Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah: Prodigies of the Dhoni-Kohli Era

Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah made their T20 debuts together.

(Photo: BCCI)

“A lot of people resist transition and therefore never allow themselves to enjoy who they are. Embrace the change, no matter what it is; once you do, you can learn about the new world you’re in and take advantage of it,” Nikki Giovanni

International cricket is strange, more so when it comes to the passage of time.

You follow the long journey of a cricketer from his nascent steps in the sport right up to that inevitable day he decides to hang up the shoes he took those very steps in. You feel as though the veteran has been around forever. Yet, at the same time, it seems like you bore witness to the youngster’s nervous debut just yesterday.

This, right here, is the strangeness of international cricket. Time here is relative, uneven and inexplicable.

Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya are vital bones to the Indian team’s skeleton of today. It is impossible to imagine Virat Kohli and Co. taking on an ODI encounter without the duo strapped to their arsenal now. If Bumrah bowls with extreme pace in the beginning and unreal precision at the end of an innings, Pandya turns into the perfect all-round performer India has yearned since years.

The pair made its T20 debut on the same day against a daunting opposition at the start of last year.

Match: India vs Australia, 1st T20.
Date: 26 January, 2016.
Venue: Adelaide.

The setting wasn’t tailor-made for glory. In fact, the team had just suffered a 4-1 battering in the ODI series against the hosts. The T20 game began with Australia winning the toss and electing to field first. India put up a target of 188 for Australia after a usual masterclass from Virat Kohli.

Enter: Bumrah and Pandya.

The duo bowled and fielded with vigour and scalped 5 wickets between them. India won by 37 runs and a couple of 22-year-olds had announced themselves to the world scene.

(Photo: BCCI)

However, accepting them wasn’t easy for the Indians fans, with their penchant for classics and culture. Bumrah was unconventional with his bowling style. Pandya, with his behaviour. While the former’s elbows turned to vestigial organs when he bowled, the latter was perceived to be brash and brazen. Bumrah’s on-field eccentricity was as unwelcome as Pandya’s off-field persona.

Today, the 23-year-olds are darlings of the Indian cricket fan.

A lot of credit for this goes to the youngsters themselves. They stepped up when it mattered, created an impact on the game whenever they were brought into it and kept working hard off the field. They stayed fit and did not let injury plague them while making sure that they give their cent percent every time they don the Indian blues.

However, there is another crucial factor that needs to be tagged to their development. It is the pair of captains that they have played under. Bumrah and Pandya were lucky enough to begin their journey under the calm influence of MS Dhoni before seeping into the ruthless intent of Kohli.

The captaincy segue from Dhoni to Kohli has helped the youngsters develop on and off the field. They have been extremely lucky to get the best of both worlds.

Dhoni had calm, Kohli has aggression. Dhoni had tactical genius, Kohli has the win-or-die attitude. Dhoni led the team to unreal heights, Kohli is surging higher with every game that he plays.

The one thing common between the two diverse captains is their undying support for the youngsters of the team. While Dhoni kept backing youngsters always giving them that one extra opportunity, Kohli has heaped praise on the youngster in front of national and international media. Sometimes, the best way to get through to the players in your team is by talking to them through the media. Kohli understands that and uses it to his advantage brilliantly.

Bumrah and Pandya were infused with confidence during Dhoni’s reign. They were given the rope to go ahead and express themselves in tight situations. Their moment of glory under Captain Cool came in the world T20 group match against Bangladesh, a game, which is also known as an edge-of-the-seat thriller! Bangladesh needed 2 runs off 3 deliveries in the ultimate over and India ended up winning the game by one run to spare, courtesy a masterclass from Dhoni.

Pandya was the one bowling the final over. Dhoni, in his peculiar manner, considered an unlikely option to bowl the crucial six deliveries. The 22-year-old was suddenly in the smack centre of the limelight and had to make it or break it in the span of the next few minutes. India won the match in a heart-stopping last over drama, and Pandya never looked back since then.

Bumrah started the bowling innings in the most horrid manner. He dropped a dolly and was smashed all over the park in his first spell of the innings. It seemed like failure, which was long due for the youngster since his debut, ready to punch him in the gut. However, the second 22-year-old refused to give up. He came back in the 17th and 19th overs of the innings, bowled an avalanche of ripping yorkers and played a decisive role in India’s one-run win over the tigers victory.

(Photo: AP)

Today, Pandya is the superstar of the team. Kohli sings praises of him every time he is asked about his talent, Ravi Shastri encourages him to bat up the order. He has flourished under the confidence and charm of Kohli and is now an exciting prospect for the long-term future of Indian cricket.

Bumrah is a now the leader of the Indian pace attack at 23 years. He is the one bowler that Kohli can turn to in any moment of the game. The captain, the coach and the Indian fan know that if there’s one player in the team who will come up with the goods every time the tide roars higher, it’s Bumrah.

The duo have come a long way from their eventful debut in Australia. Recently, Kapil Dev claimed that Pandya is a better all-rounder than he was in playing days. Bumrah is hailed as the best death over specialist by various experts of world cricket today.

If this isn’t the definition of a successful transition, what is?

They started against Australia in Australia under Dhoni and are now taming the same opposition in home conditions under Kohli. Life has come to a full circle for the two, but they still have many more circumferences to go around.

It feels like they made their debut just yesterday, thanks again, to the weird dimensions of time in cricket. However, it has been almost two years since then. A similar time period from now will see them represent India in their first ICC World Cup in England in 2019. They have the teachings of Dhoni and the support of Kohli behind them in full swing – can they make it count when it matters the most?