Three arresting images, during the 50-day chase of the Indian team all over England, came with a reminder of life’s transient nature and the fleeting nature of fame. It also underlined the futility of overthinking potential problems. But before talking about the frames worth many thousand words, a bit of background.
At the start of the five-Test series, India worried themselves silly. They weren’t sure about dealing with the trauma of watching cricket without the two recently retired stars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma on the field.
For over a decade, Virat and Rohit had decided the biorhythm of a nation, their batting form dictated a million moods. Early reports from England said that the usual fan frenzy was missing when India, under new captain Shubman Gill, landed in England. Very few turned up at the airport, not many were checking where they were staying. Did the 25-year-old with the face and voice of a teenager have it in him to lead India in a long away Test series against the tough-talking Bazballers? How all those fears turned out to be unfounded.
Though the human race keeps forgetting, life keeps posting periodic reminders of its cyclic nature and the impermanence of things. There would be departures that threaten doom but this England tour was a reminder they could well be a false signal and turn out to be the foreword to a story of some grand arrival.
Given Indian cricket’s acrimonious succession history, this one was surprisingly without intrigue or public heartburn. Prince Shubman would settle on the throne with ease, as if he was born to rule. King Kohli, if reports are to be believed, called the new captain at his London home, for a meal. He would tweet a small loving note when he scored the double hundred. “Well Played Star Boy. Rewriting history. Onwards and upwards from here. You deserve all of this.” Rohit Sharma would land up at The Oval on the penultimate day of the final Test and cheer for the team from the VVIP boxes.
Everybody seemed happy, at peace with the role they were playing, or not playing. Indian cricket’s transition was so seamless and smooth that it took some time for it to sink in. The three images helped.