Bengaluru, May 12 (PTI) Virat Kohli sounded almost desolate while talking about his struggles against Fidel Edwards during his debut Test against the West Indies in 2011. It was not the beginning an ambitious young man desired.
Instead of glory, there was anxiety and confusion. He ended that nearly 20 minutes of conversation at a Kingston restaurant with a plain yet powerful message: “Lekin mein chhorunga nahi (I will not leave it)”.
He did not leave the fight, hitting peaks between 2014 and 2019 that not many modern day cricketers have climbed.
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Runs and centuries flowed as the cricketing world marvelled at the transformation into a batting virtuoso who propelled India to some dizzying heights and memorable wins in Test cricket.
However, it’s also a blueprint for some of the young batters who have been tasked to helm the Indian cricket in the post-Kohli and Rohit Sharma era.
Here’s a detailed glance at a few of them:
Among the ‘Next Generation’ stars, none holds more significance than Shubman Gill, potentially India’s premier batsman and Test skipper in the coming days.
Perhaps, it’s a coincidence but Gill finds himself in the same space as Kohli when he was at 25 — with a middling Test record.
The Punjab man has played 32 Tests for 1893 runs at an average of 35.
But Gill will now go to England where he has a modest record — 88 runs from three Tests at an average of 14.66.
Can the Punjab man emulate his illustrious senior in turning around his fortunes at Old Blighty?
Even without James Anderson and Stuart Broad, England have a capable pace unit and some handy spinners, suiting the home conditions.
Like Kohli, Gill will have to bring in that iron-hearted discipline into his batting along with developing the tendency to bat closer to his body to cover the swing.
Jaiswal is certain to open the innings in England and he has already done that job in the West Indies, South Africa, Australia and India. But the task will be different and tougher on his maiden trip to England.
Jaiswal showed his technique and patience while notching up big runs in Australia and the West Indies at an average in excess of 44 and 80.
But as a batter who loves the ball coming onto his bat, Jaiswal will face a sterner challenge in late swing in England.
He will have to check his booming drives and rasping cuts, focusing more on leaves and selecting the right occasion to attack.
It’s not much of a technical change, but a mental shift and he can tear a page out of Kohli’s playbook.
After a struggle in 2014, Kohli learned how to negate the late swing of Anderson and Broad in 2018, and he made 593 runs from five matches at an average of 59.
They can also refer to the clippings of Sanjay Bangar and Rahul Dravid negating the pronounced swing at Leeds against Andrew Caddick and Matthew Hoggard in 2002.
At 24, Jurel stands a good back-up option behind Rishabh Pant as the second wicket-keeper batter. He was impressive in the debut series against England but could not make much impact against Australia.
Jurel has the requisite guts and skill level to be a long-term servant in Test cricket. He showed his prowess both in attack and defence while making two fifties against Australia in an unofficial Test ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last year.
He is also the kind of cricketer head coach Gautam Gambhir likes, one who never shies away from a fight in the middle.
But sustaining it for a longer duration will be his main challenge.
Orthodoxy is his strength. There is a bright chance of him making it to the touring squad to England, and his copybook batting could come handy in England, making him a calm yin to the more aggressive yang of Jaiswal.
The 23-year-old Sudharsan prefers to play down the ground on either side with a straight bat, a quality that gives immense chance to succeed in England.
The grainy footage of West Indian greats Viv Richards and Desmond Haynes driving England pacers like Ian Botham and John Snow down the ground for boundaries is still available on YouTube, and that could be his reference material.
He also has the experience of playing for Surrey in County cricket.
The 27-year-old can pillage an attack like he did against New Zealand in Bengaluru last year with a belligerent 150. But since then, ordinary form and a rib injury have pulled him back. The Mumbai man might also be asked to work on his fitness.
There is no doubting the skills of Sarfaraz. But if he can take some cues from Kohli’s almost manic chase of fitness to keep his skills sharp, then Sarfaraz can revive his Test fortunes.
Now, there is no Kohli or Rohit Sharma to guide them, pep them, cajole them or scold them. So, can the boys survive battles and grow into men all alone?
It will determine the brightness of their own and India’s cricket’s future.
