“Hardik, to me, represents the modern, fearless Indian cricketer,” the former West Indies captain Daren Ganga, now in the country on commentary duty, told The Hindu . “He gives more options to skipper Virat Kohli in the team formation.”
Ganga is impressed by the new generation of Indian players like Hardik. “They are aggressive and bold,” he said.
High praise for Shaw
“Look at someone like Prithvi Shaw. It was incredible the way he commanded the stage in his very first Test.”
The former opener feels the 18-year-old Mumbai batsman is destined for greatness. “He looks very assured and batted in ultra attacking style in his first game for India,” Ganga said. “His talent is backed by statistics.”
He likes a few other young Indian batsmen as well. “Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Viharai, Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer are all excellent,” he said. “And it is great to see India producing so many fine pace bowlers.”
Ganga said Umesh Yadav’s 10-wicket haul in the Hyderabad Test was extraordinary. “In the 20 years I have been playing and following cricket, I haven’t seen a performance like that by an Indian fast bowler,” he said.
“To see him bowl like that on a surface meant for spinners was amazing. Such surprises are the beauty of this sport.”
IPL’s contribution
Ganga believes the IPL has contributed tremendously to the growth of the Indian team. “Contrary to what many people believe, I think T20 cricket impacts the longer formats positively; it is about how you embrace it,” he said. “It teaches you how to manage risks, adds versatility to your bowling and makes your fielding sharp.”
He added that the IPL was the greatest on-the-job training a young cricketer could hope for. “When a young Shaw sits in the dressing room with Kevin Pietersen and plays against Mitchell Johnson, A.B. de Villiers or Chris Gayle, nothing in international cricket will overawe you,” he said. “Full credit to the BCCI for coming up with the IPL.”
As for the poor show of the West Indies team on this tour, he thinks two major factors contributed to it. “The individual failures of players like Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Kraigg Brathwaite and Shannon Gabriel let the team down,” he said.
“Also, just one warm-up game — a two-day one — was never going to be enough.”
