Building Team India

There is much to be admired about the modern Indian approach to the game. Once it was all about Sachin Tendulkar and when they played South Africa four years ago, it was a team divided. To pull it together over a period of time took concerted effort and the selection of fresh young players. Dravid and Laxman were in and out of the equation and the bowling was average and lacked penetration.

Names such as Yuvraj Singh, Mohammed Kaif, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Ajit Agarkar, the first flush of young stars, have been joined by an even more impressive new breed of player who would now not back off. They will go to war for each other.

‘‘It’s not just about pride but also about knowing that they can beat the opposition. They are there for each other and look out for each other and that’s the important thing’’, Adams said.

‘‘You could see the way they played in 2000 that they are the way the West Indies are today. They were in a mess and it showed as they lost the series to South Africa. From the management staff to the team there was no pride — just individual effort. It had been that way since the World Cup in 1999.

‘‘Now you will see that the Australians and other countries will want more tours by India, as they did when the West Indies emerged as an exciting force in the 1960s and again from the Clive Lloyd era’’, he commented.

‘‘It takes a lot of effort and hard work to get to this stage and I just hope those in India appreciate the way they have gone about the game and the hard earned rewards achieved under Sourav and John Wright’’, he added.

‘‘Just as the game needs a strong West Indies — although I cannot see that happening until they get the structures right — it also needs a strong India and the type of quality players that will give the side an even more competitive spirit.’’