By Nishad Pai Vaidya
The final edition of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 has brought about a change of guard for numerous sides. When compared to the 2011 World Cup, teams have come in with fresh blood as certain youngsters have replaced the heavyweights. One would say that this tournament has come at the ideal juncture as it is almost half-way between the two World Cups and the teams can assess their build-up.
The teams that have undergone the most significant changes are India and Australia. For both teams, the 2011 World Cup was an important one with contrasting fortunes. Australia’s world-beating era in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) came to an end as Ricky Ponting relinquished the captaincy after a quarter-final exit. On the other hand, India fulfilled their dreams and completed the mission they set off on more than a decade ago.
There is a radical change of guard in the Indian ranks. This is their first major tournament after Sachin Tendulkar’s retirement from ODIs. Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh — men who played crucial roles in the World Cup victory — have lost the faith of the selectors. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, to name a few, have found their spots and a lot of hopes rest on them.
Similarly, Australia are without the services of Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey — men who formed the backbone of their line-up. Also missing in action is David Hussey, who has been axed from the side in favour of youngsters. Brett Lee has also called it a day from international cricket. While Michael Clarke and Shane Watson remain the torchbearers of the side, they are inexperienced in both departments.
Pakistan are another side who has seen a lot of changes when compared to their 2011 World Cup side. However, they are no strangers to chopping and changing, and it is a recurrent phenomenon in Pakistan cricket. Through that, they have maintained good form and have a few of exciting young players to watch out for. Shahid Afridi is the biggest absentee followed by Abdul Razzaq. Shoaib Akhtar is also around anymore, but that didn’t hurt their pace-bowling department one bit as they have this El Dorado somewhere in Pakistan.
A team that has been forced to make changes is South Africa. Graeme Smith is out injured and Jacques Kallis isn’t playing because of personal reasons. Johan Botha has given up his international honours to play more domestic cricket around the world. Thus, this tournament is an opportunity for David Miller, Aaron Phangiso and Ryan McLaren, among others, to blend into the setup. Kallis and Smith would remain in their 2015 World Cup plans and the balance of the side would change once they return.
The most intriguing case is that of Sri Lanka. They are somewhere in between a stable and a transition phase. Angelo Mathews has taken up the mantle of captaincy, but Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan are still there in the team. They are in the same age bracket and would be almost 38 years old by 2015. One doesn’t know whether they would play the World Cup, although they are still fit and contributing to the team’s cause.
The final edition of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 has brought about a change of guard for numerous sides. When compared to the 2011 World Cup, teams have come in with fresh blood as certain youngsters have replaced the heavyweights. One would say that this tournament has come at the ideal juncture as it is almost half-way between the two World Cups and the teams can assess their build-up.
The teams that have undergone the most significant changes are India and Australia. For both teams, the 2011 World Cup was an important one with contrasting fortunes. Australia’s world-beating era in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) came to an end as Ricky Ponting relinquished the captaincy after a quarter-final exit. On the other hand, India fulfilled their dreams and completed the mission they set off on more than a decade ago.
There is a radical change of guard in the Indian ranks. This is their first major tournament after Sachin Tendulkar’s retirement from ODIs. Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh — men who played crucial roles in the World Cup victory — have lost the faith of the selectors. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, to name a few, have found their spots and a lot of hopes rest on them.
Similarly, Australia are without the services of Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey — men who formed the backbone of their line-up. Also missing in action is David Hussey, who has been axed from the side in favour of youngsters. Brett Lee has also called it a day from international cricket. While Michael Clarke and Shane Watson remain the torchbearers of the side, they are inexperienced in both departments.
Pakistan are another side who has seen a lot of changes when compared to their 2011 World Cup side. However, they are no strangers to chopping and changing, and it is a recurrent phenomenon in Pakistan cricket. Through that, they have maintained good form and have a few of exciting young players to watch out for. Shahid Afridi is the biggest absentee followed by Abdul Razzaq. Shoaib Akhtar is also around anymore, but that didn’t hurt their pace-bowling department one bit as they have this El Dorado somewhere in Pakistan.
A team that has been forced to make changes is South Africa. Graeme Smith is out injured and Jacques Kallis isn’t playing because of personal reasons. Johan Botha has given up his international honours to play more domestic cricket around the world. Thus, this tournament is an opportunity for David Miller, Aaron Phangiso and Ryan McLaren, among others, to blend into the setup. Kallis and Smith would remain in their 2015 World Cup plans and the balance of the side would change once they return.
The most intriguing case is that of Sri Lanka. They are somewhere in between a stable and a transition phase. Angelo Mathews has taken up the mantle of captaincy, but Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan are still there in the team. They are in the same age bracket and would be almost 38 years old by 2015. One doesn’t know whether they would play the World Cup, although they are still fit and contributing to the team’s cause.
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