“Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them―a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.” – Muhammad Ali.
Imagine the winning shot of Rishabh Pant at Gabba and you will find the above quote perfectly relatable.
Away from home amid a pandemic and five months of living in bio-bubbles in foreign lands, bowled out for 36 in the first Test, missing their captain as well the best batsman, injuries to at least half a dozen key players, yet the Indian team defied all odds to create a fairytale of fairytales against the best in the business.
That is cricket’s ‘New India’ for you.
In the past better skilled individuals and better Indian teams had represented the country but we have to agree, this bunch of boys are perhaps the bravest of the lot.
The grit, determination and resilience we have seen from the Indian cricket team in Australia is quite unprecedented. In terms of skills the Aussies clearly had the upper hand but it was the willpower of the visitors which saw them through that acid test in the end.
From stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane’s gritty hundred in the Boxing Day Test, to two injured batsmen – R Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari – batting out almost two sessions to save the Sydney and keep the series alive, to Pant’s counter-attacking knocks in Sydney and Brisbane, to a bowling line-up with a collective experience of four Tests bowling the Aussies out twice in Brisbane and finally chasing down a record total in the fourth innings at Australia’ fortress Gabba – no matter what the situation and circumstance was, the Indian team had found a hero each time they were pushed into a corner.
The never die attitude of this team helps them to remain defiant even when the circumstances are the most challenging one. Much like any champion team, on the field these boys will not give you an inch. Perhaps the early exposure to the most competitive cricket league in the world – the IPL – has helped these youngsters to develop this ruthless approach early in their career.
Hence, any sort of compromise on the field, is not an option for this ‘New India’.
Furthermore, the up and downs which some of the players of this team have gone through in their personal life have made them mentally tougher. For instance, Mohammed Siraj refused to head back home despite losing his father in the middle of the Australia tour or Ravindra Jadeja ready to go out to bat with a dislocated thumb in Sydney or even T Natarajan not being able to see his new-born daughter for three months.
Impressed with this courage shown by team India, Deep Dasgupta, the cricketer turned commentator went on to mention that this is one of the ‘toughest Indian teams’ ever.
“This is a very tough Indian team there are no two ways about it, especially the last two games. This is definitely one of the toughest Indian teams ever. But I’d say there have been tougher teams in the 60s and 70s, the conditions were different,” Dasgupta recently said in a television chat show.
“We have to keep the conditions in mind, the series [tour of Australia] that is happening right now, almost 6 months of staying in the bubble and you have to factor in all of that. Toughness is not just about the sport that we see or the games that we are watching on air. This is a tough tour no doubt, mentally and physically.
“The biggest challenge is the mental fatigue. Even normally when you’re there away from home for almost 2 months, anyways it’s so tiring physically yes but mentally it’s tiring. And all the Indian players, except for maybe Pujara and Vihari, they’ve been away for almost 6 months,” he added further.
History has taught us that to develop a champion team you don’t just need players, you need characters. Thankfully, this Indian team has plenty of those and starting from February 5, we will yet again see them in action against the touring England team.
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