Are we witnessing the Golden Age of Indian cricket?

[MenInG]

Talent overflowing, cricket superstars in abundance and above all, results to match.

Almost every ranking, stat you look at has an India player featuring at the top.

We know that when Sachin, Dravid, Laxman were playing/in their prime, India were a dominant force but the current generation of players looks awesome and unbeatable.

Don't go by ICC event results as that can easily hide the true strengths of the current India teams in all formats.

So here is the question:

Are we witnessing the Golden Age of Indian cricket?

 

[jnaveen1980]

They are in transition stage. So not exactly golden age. Kohli 35. Rohit 36. Ashwin 36. Jadeja 33. Shami 34. India will suffer some losses before they find the next core group of players. Kohli was having a nightmare for 3 years before resetting it this year. Also missing of Rishab Pant for one whole year was a major set back for India. He was going to be key during this transition phase.

 

[Human786]

They are in transition stage. So not exactly golden age. Kohli 35. Rohit 36. Ashwin 36. Jadeja 33. Shami 34. India will suffer some losses before they find the next core group of players. Kohli was having a nightmare for 3 years before resetting it this year. Also missing of Rishab Pant for one whole year was a major set back for India. He was going to be key during this transition phase.

This . Need to see the core future Test specific bowling group !

 

[sweep_shot]

They haven't won an ICC trophy since 2013. They also failed to win a Test series in England, South Africa, and New Zealand.

So, I don't think this is the golden age. Golden era was 2007-2013 (Dhoni's India). They won 3 ICC trophies during that period.

This is more like silver age.

 

[Devadwal]

Where is ICC trophy? So its not a indian golden period

 

[BaaliSoda]

In terms of making moolah for the coffers of BCCI, absolutely yes.

 

[MenInG]

Where is ICC trophy? So its not a indian golden period

I mentioned that specifically in the OP

 

[Cricket Warrior]

current lot of Indian cricketers is arguably the best possibly due to the massive pool of talent available in their country.

There is no doubt that they are currently at the top of the world.

 

[ElRaja]

the crowning achievement of this group is test series wins in aus, which is a massive deal, but lets not kid ourselves, they are competing against two other teams, every other test team is a shadow of what it used to be in 90s and 00s.

They have done well in limited over formats, but the higher level of competition shows that they have failed to win any major ICC trophy since dhonis time.

also bumrah, shami, jaddu, ash, kohli, sharma, etc are all wrong side of thirty, they may produce batsmen consistently, but this bowling attack was an anomaly, i don't think they'll have a bowling attack this good for a long time once these guys retire.

 

[RexRex]

I'm don't know about a 'golden age' but I'm pretty sure I'll stop watching cricket after Kohli retires. I don't find the new crop very interesting in terms of personality or charisma. Frankly I was dead bored watching the recent series !

 

[Double Trouble]

Gonna miss the bowling quartet of Bumrah, Shami, Ashwin and Jadeja once they retire. Only watched India play cos of these group of bowlers.

In terms of golden age like mentioned before more silver age.

 

[rpant_gabba]

they are competing against two other teams,

Han't that always been the case?

Till windies picked it up the late 70's it was Aus and Eng

Afterwards it was WI and Aus

then it was aus all the way with scattered resistance from here and there.

Has there ver been 3 teams which could compete in all conditions?

 

[Cricket Warrior]

India is rightly enjoying this era with such numbers nobody can come closer to them.

 

[sweep_shot]

India is rightly enjoying this era with such numbers nobody can come closer to them.

View attachment 140639

I wouldn't count these bilateral ODI wins much because teams often don't play their main teams.

Recent India vs SA ODI series was played by depleted sides (both teams).

True indicators are Test matches and ICC tournament matches.

 

[Champ_Pal]

Without World cup titles, India will remain the SA of 90's. Full of talent, but no cups to show.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Without World cup titles, India will remain the SA of 90's. Full of talent, but no cups to show.

