Is this the end?
With an ICC trophy on the line, and the scoreboard reading 66/5, India needed youngsters Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja to exude every bit of resilience in their arsenal, on a June 2013 afternoon in Birmingham. They did so, stitching together a 47-run stand, which effectively proved to be match-winning.
That, the pair happens to be the mainstays in the team a decade later, should not surprise any Indian cricket loyalist who witnessed the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy triumph. Away from their evident brilliance, however, a couple of occurrences couldn’t have been envisaged by many.
That, it happened to be the last instance of Indian fans celebrating their star-studded teams lifting an ICC trophy, to date. And in addition, three of that team’s shimmering stars are now nowhere to be seen, and perhaps, might not be seen ever again.
Shikhar Dhawan was seen at his absolute best, scoring 363 runs in five matches, including a couple of centuries. The tournament’s leading run-scorer might not have had his greatest day on the final, but he did chip in with 31 crucial runs.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, too, did not have the time of his life on the final, but was among the more influential bowlers in the competition, picking up six wickets and being India’s most economical seamer.
And then, there was Ravichandran Ashwin – the second-highest wicket-taker among spinners – but more importantly, one who bowled the last over, wherein India needed to defend 15 runs.
We Might Have Witnessed the Conclusion
With the trio being in their early-to-mid twenties, it seemed, like Kohli and Jadeja, they would be among the first names on the Indian team sheet in the years to come.
Yet, when the 15-member squad for the 2023 ICC Men’s ODI World Cup was announced on 5 August, none was mentioned.
There will not be a circular from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), neither will there be any official curtain call, but for those willing to lend an ear, the murmurs are perfectly audible – we might have seen the last of the trio. At least, in the ODI set-up.
How Shikhar Dhawan Lost His Place
Dhawan, the left-handed opening batter, has been an embodiment of reliability for India in the 50-over ICC events over the last decade. Should the statement sound sensationalised exaggeration, check the numbers for yourself:
2013 Champions Trophy – 363 runs (tournament’s leading run-scorer)
2015 World Cup – 412 runs (India’s leading run-scorer)
2017 Champions Trophy – 338 runs (tournament’s leading run-scorer)
2019 World Cup – 125 runs in two matches, including a century against Australia (before being ruled out owing to an injury)
It might seem trivial now, but when the ‘big boys’ of Indian cricket had devoted all of their attention to T20I cricket a year ago, owing to the T20 World Cup, Dhawan was handed captaincy responsibilities on a makeshift basis.
Shikhar Dhawan was India's makeshift ODI skipper a year ago.
(Photo: BCCI)
He scored 688 runs in ODI cricket last year – the second-highest by any Indian batter. The unfortunate concoction of a couple of factors – the return of the big boys, and an underwhelming conclusion to what was an otherwise decent year, wherein Dhawan could score only 18 runs in three ODIs against Bangladesh – effectively cost him a place in the team.
He has not featured in Test cricket since 2018, and in T20I cricket since 2021. Now at 37, with the team going in a separate direction, the chances of seeing him make a comeback in blue remains slim, if not nil.
The Obfuscating Case of Bhuvneshwar Kumar
The case of Bhuvneshwar Kumar is rather obfuscating. When Dhawan was busy leading what was effectively the ‘B team’, Kumar found himself pretty much a regular feature during the T20I matches.
Records of the calendar year will portray the seamer scalping 37 T20I wickets, which is the most by any Indian in 2022, but they don’t present the finer details, which highlight a tale of two halves.
He had a fine season till September, and at the last edition of the Asia Cup, emerged as the leading wicket-taker with 11 scalps. The T20 World Cup that followed, however, demoted him down the pecking order to quite a detrimental extent.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar's 2022 season was a tale of two halves.
(Photo: BCCI)
Bhuvneshwar Kumar's 2022 T20I numbers:
From January to September – 32 wickets in 23 matches (average – 17.6, economy rate – 7.21 rpo)
From October till the year-ending – 5 wickets in 8 matches (average – 32.4, economy rate – 6.31 rpo)
Only four wickets in six matches did not warrant an extended slot in the team, and whilst he wasn’t India’s worst performer – the best economy rate in the team offering testimony – screams of ‘transition’ and ‘phasing out’ were loud and clear after what was another disappointment at the global stage for the cricketing behemoth.
Transition did happen, and players were phased out – in Kumar’s case, not only from that particular format, but from ODI cricket, too. Albeit he is still in his early thirties, much younger than Dhawan and Ashwin, the inclination towards incorporating youngsters into the team will restrict his opportunities of earning the jersey back.
Phasing Out of Ravichandran Ashwin
Then, we have Ashwin. Had there been provision to pick sixteen players, the 16th player would undoubtedly have been an off-spinner, with chairman of the selection committee, Ajit Agarkar admitting the addition of an office would have been ideal, but squad balance prevented them from picking one.
The worry for Ashwin, however, is that he might not have been the player under consideration – with Washington Sundar reportedly edging him on the preferential order, considering long-term stability.
It is unlikely that Ravichandran Ashwin is India's number one off-spin option for white-ball cricket currently.
(Photo: BCCI)
Like Kumar, Ashwin was a part of India’s 2022 T20 World Cup squad, and ended up being the most effective spinner in the side, but it was not enough to spare him from the effect of a holistic revamp.
Despite being left out of the team’s ICC World Test Championship final match earlier this year, Ashwin still remains in India’s red-ball plans. Although, in white-ball cricket, we might not see him again.
Is this the end?
If it is, let it be known that these three stories were, albeit not completely devoid of blemishes, stories of exultation. And, not every story requires a happy ending to justify that.
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