Virat Kohli is the man of the day!

He is making his debut as a test-captain on the Indian soil and it is not going to be an easy beginning. He doesn’t need to prove his credential to anyone what with coming from behind and snatching victory in Sri Lanka and showcasing his master skills.

However, in India it is going to be different and that too against South Africa, a team that is in its full elements!

There was a time when India was really strong in its own backyard at least, with players like Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Lakshman, Anil Kumble and Virender Sehwag ruling the roost and ensuring that no one was able to defeat us in India.

Things have changed now. The senior most player of the current lot, M.S.Dhoni, like others, has also retired from the longer format of the game and there is no one experienced enough in the time to guide the younger lot. Virat knows it very well that he will have to lead from the front and that’s where his challenge lies. Openers like Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and Cheteshwar Pujara are still not settled and despite being powerhouse of talent, each one of them is still miles away from being consistent in their performances.

On their good day, they can beat the best teams of the world single-handedly, but that one “good day” comes rarely!

On top of it, our bowling unit is still not fully functional. Either our pacers are going after pace or trying to maintain right line and length. Either they try to stop runs or they try to take wickets. There is no perfect balance and no leading senior bowler, who can really come forward, take the onus of producing results and inspire juniors in the team!

In this backdrop, the test series with South Africa looks really difficult and very challenging as the visitors are very well settled and having enormous talent amidst their ranks to create chaos for us. While Indian team is still looking to find the right combination of batsmen as well as bowlers, the visitors are looking sure of their strategy on how to contain India and give us a knocking punch!

Virat knows it all, but the question is whether he is ready to take the bull by its horns or are we going to just see a lot of experimentation without productive results?

Let’s hope our youngsters come out all guns blazing and prove their mettle! When fighting against the best, one’s best comes out!

Here’s hoping that Virat is able to bring out not only his, but his teammates’ best as well and come out victorious!

Good luck boys!

The post Virat Kohli Knew It Coming, But Is He Ready? appeared first on Youngisthan.in.

We all know by now how amazingly Virat Kohli and his team of boys ended India’s overseas winning drought in test matches.

Apart from that, the records being broken, the sweet victory on Sri Lankan soil after 22 years is all going to be a part of cherished memories for years to come. It is not every day that a team full of such youngsters and players who are in and out of the team come together as a unit and give a stunning performance like this.

What exactly happened here? What changed?

There will be a detailed analysis obviously and the team management is going to find out what actually worked so that the same formula can be repeated in future as well. Next test match series is with South Africa and that will be the real challenge. But let’s first focus on how things have worked out at the moment and have that somehow made M S Dhoni irrelevant to the team?

First of all, it is all about Virat Kohli’s persona, charisma and the aggressiveness that has rubbed on his team members. Most of them are around his age and somehow can relate to his body language as well as mental attitude. The hunger for winning a match has somehow been clearly visible. Instead of being passive and trying to avoid losing a match, the players seemed in a mindset to go out and conquer the world! The fear of losing is out and passion for winning is in! Whether it is Ishant Sharma who bowled his heart out or Amit Mishra’s come back with such a beautiful spell or Ashwin’s phenomenal performance, the credit goes to them as much as to their captain Kohli who has been able to support them and give them the freedom to give their best.

With Dhoni, the team looked jaded, tired and in a reclusive mode even before the match started. It used to look as if they were touring to draw the series or to save their face, instead of showing the mindset to win. Also, Dhoni’s tactics in a test-match usually looked defensive instead of attacking or aggressive, the way he acts in a one-day match or T20!

It is just one series and the jury is still out whether the same set of boys can repeat this feat against stronger and tougher teams like South Africa, England and Australia, but the change is in the air. Dhoni is definitely an amazing captain and player in one-dayers, but the kind of change Virat is bringing in, would it be possible for the boys to perform under two different captains in two different formats of the game? Would they be able to give their best in one-days the way they performed in test matches? How would the team composition change under different captains?

All these questions will pose a challenge for Indian cricket per se and it would be interesting to see how Dhoni copes up with the changed dressing room! We still need Dhoni, but going by the trends, soon he may not be missed much!

Better days are ahead, for sure!

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Indian cricket once boasted of star players like Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and Javagal Srinath.

These were players who were regularly seen in every match and kept on performing for the team whether it was one-days or the test matches. However, with time they have all retired except for Bhajji who has been dropped and selected as part of the team quite frequently.

Now if you talk of today’s team, except for M.S.Dhoni or Virat Kohli, no player is a regular feature in any of the matches. New players or even a bit experienced ones keep walking in and out of the team as if they are visiting a railway station waiting room without any purpose! Whether it is Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane or even Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Ishant Sharma!

All of them are not new to the Indian cricket team, but none of them have given such stupendous performances on a regular basis that they can be considered permanent position holders in the team. Each one of them performs in few matches and then loses their form faster than we can change our clothes! Or worst, they get injured and are forced out of the team!

What is the reason for this?

Does it have to do anything with talent?

Or is it excessive playing that is taking its toll on them?

