Published: Jan 30, 2011, 03:25 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 25, 2014, 11:35 PM (IST)
By Pooja Teckchandani
Indian cricketers have, for long, suffered the stigma of being poor travellers abroad – a blot that has many connotations. In cricketing parlance, it meant inability to adjust to alien conditions. Batsman unable to handle pacy and bouncy tracks… bowlers struggling to capture 20 wickets.
Over the years, there have been numerous stories floating around when a dejected Indian team returned home. They were the butt of jokes, dubbed softies. Talks would do the rounds that they missed their family, food (“the Maa ke haath ka khana“) their culture, etc.
Until the early 2000’s, India rarely made an impression on their away tours – they were kings at home but paupers away. They had won only 13 out of 155 Tests played on foreign soil with a dismal win-loss ratio of 0.18
The dawn of 2000 heralded a new chapter. Under the feisty leadership of Sourav Ganguly, an aggressive young Indian team was ready to slug it out. It wasn’t the most balanced Test team in terms of skill, but what they had in abundance was loads of self-belief and hunger to win. This era saw the Indian cricket team evolve from being poor to average. They had their share of historic moments and gave their opposition a tough fight. The Indian team displayed the hitherto unknown killer instinct.
In 2001-02, India drew two out of the three Tests in South Africa. And after 31 years, they managed to draw the home Test series against England the same year. The mighty Aussies were forced to share the series honours in their own backyard in 2002-03. This was marked India’s ascendency.
In 2007, India took a step ahead. They beat England 1-0 at home and commenced their journey to the pinnacle. Over the last few years, the Indians have emphatically proved that they are no longer average travellers. Since 2000, their record has improved dramatically, with a win-loss ratio of one. They have won at least one Test in every overseas country.
Even the recent drawn Test series in South Africa saw all the matches keenly contested. India actually batted out a day in difficult conditions to earn the respect of cricket fans around the world. They rewrote history by not conceding the series first time on South African soil and, in the bargain, proved that they are worthy of being the Number 1 Test side.
The next 12 months will be a test for Indian cricket to see if it can evolve to improve its image as good travellers in this age of globalisation.
(Pooja Tekchandani is a cricket enthusiast, follower & commentator. She took to the game by accident, coerced into watching it while fighting over the TV remote with her elder brother. She developed an addiction for the game that has only grown stronger with time!)
