The antics of a temperamental pace bowler of questionable talent have shifted focus from a remarkable transition in Indian cricket. A new set of players is taking over from some of the greats of Indian cricket and the transition may well go down as a case study in change management. The private sector can learn a lot from what BCCI is pulling off.
Tendulkar is almost retired, VVS and Dravid have officially retired and Sehwag has unselected himself. On the bowling front we have lost Zaheer and Bhajji. When teams lose players of such quality, the impact can be devastating.
30 years later the West Indies are yet to recover. Australia is now an embarrassment to themselves and to all cricket lovers. England took well over a decade to rebuild a decent team. The Indian team, by contrast, is looking stronger than ever.
The batting unit (in Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Chetashwar Pujara with Raina, Karthik and a few others lurking in the wings) is probably the strongest it has been in recent memory, though the winter tour to South Africa will be the real test. The bowling pack hunts efficiently and is a wonderful balance of seam and spin. The Captain is at his peak and already the next Captain is being groomed.
These things don’t just happen and credit has to be given where it is due. BCCI and the selection panel have assiduously nurtured new talent, bloodied it carefully and managed the transition better than any cricket board has done in recent memory.
A bellwether of the Indian software industry (Infosys) is in the news of late because of a botched up change management exercise. They have recalled a star from the yesteryears. England once tried something similar; Colin Cowdrey was pulled out of the woodwork to confront Lillee and Thomson in the 1974-75 Ashes tour. It was not a pretty sight, not for the spectators and certainly not for Mr. Cowdrey.