As far as talent I concerned, all these players are world class and have proven their mettle from time to time in the international arena. Some of them have shown what kind of potential they have to be world class players who can keep on playing for years to come. However, the pressure of playing in three different formats, which is the one-day cricket, test matches and T20, is proving to be too huge for them. May be the youngsters are not getting the right coaching and right direction about how to manage their body, mind and attitude to adjust to frequently changing conditions of world sports.

It is important for players to understand that it is not going to be easy to perform consistently if they don’t give rest to their body. Most of the players, if not playing for the country, are busy playing in the IPL or busy with their endorsements or partying and enjoying their life. If one can maintain the balance between all three, the way a Sachin Tendulkar did or Virat Kohli and Dhoni does, then go ahead and make the most of your life.

But not everyone is gifted or possesses such fine-balancing qualities.

For such players, it is important to keep country’s interests first so that they can have a long innings as a player in the Indian cricket team. Or else, there are enough players to replace them!

It is high time we see some regular players playing for the country as it gives confidence to the team itself while bringing stability in the dressing team. A strongly knit consistent team has more chances of winning matches instead of different men joining hands in different matches without having a strong bond!

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Achieving your dreams is possible!

This was earlier only applicable to kids born in big metro cities and their counterparts living in small towns and villages of India only looked up to such idols! For them, even dreaming of a dream was an impossible task. However, times are changing now and anybody born in any part of the country can make it big in life. One of the reasons is the mindset these youngsters from small towns have.

Here’s a look at the major factors resulting in youngsters achieving their dreams!

1) Right environment

Firstly, the nation is on the cusp of creating history and it is not possible without the youth of the country making significant contribution to the process. The right kind of environment is there where in talented and skilled people are in demand as well as they are given right kind of opportunities to make it big! It doesn’t matter if one is from a small town or big town as long as he/she is deserving of the job!

2) Fire in the belly!

Since the youth realizes the fact that any dream is possible now, youngsters from small towns come to big cities and out in their best. The fire in them to live their life on their terms is way too strong to be diminished by petty obstacles in their path!

3) Self-belief

Media has made inroads in the hinterlands of the country and people have access to TV’s and Internet. This gives the youth living there a wide exposure to the world and makes their self-belief even stronger that they can achieve too.

4) Survival Instinct

After being born with basic or less than basic infrastructure in their lives, the survival instincts of these youngsters is very strong. Not only are they able to survive the ordeals after coming in a big metro, they are also able to keep their dreams intact and work double hard to make it happen!

5) Being lonely helps

Everyone needs support of friends and family to tide over the crisis of life, but the youth that leaves the comforts of home to make their dreams come true don’t have that support system. However, instead of getting discouraged, this loneliness and the urge to be self-dependant help them to further fight out the adversities of life. This results in being more self-aware and be able to face the odds of life with much more confidence and conviction.

6) Not getting it easy

These guys don’t get anything easy. Some of them travel thousands of kilometres on buses, trains etc. to finally reach their place of job or business. Hence they value it more and put in more hours to make sure that they retain it and even grow in their respective professions.

7) Deserving

Who sad small town people are not deserving or anywhere less than the big city guys? Well, these boys and girls are well deserving and equal to anyone else in the world. The right kind of opportunities and deep-rooted passion for success makes them special and super successful!

If you’re still wondering which these small town success stories are, think about boxer Vijendar Singh and Mary Kom, actress Kangna Ranaut, singer Brijesh Shandilya, cricketer M.S.Dhoni and many many more!

Life is beautiful guys and you can achieve anything that you want to! Don’t let your background or place of living restrict you from being the one you are born for!

The post 7 Reasons Why Youngsters From Small Towns Are Making It Big! appeared first on Youngisthan.in.

The ill-timed lonesome test match is over and all the excitement is shifted to the three one-dayers to be played between India and Bangladesh. Excited?

Looking forward to some interesting cricket since the minnows (read: Bangladesh) have grown up and becoming a challenge in the local neighbourhood?

Well, next few days will prove how big a challenge they are if challenge is the right word to be used in their context, that is! What’s more interesting is that there are some surprises in store and the best surprise is that this India Bangladesh series will not benefit India at all!

Let’s share how this did happen:

1) Right now India is place at the second place and the gap between leading side Australia and India is quite huge. Therefore even a 3-0 win over Bangladesh will not help India to reach the top of the charts!

2) On the other hand, even if Bangladesh loses the series 2-1, they would still qualify to participate in the 2017 Champions Trophy from June 1-19 in England and Wales! Only way they can lose out on the chance is if they lose 3-0 and lag behind West Indies with both the teams tied at 88 points, but the Caribbean team leading on the eight spot!

3) For India, a 2-1 loss would mean we equal the points with New Zealand but still lie under them given how excitingly they are playing against England right now!

4) While Virat Kohli is on fourth spot on the list of best batsmen, Shikhar Dhawan is at 7^th spot and M.S. Dhoni is at 9^th spot!

