India will celebrate 75th Independence Day on 15th August 2021. We have witnessed some incredible achievements over the last 75 years in the field of cricket. I am sure you would certainly feel proud of these amazing feats. The Indian National Cricket team is one of the strongest teams in the world. Let us see their accomplishments over the last 75 years.
Although India first played the International Test match in 1932, it took 20 years to register their first win and the win came against England in 1952 at Madras (currently Chennai). With the advent of Sunil Gavaskar in 1970-71, India became one of the strongest Test teams in the world. In his debut Test series vs West Indies, Sunil Gavaskar made a strong impact scoring 774 runs and he helped India win the series 1-0.
In 1983, under the captaincy of Kapil Dev, India won the Cricket World Cup held in England for the first time. They defeated West Indies in a low-scoring but exciting final. The World Cup win changed the face of Indian cricket. It made the sport more popular in India.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, two famous Indian cricketers made their debut in International Cricket. They are none other than Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble. Sachin went on to become the first person on the planet to score 100 International hundreds across all formats and Kumble remains the highest wicket-taker for India till today with a tally of 619 wickets in Test Cricket.
India became a dominant force at home under Mohammed Azharuddin’s captaincy. He captained the team for most of the 1990s. However, India’s away from home records were still not great.
Sourav Ganguly took over the reins of Indian captain in 2000. Sourav’s leadership skills transformed Indian cricket. Under his leadership, India started performing better overseas. One of the notable achievements under his captaincy was the Natwest Trophy 2002 ODI series. India played a scintillating final against England at Lords and chased down a huge target of 325 runs. Who can forget Ganguly’s famous shirt waving at the Lords balcony after they won the final? It was a historic moment in Indian cricket.
Sourav Ganguly is also known for backing youngsters like Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh during his tenure as Indian captain. They went on to become one of the all-time greatest players in International Cricket. Ganguly helped to develop a fearless attitude in the team and that’s what helped the team to perform better away from home.
Rahul Dravid remained the skipper for few years after Ganguly was removed as captain. However, his records as a skipper were not great. Dravid resigned from captaincy and MS Dhoni took over. Dhoni, with his calm demeanor, won several matches for India. His leadership style was widely acknowledged across the world. We can learn many corporate lessons from MS Dhoni.
Under Dhoni’s leadership, India won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, 50-over World Cup in 2011, and ICC Champions Trophy in 2013. Those were huge accomplishments. No other Indian captain had these amazing feats. Dhoni retired in 2020 and with that, the end of an amazing era came.
Currently, Virat Kohli is leading the Indian Team. He also achieved some incredible records over the last few years not only as a batsman but also as an Indian captain. India reached the pinnacle of Test Cricket rankings multiple times under Kohli’s captaincy. They reached the inaugural World Test Championship final 2021 but lost the final against New Zealand. As of writing this article, India is ranked 2nd after New Zealand in the Test Cricket rankings.
To conclude, India achieved some amazing transformation in World Cricket post Independence. We have produced some world-class cricketers so far. Some of my favorites are Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Kapil Dev, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Harbhajan Singh, Virat Kohli. I hope you liked this article. Wishing you all a Happy Independence Day!
Who are your favorite Indian cricketers? Do mention in the comments below.
