New Delhi: From Rohit Sharma’s record-breaking double ton in a One Day International (ODI) and the national team’s never-ending overseas woes, to the controversy surrounding BCCI president-in-exile Narayanaswami Srinivasan over the IPL-6 spot-fixing scandal, Indian cricket had the good, bad and ugly in equal measure in 2014.
Rohit’s epic innings of 264 against Sri Lanka on the hallowed Eden Gardens turf was the stuff of legends.
The innings spoke about how one-day cricket has evolved over time. There was a point in time, even 10 years back, when 264 was considered a good enough score for a team in an ODI.
No one could ever imagine that someone would break the 200-run individual barrier in ODIs until Sachin Tendulkar became the first. Then Virender Sehwag bettered it and Rohit also scaled the peak. But 264 not out was something that few could have ever imagined, though the batsman’s Test form still remains a cause for concern.
The year was also the first time since 1989 when an Indian cricket team’s list didn’t have Sachin Tendulkar’s name in it. Life without Tendulkar actually started in 2014 and it’s been more lows than highs, if the parameter is performance in Test matches played on foreign soil.
End of an era
It was also the year that probably saw the end of another glorious bunch of Indian cricketers, who had played with distinction over the last decade.
Virender Sehwag, arguably the biggest impact player after Tendulkar, might not play for India again after being overlooked from the 30-man probables list for the 2015 World Cup.
Similarly, it looks like the selectors have shut the door for good on Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Gautam Gambhir.
Off the field, it was a series of court cases that saw Srinivasan remaining in exile on the directives of the Supreme Court. Yet he managed to wield enough power to become the first chairman of the reorganised ICC and India will now enjoy a bigger slice of the ICC’s revenue.
The Tamil Nadu strongman is embroiled in a legal tussle with unsanctioned Cricket Association of Bihar secretary Aditya Verma, who is believed to be funded by Srinivasan’s bete noire Lalit Modi. As the New Year dawns, one will watch with intrigue as to who gets to control Indian cricket.
