Ian Chappell believes India are likely to set in motion an era of dominance in world cricket like Australia and West Indies of the past.
“India’s recent successes in Australia - particularly the latest one - have only reinforced the players’’ belief in their ability to win under any circumstances,” Chappell wrote in ESPNcricinfo.
“In an era where teams struggle overseas, India now have the depth of talent to alter that pattern. No longer can opponents afford to say, when India are on their doorstep, ‘Just pick a string of fast bowlers with long run-ups and the series will be ours’.”
The cricket expert feels India can replicate the dominance of the West Indian and Australian teams of the past though it has become much more difficult now.
“An abundance of talent like this is reminiscent of West Indies and Australia during dominant periods when they overflowed with good players, many of whom struggled to make the first XI.
Chappell said he is amazed by the rate at which talented youngsters are emerging from the Indian cricket ecosystem and has attributed the team’s recent success to that.
“The emergence of such talents as Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Washington Sundar, T Natarajan and Axar Patel would have been monumental if it had happened in the space of three years, let alone just three months as it did.
“And when you consider that Shardul Thakur excelled in just his second game and the ebullient Rishabh Pant was an international match-winner before his 20th appearance, it really is a rosy picture.
“A rosy picture, that is, if you’re an Indian fan; for the rest of the cricket world, it strikes a note of fear.”
He also spoke about former India captains Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s contributions.
“It was MS Dhoni, born in Ranchi, whose success provided the inspiration for young cricketers from outlying areas to suddenly believe they could play for India.
“The belligerent Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy style encouraged all players in the Indian team to believe they were the equal of their opponents. This belief grew under the guidance of Dhoni, followed by the highly emotive leadership of Virat Kohli.”
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With PTI Inputs