BackIndia avoids World Cup curse of jadedness
The remarkable aspect of the reigning champions is that they have steered clear of nostalgia, reputation
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Hamilton: When Sri Lanka began its title defence in 1999, it was the shortest reign for a world champion. Cricket’s bid to avoid a clash with both the football World Cup and summer Olympics meant the 1999 event took place after a gap of just three years—the only time in the sport’s history.
For Sri Lanka, time hadn’t moved at all. Ten of the 15 players who had lifted the trophy at Lahore in 1996 found themselves on the flight to England. The central protagonists remained the same: Arjuna Ranatunga, Aravinda de Silva, Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan. Two of the above, Ranatunga and de Silva, had their prime well behind them. Sri Lanka was a jaded team and—with passengers such as Ranatunga and De Silva—monstrously shorn of athleticism. As it turned out, they didn’t spend much time running around in England. Sri Lanka was sent packing from the group stages, a humiliating denouement for the defending champions; their spell in the tournament lasted a little over two weeks.
India was never a dynasty, but a team on the last legs of a winning cycle going into this World Cup. But the remarkable aspect of this team has been that, in a manner almost Australian, India has steered clear of nostalgia and reputation. Harbhajan Singh is still only 34, no retirement age for a spinner. Gautam Gambhir, one of the heroes of the 2011 final alongside captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, is only 33. Neither made it to this tournament. India has attempted to begin afresh than rewrite a script from the past.
Only four among the 15— Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin—who returned with winners’ medals from the Wankhede four years ago have made it to 2015. That may prove to be India’s biggest advantage. There is a freshness about this team, and an absence of baggage. Its leading run-scorer and leading wicket taker, Shikhar Dhawan and Mohammed Shami, respectively, were not even in the reckoning for the 2011 squad. Most of them have not been in a World Cup, so the burden of defending one doesn’t come into the picture.
This is a team in Dhoni’s image—calm, fearless, seemingly impervious to pressure. In 2011, Dhoni was the undoubted boss too, but there were several—the likes of Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh—who had made their debuts before him and were, in a very Indian sense, his seniors. Now he is the oldest in the squad, a Pied Piper who has the team in his thrall.
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