for his team though, their slide in Test cricket so apparent and going far beyond the doctored wickets that the host provided them, particularly in Nagpur where a paddy field was passed off as a Test match pitch.
Team India should go on to prosper under Kohli’s dynamic leadership even if the angry young man gets into a situation or two on the field. Ravichandran Ashwin was the year’s most improved cricketer after having taken his bowling to a far higher level after coming to terms with bowling on Australia’s sporting pitches. Ravindra Jadeja was the comeback man of the year.
On his spin capabilities we can reserve judgment until he bowls more abroad but he is a confident enough player to be able to progress in his career after such a year. For Team India, the year was a bit like the proverbial curate’s egg, good in parts.
