NEW DELHI: Former Indian cricketer and selector Jatin Paranjape lauded skipper Rohit Sharma for his attacking brand of cricket during the home Test series against Bangladesh, particularly the Kanpur Test.
The 52-year-old, who has represented Mumbai at domestic level, said that the second Test of the series will be seen as an “inflection point” in Indian team’s rich Test cricket history.
India recently completed their 2-0 series win against Bangladesh at home. In the Kanpur Test, Team India missed two days of action due to rain and wet outfield after Bangladesh ended the first day at 107/3 in the first innings.
When Bangladesh started day four with the same score, the match looked heading towards a draw with two days left and only the first innings being played. But Bangladesh was first skittled out for 233 and then India got some quickfire runs, posting 285/9 and taking two Bangladesh wickets at the end of day four. On the next day, India bundled out Bangladesh for 146 and were leading by 94 runs. They got a target of 95 runs and chased it down easily.
Speaking to at the sidelines of the Indian Street Premier League (ISPL) season two Delhi trials, the head of selection in the competition said, “Since Rohit has become the captain, the intent and DNA of the team have become attack-orientated. The captain himself is leading from the front. Since the 2023 World Cup, we have seen our players go out and attack the bowlers from the start. Rohit has done it himself. We saw that in the T20 World Cup and the Kanpur Test as well. They have decided that their DNA is to attack, their natural instinct has become attacking, and they would not abandon it. I think this is just a trailer of what we will see in Australia (during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy) later this year.”
“You will look at it (the Kanpur Test) as an inflection point of the Indian team in Test cricket. We were always an attacking side. If you see our batting, right from Rohit to Ashwin, everyone has attack that comes first to them. They will play as per their natural instinct. It depends how the Border Gavaskar Trophy goes. But I think in such situations in the future, they will play such a way, irrespective of the opposition,” he added.
“Yes. You will look at it as an inflection point of the Indian team in Test cricket. We were always an attacking side. If you see our batting, right from Rohit to Ashwin, everyone has an attack which comes first to them. They will play as per their natural instinct. BGT depends how it goes. But I think in such situations in the future, they will play such way, irrespective of the opposition.”
Speaking about the Mumbai cricket scene, Paranjape said that Prithvi Shaw is the most talented batter in India.
Shaw last played for India in July 2021, has played five Tests, six T20Is, and an ODI for India. Though he had a lot of hype around him because of him being the youngest Test centurion on debut for India and the winning captain 2018 ICC U19 World Cup, Shaw lost his place in the side to the likes of Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Ruturaj Gaikwad due to injuries, poor run of form, technical weaknesses, etc.
“I feel Prithvi Shaw is the most talented player in India. He will also be looking forward to the FC season with a lot of expectations, because it is going to be a big one for him. Shaw, Sarfaraz (Khan), Jaiswal and Iyer are Mumbai players whose DNA is to attack. That is how they will continue playing,” he added.
Notably, Paranjape himself played for Mumbai, scoring 3,964 runs in 62 first-class matches at an average of 46.09, with 13 centuries and 15 fifties in 95 innings. His best score was 218.
Even though Sarfaraz became the first Mumbai player to smash a double ton in Irani Cup, Paranjape feels that Rohit will continue with the ongoing combination during the upcoming three-match home Test series against New Zealand from October 16 and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia from November 22 onwards.
“Rohit’s captaincy hallmark is he keeps formation consistent,” he added.
Sarfaraz made his much-anticipated international debut this year during Tests against England after years of fine performances on the domestic circuit. He scored 200 runs in his first three Tests with three fifties. He was not a part of playing eleven during Bangladesh Tests despite being a part of the squad.
On spin all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin, who won the ‘Player of the Series’ award against Bangladesh, Paranjape said that his best years are ahead of him.
“Nothing short of fantastic (his performances against Bangladesh). He is a legend. He writes his name into the list of legends of Indian cricket. I think his best five years are ahead of us. He is really fit,” he concluded.
He was given the ‘Player of the Series’ award for scoring 114 runs, including a counter-attacking century in the first Test at his home in Chennai and taking 11 wickets.
The Indian all-rounder broke a lot of records and unlocked a lot of milestones in the series, both with the bat and the ball. He levelled with Sri Lankan great Mutthiah Muralitharan to become player with joint-most ‘Player of the Series’ records, with a total of 11.
In the Chennai Test, Ashwin scored a counter-attacking 113 in the first innings and took a six-wicket haul in the final innings to help his team win the game.
This was the fourth instance of Ashwin securing a century and five-wicket haul in a Test. Only England legend Ian Botham is ahead of Ashwin in this aspect, having managed to do this feat five times.
Also, this was Ashwin’s 37th five-wicket haul in Test cricket. Now, he has tied with legendary Australian spinner Shane Warne for joint second-most fifers in the longest format of the game. The only one ahead of Ashwin is Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan, who has 67 five-wicket hauls.
Ashwin also went past 750 international wickets, becoming the 12th player in the world and second Indian to do so.
The veteran is considered as one of the finest Test all-rounders of the generation, with 3,423 runs in 102 Tests and 123 innings at an average of 26.74, with six centuries and 14 fifties. His best score is 124. He has also taken 527 wickets at an average of 23.65, with 37 five-wicket hauls and eight ten-fers. His best bowling figures in an innings are 7/59.
