India now in 'enviable position' of having surplus of young talent: Ian Chappell

Melbourne [Australia], March 28 (ANI): Former Australia skipper Ian Chappell has issued a warning bell for all the teams in the world as India is now in an 'enviable position' of having a surplus of young talent.
Chappell also said that if India can avoid the pitfalls which come with continued success, then Virat Kohli's side can produce an era of dominance just like West Indies and Australia back in the day.
"All right-thinking cricket opponents must have been dreading the day India got it right. That is the day India unearthed all the talent that was available and then fully capitalised by selecting their best team. That time is well and truly upon the rest of the cricket world as India have showcased their amazing depth in the last few months," Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNcricinfo.
"An abundance of talent like this is reminiscent of West Indies and Australia during dominant periods when they overflowed with good players, many of whom struggled to make the first XI. Not only India are now in the enviable position of having a surplus of young talent but the candidates are also highly competitive cricketers," he added.
Chappell also talked about how the Indian players have changed over the years and how they have immense confidence in their own talent and skills.
"Long gone are the days when some Indian players would quietly go up to an opponent and confess, "You are my idol." As one former Indian cricketer told me, "There used to be players who just wanted to own the sweater and cap." There is also no chance you'd hear in the current Indian dressing room the utterance, "Why me?" as happened when a Test team was announced during the 1977-78 Australian tour," said Chappell.
"Can India replicate the dominant periods of West Indies and Australia? It's a much more difficult proposition these days, with an extra form of the game, a frightful schedule, and the riches of the IPL, not to mention a pandemic to circumnavigate. However, India have finally got the equation right and as long as they avoid the pitfalls often associated with continuing success, they are better equipped than any team to produce an era of dominance. The rest of the cricketing world beware," he added.
India recently defeated Australia 2-1 Down Under in the four-match Test series against all odds. The Indian team suffered a number of injuries but still every player that came in did the job. After this, India defeated England in both the Tests and T20I series.
On India's bench strength, Chappell said: "The emergence of such talents as Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Washington Sundar, T Natarajan and Axar Patel would have been monumental if it had happened in the space of three years, let alone just three months as it did. And when you consider that Shardul Thakur excelled in just his second game and the ebullient Rishabh Pant was an international match-winner before his 20th appearance, it really is a rosy picture."
"A rosy picture, that is, if you are an Indian fan; for the rest of the cricket world, it strikes a note of fear. It is even more imposing when you consider that of those debutants, only Gill and possibly Siraj would play when every player is available for selection. The picture attains a veritable glow when you consider that Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Prasidh Krishna and Krunal Pandya have all made successful white-ball debuts against England," he added. (ANI)