5) Coming to Dhoni, this will really test his equation with Virat Kohli. After taking over test captaincy and right during the test match conference, Virat gave a statement that the era of learning is over and it is time to play to win the test matches! This is stark opposite to what Dhoni has been saying for all these years about learning from every game and taking home the lessons to prepare for next game.

Virat’s aggressive attitude and change in body language was clearly visible during the match and his approach towards the game might come across as contradictory to Dhoni’s style of captaincy! Can they work on it or will it create internal secret feuds?

There can be many more surprises going into the game, but we really hope that things remain smooth and beneficial for the ultimate benefit of the game.

Let the best team win. However, we really wished if this series mattered to India more than it matters to Bangladesh!

No ways we are saying that the team should be taken lightly, but then our cricketing heroes got to play some difficult teams to come out shining rather than taming the minnows!

Let the game begin and with that, the fun!

The post Some Surprising Truths of Upcoming India Bangladesh One-Day Cricket Series! appeared first on Youngisthan.in.

M S Dhoni has been a captain with a Midas touch!

One of the most successful captains of Indian cricket team, he is known for cool captaincy which results in more success than failure.

He is known to be so sharp that his competitors across the globe try hard to analyze as to how does he think and take such quick decisions on the field resulting in snatching victory from the jaws of loss!

However, he is a human being after all!

Lately, his performance as a captain came under scrutiny after leading India to multiple losses during foreign tours. To his credit, he realized his folly and took retirement. But is that enough or does he need to have a rethink about his cricket career as a whole involving the shorter versions of the game as well, including one-day cricket and T 20?

While we did win the World Cup 2011 under his captaincy, we lost the latest edition in Australia. Now, if we follow his IPL game, despite topping the charts with maximum wins, the team Chennai Super Kings doesn’t look that formidable or unbeatable compared to its earlier versions. In previous seasons, CSK used to dominate, but this season they are fighting it hard. Also, the semi-final which they lost yesterday to Mumbai Indians was such a one-sided event. Needless to say, Dhoni’s captaincy leaves much to be desired! He didn’t look in terrific form both as a captain and as a batsman. Of course, getting bowled out on the first ball must have been frustrating for him, but is there something brewing below the surface that needs urgent attention?

We are talking about all the off-field controversies the team is involved in due to court cases of the owners owing to match fixing and power struggles going on with constant media scrutiny resulting in too much of additional unwanted stress. Either that or he is actually ageing and not listening to his body!

There is no doubt Dhoni is a terrific player and we can’t write him off just by one debacle. Having said that, the patterns have to be analysed clearly as well as action needs to be taken based on facts and not purely on emotions. He is out from Test cricket, one-dayers he is good, but for how long one can’t say.

And now even in a domestic league like IPL, even with a good amount of international players, his performance is not top notch! In this edition of IPL, he has scored only one 50 with an average of 32.80 which is amongst his lowest batting averages across all IPL seasons!

A leader has to lead from the front, but it seems Dhoni is trying to find his feet and stand firm on a shaky ground!

Let’s hope he regains his Midas touch and do wonders for Indian cricket as well as the domestic cricket he is proudly a part of!

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Hey! Don’t look at me as if I woke you up at 5am on a Sunday!

I know that Mr. Narendra Modi has the mandate to rule us for another four years and elections are far away, but then someone has to remove the rose-tinted glasses offered by Mr. Modi himself and look at the future realistically!

First of all, the achhe din are nowhere around the corner!

Sorry to rock your boat, but they are not coming anytime soon. All you have got and are going to get is pep-talk and nothing more. Development isn’t happening the way it should be, the government is not able to pass major bills required for businesses to look up as it doesn’t have the numbers in Parliament and prices are rising again!

In short, the frustrating days of UPA 2 are what one can expect given the way this current government is functioning.

If this goes on, by 2019 we all be screaming for a government change and a new PM!

Who can qualify?

Obviously the congress supporters will shout from the roof top to make their baba, Rahul Gandhi the PM!

However, the country knows his calibre and he doesn’t look like in the race, at least not today. May be if by some miracle he gets some brains, then I can’t say.

In such a scenario our best bet should be the current cricket team captain, MS Dhoni !

Yes I know he is not a politician, but by 2019 he would have retired from cricket and would have got time in his hands to join politics and contest an election. He started playing cricket for India and in no time was made captain based on his skills. He knows the game well and is a true leader. He has supported underdogs, spotted talent and gone against odds million times to steal victory from the jaws of failure! He is a true team player, a cool leader, takes smart decisions, and is unorthodox in approaching problems and providing unheard of, but successful solutions!

In short, all those qualities are what are required to be India’s PM!

We as a country have lot of potential, but no one is exploiting it in the right manner so that every citizen benefits and real growth happens to reduce poverty and inequality. The current government is only offering big words, bigger headlines instead of real action on the ground. Not to mention the fringe elements already working overtime to create a rift in the society on religious grounds!

And no, we don’t hear Mr. Modi rejecting such stupid statements simply because he can’t spoil his relations with RSS and VHP to stay in power!

I guess our best hope is someone like Mahi, a youngster to lead our young nation!

Enough of oldies catering to their selfish goals without giving a thought to what the nation wants!

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