OPINION
Follow UsAfter months and months of clamouring, on February 20, 2022, the general Indian public finally got what it wanted: the BCCI confirmed that Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane had been dropped from the Test squad altogether. Although there was always an air of inevitability about the pair getting axed, the move still took a vast majority of the people aback, in a good way of course, for such was the backing the two seniors had always received.
But when two cricketers of such class, magnitude and experience are axed, there’s always one running fear: what if those who replace them turn out to be not so good? Sure, both Pujara and Rahane might have barely contributed in the preceding 18 months, but in order to justify their alienation, the ones who take their spot must prove themselves, and preferably do the same quickly.
Otherwise you, as a management, will find yourself in an uncomfortable position in no time. Statements like, ‘eh, Rahane and Pujara were dropped for THIS?’ will be thrown around. People will point to their Ranji hundreds to prove that ‘they’ve still got it’ and the same journalists who vouched for the dropping of the two seniors will be writing op-eds on how the management moved on ‘too early’ from Pujara and Rahane, and under-estimated the transition phase.
Which is why it must be a huge relief for Rahul Dravid to see Hanuma Vihari and Shreyas Iyer, his hand-picked Pujara/Rahane replacements, seamlessly slide into the starting XI and play as if they’ve been performing the assigned role for years. You just know the head coach will be sitting there in the dressing room full of contentment, knowing that his decision to move on from two of the biggest names in the country has been thoroughly vindicated - for the time being at least.
In truth, despite having to fill big shoes on paper, the bar was pretty low for both Vihari and Iyer, especially at home. Combinedly in their last 18 innings in India, Pujara and Rahane had scored a mere 379 runs at an average of 21.05, passing the fifty-run mark just twice. Even saying that the pair were ‘passengers’ would be generous.
That, though, still didn’t change the fact that Vihari and Iyer were ultimately replacing two veterans who’d been integral parts of the greatest Indian Test unit of all time. P̶a̶c̶e̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶p̶a̶c̶e̶ Pressure is pressure, yaar.
Just how the pair have grown into their new-found roles has been sublime.
Last week in Mohali, after years of being moved up and down the order and being thrown into uncomfortable situations in alien conditions, Vihari got to bat in the top three at home for the first time in his career. It was an opportunity for which he had to wait 1,275 days.
But despite No.3 being a role unknown to him at the international level, the 28-year-old looked right at home. At no point did he show nerves, or was overawed by the occasion. The right-hander seamlessly transitioned up the order and struck a fine fifty, and looked well-set for a big one before a poor choice of shot resulted in his undoing.
During the 128 balls he was at the crease, though, Vihari didn’t give the impression that he was someone looking to ‘seal’ the number three slot - anyone out of the loop could easily have passed him off for a long-term No.3.
In Bangalore this week, Vihari played a pair of knocks that reinforced the same sentiment.
On paper, 31 and 35 might look like slightly underwhelming scores that do not deserve a great deal of praise. But across the 160 balls he faced in the Test, on a wicket where bowlers had the clear edge, Vihari looked as assured and comfortable as anyone did. His control percentage of 85.00% was the highest for any batter that faced more than 25 balls in the Test.
Coming to Iyer, no words of praise will do justice to what he’s thus far managed to achieve at the Test level. Mind you, unlike Vihari, he’s had to deal with unfair criticism, hatred and discontent.
When Iyer made his Test debut against New Zealand in Kanpur, it was being claimed that he was unfairly elevated ahead of Vihari, who was left out of the senior squad and then belatedly added to the ‘A’ squad to tour South Africa. This, to a certain extent, was true.
But even when he struck an impressive ton under testing circumstances, there was plenty of chatter about how he would fail away from home due to his susceptibility versus the short ball.
Then, he was once again being targeted during the Mohali Test after leapfrogging Shubman Gill in the pecking order, something many people thought was not right. To add to all this the management (even if temporarily), moved him down to No.6, a position in which he’d batted only once in first-class cricket.
None of this flustered him a bit. Like Vihari, if you were someone who didn’t know much about the Indian team ahead of the Bangalore Test, you could easily have passed Iyer for being a seasoned veteran at the international level. Such was the confidence he oozed; such was the clarity with which he went about his business.
"I personally felt that fifty was like a century. That's why I celebrated like that. It was like a century feeling for me.
"You saw the players who defended the ball, there was a lot of chance of nicking, and there was variable bounce on that wicket. You can't just play very negatively on that wicket and just keep defending the ball. You've got to have that positive intent when you step out on the field. The wicket is not that great. It's obviously bowler-friendly.
"I'm disappointed I didn't get a hundred, but as a team, we got to over 250 which on this wicket is a fighting total. I don't have any regrets,” Iyer said after his sizzling 92 on Day 1.
This was a man who’d only played 3 Tests before doing what he did on the first day at the Chinnaswamy. Mind-boggling maturity.
On Day 2, he posted the fourth fifty-plus score of his career (in just 7 innings) to make his tally for the game 159 off 185. Yes, on a pitch in which 30 wickets fell in 170 overs.
Just what has changed in Iyer under the new management, nobody knows. But what is evident is that, in the past month or so, across formats, he’s been playing with a never-seen-before clarity, which in turn has elevated his game to a whole new level.
For both Iyer and Vihari, however, this is just the beginning. With all due respect to Sri Lanka, the duo will encounter tougher challenges in the coming months, and will be bombarded with far more questions by far better bowling attacks. The litmus test will also be how they fare away from home (outside Asia, specifically) in their respective roles. Vihari has years of experience under his belt already, but Iyer will have plenty of proving to do, when the time comes.
But as the saying goes, you can only beat what’s in front of you. Vihari and Iyer have passed their first assignment with flying colours.
Extremely early days, but life after Pujara and Rahane? So far, so good.
