It promises to be an exciting year. Obviously, there is the World Cup next month, but there will be matches after it as well. Quite a few careers will end after the trophy is lifted in Melbourne, by choice or otherwise, and teams will look to start afresh, laying out plans for the next few years.
Though every team is aiming for glory at the World Cup, this time the equation is different compared to the 2011 or 2007 editions.
At the last two World Cups, the two favourite teams – India and Australia before them – had put in years of hard work in limited overs cricket and gained immense success and glory before going for the ultimate prize at the quadrennial event.
The World Cup was seen as a crowning moment in a superb list of achievements by some of the finest one-day players the world had ever seen. When Australia lifted their third straight trophy in Barbados in 2007, and when India rejoiced in Mumbai in 2011, the destination had been reached.
This year, however, there are no clear favourites as no team is riding any wave of expectations, gradually collecting one-day accolades on their way to the top prize. There are a handful of one-day stalwarts remaining in international cricket now and almost every team is in a state of flux, creating a new identity as it prepares to put its best foot forward Down Under. It really is anybody’s World Cup.
In such a scenario, the tournament has become part of the journey for many teams. Yes, winning is the target but most sides are looking beyond it as well. Test series played recently and the ones going on right now are being taken as seriously, if not more, as the ODIs because they are providing the template for the future, be it leadership, batting combination or bowling line-ups.
What has raised the interest levels is the emergence of some young captains who have provided an exciting opportunity for their teams to move ahead with their respective plans confidently.
Virat Kohli, Steven Smith and Angelo Mathews have taken the world by storm in the limited time they have led their nations and are now well on their way, or have already started, to lead their sides in all formats for the foreseeable future.
India have been very lucky with the rise of Kohli. He has taken international cricket by storm in all formats around the globe and is arguably the best young cricketer in the world.
The manner in which he scores his runs, be it Tests or ODIs, and the fight he shows on the field is truly inspiring, even if purists don’t quite agree with his theatrics.
His emergence has coincided with Mahendra Singh Dhoni losing his way as a Test leader and with the World Cup almost certain to be the end of the Dhoni era, the Indians can at least be confident about their leadership and the path they are about to take.
For Australia, Smith was a mysterious commodity till last season. His position was far from certain after starting as a leg-spinner who could bat decently.
But from 2013 onwards, Smith decided to ditch his leg-spinners and put his heart and soul into his batting. And now, he can’t stop scoring runs. What’s more, he is one of the most likeable figures in Australian cricket and his affable nature has won many hearts in a short period of time.
Michael Clarke’s chronic injury issues meant the necessity of a replacement to be prepared and Smith has left the likes of David Warner and Brad Haddin in his wake, with leadership in all formats his for the taking barring any catastrophe.
Sri Lanka are the one team that will see the departure of two great ODI players soon in the form of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, and maybe even fast bowler Lasith Malinga. Not only have the two been the pillars of the team’s batting, they have been inspirational leaders for more than a decade. Such a drain of resources will set Sri Lanka back somewhat but they have an able hand in Mathews to navigate the ship out of potential trouble.
What these three captains have in common is that they are critical members of their teams in all three formats of the game and are performing at a very high level.
They have a young team at their disposal, more so after the World Cup, and will bring in their own style of captaincy, which is different to what their respective teams are used to.
India never had a brash captain like Kohli, the Aussies were never led by a bloke as likeable as Smith and no Sri Lanka skipper was as good a seam-bowling all-rounder as Mathews. These three will approach the game differently compared to their predecessors. It will be truly exciting to see in which direction the three teams move ahead in 2015.
Looking at the overall picture, the World Cup looks like the start, and not the end, of something spectacular.
