But Indian cricket’s problems will not disappear
India's victory in the 2013 Champions Trophy cricket tournament is remarkable because it has come with a young side and lays to rest speculation that the team would be adrift without the contribution of ‘seniors'. The team had just three players who were part of the 2011 World Cup triumph, and yet it played like a seasoned outfit. Relative newcomers shone with the bat and the ball and proved that, given an opportunity, they were as good as, if not better, than the icons that have steered Indian cricket over the decades. The victory is a message for those who have dragged their feet over announcing their retirements after having given their best.
They must heed it and hasten their departure, because there are even more youngsters waiting to prove their mettle. Credit for the victory also goes to MS Dhoni who demonstrated not just his famed cool but also the ability to handle pressures and make the right tactical choices as captain. One would have wanted the victory to have been more comprehensive and the game played out to the full 50 overs, but then rain gods played spoilsport and reduced the game to just 20 overs. Of course, this in a way suited the men in blue because they have over the recent years mastered the Twenty-20 format. Regardless, such was the dominance that they virtually sailed through into the final, barely encountering serious opposition from the world's best sides, and only in the stemmed final did they have to hold on to their nerves to register a five-run victory. The best part has been the consistency with which players such as Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli have performed, because the key to sustained success is consistency. A once-in-a-while brilliant knock may get the audience swooning, but a flash in the pan does not do much to build and sustain a winning team. Consistent performance from a majority of the players is what distinguishes a winning side from a good one.
But, commendable as the Champions Trophy victory is, it must not detract from the task of cleaning the muck that exists in Indian cricket. The shadow of spot-fixing, betting and clash of interests involving players and administrators of the game still looms large, and is unlikely to disappear with this success. Some vested interests will definitely try to obliterate the dark side of the game by the shine of the latest triumph, but they mustn't succeed. Unfortunately, slackness appears to have set into the ongoing investigations in the scandals, after Delhi Police and Mumbai Police made a few high-profile arrests in a span of one eventful week. Most of the accused are already out on bail, and nobody really knows if the police forces are doggedly following the leads the accused gave them. It can only be hoped that the probe does not get stuck in legal blocks, and that the Board of Control for Cricket in India rids itself of the malaise that it obstinately refuses to acknowledge.