As 2009 dawns, the Indian cricket team faces its lightest international schedule for years. Following the cancellation of the Pakistan tour, India is scheduled for only five Tests and 21 ODIs, its lightest itinerary this decade. The other notable change is that India is now expected to win when it travels overseas.
Young gun: South Africa’s Duminy is a talent to watch out for in 2009. Dibyangshu Sarkar / AFP
India’s first assignment, in New Zealand in March, will be its first trip there in six years. Last time, the Indians were swept 2-0 in a low-scoring series amid insipid batting on seaming tracks. This time, a depleted Kiwi outfit will meet an Indian team with a vastly improved pace attack and a stable opening pairing. With Gautam Gambhir having broken through at the international level, and Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan a class above the likes of Ajit Agarkar and Ashish Nehra, India should win comfortably in both forms of the game against a fragile batting line-up, missing the likes of Lou Vincent, Craig McMillan and strike bowler Shane Bond, who have all defected to the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL).
India will enter June’s Twenty20 World Cup in England as one of the favourites, although this abbreviated form of cricket is most unpredictable and last-over thrillers await all teams. The second season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will precede it, allowing the Indians thorough preparation for their title defence. With each IPL team needing to field a quota of youngsters and local players, shrewd recruiting and manipulation of greenhorns and unproven players is needed, rather than just international stars.
Last year, Delhi Daredevils and, most of all, champions Rajasthan Royals extracted a great deal from their nominally weak links. For the Royals, Siddharth Trivedi took 13 wickets, ably supporting the internationally capped players, while the diminutive Swapnil Asnodkar frequently seized the momentum with audacious top-order attacks. For Delhi, Shikhar Dhawan and Amit Mishra put in a series of productive displays that have earned them contracts with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Kings XI Punjab was able to manipulate its team in order to shield its quota players from the action, but Royal Challengers Bangalore and Deccan Chargers of Hyderabad were not. Despite being among the fancied teams, they sank to the bottom, with an array of locals and young players who were forced to see front line action and were unable to deliver. This year, careful consideration of the “weak links” will again be needed for success.