Good captains win tournaments. We never had one in the last 10 years. Kohli was good only in Tests.

 

[ElRaja]

Han't that always been the case?

Till windies picked it up the late 70's it was Aus and Eng

Afterwards it was WI and Aus

then it was aus all the way with scattered resistance from here and there.

Has there ver been 3 teams which could compete in all conditions?

nope, in the nineties and early 00s you had aus, SA who were strong, Pak, SL, Ind, WI and england were competitive. very few of the tours of that era were expected to be whitewashes before a ball had been bowled.

SL, WI and SA are pale shadows of the teams they used to be, and Pak are almost there too. Aus under Waugh played against the broadest pool of competitive test teams.

During WI era SL were minnows and SA were banned. So naturally there were less teams, so they only really had to beat Eng, Aus, Pak and Ind. The test pool is narrower now than it has been since perhaps the early 70s.

 

[Major]

Golden period gets defined by ICC trophies.

Reaching finals winning a few games doesnt mean nothing, if it did than the 2007-2014 period would had been sri lankas golden period for the finals they played

India is a top team no doubt. They have great batters and great bowlers (both spinners and pacers), and do well in series against all countries except Pakistan.

But they did to win ICC trophies.

 

[rpant_gabba]

nope, in the nineties and early 00s you had aus, SA who were strong, Pak, SL, Ind, WI and england were competitive. very few of the tours of that era were expected to be whitewashes before a ball had been bowled.

SL, WI and SA are pale shadows of the teams they used to be, and Pak are almost there too. Aus under Waugh played against the broadest pool of competitive test teams.

During WI era SL were minnows and SA were banned. So naturally there were less teams, so they only really had to beat Eng, Aus, Pak and Ind. The test pool is narrower now than it has been since perhaps the early 70s.

SL? strong at home. abysmal abroad. hell haven't won a test in india. ever

WI were on the down slide in 90's barely hanging on with ambrose and walsh

Ind were abysmal outside of india

Eng now much to write about

Aus and SA were flying the flag.

Weird part is there is more money now and resources than ever before

 

[ElRaja]

SL? strong at home. abysmal abroad. hell haven't won a test in india. ever

WI were on the down slide in 90's barely hanging on with ambrose and walsh

Ind were abysmal outside of india

Eng now much to write about

Aus and SA were flying the flag.

Weird part is there is more money now and resources than ever before

Are SL, WI, Pak and SA stronger now than they were then? the answer is a resounding no. The only teams who have improved are two of the big 3. the rest are all gone.

 

[kingusama92]

It's an amazing generation of cricketers for India. Not only the batsmen but this is the best their bowling has ever been.

However, the lack of World Cups and Test Championship is going to damage their reputation in the future. You would want your golden generation to get the job done.

In a way, they have let themselves down because the potential was there to dominate on the biggest stage. A clean sweep at the 2023 WC would have helped but they messed it up at the end.

 

[AMSS]

Indian bowling has been world class since 2015-16. 8 years of sustained excellence with only AUS of early 2000s and the Windies Quartet of 80s coming anywhere close. Numerically, better than both.

 

[Sher Khan]

The scary thing is the amount of talented players who can't even find a place in the Indian squad.

I'm talking about guys like Sarfraz Khan, Pritvi Shaw, Sanju Samson and many others.

 

[AMSS]

Basically, it's all Bumrah and the Jadeja/Ashwin AR roles.

India should easily replace the Kohlis and Rohits. They might even replace the likes of Shami. But BOOM is impossible to replace and he'll be a massive void to fill. A combination of Ashwin/jadeja will be equally hard to fill with their formidable all round roles.

 

[rpant_gabba]

Are SL, WI, Pak and SA stronger now than they were then? the answer is a resounding no. The only teams who have improved are two of the big 3. the rest are all gone.

yup, they are worse than they were. We disagree on by how much.

Guess those countries have better things to focus on now.

 

[Swashbuckler]

Darkest era for Indian cricket since fixing saga IMO.

1. Have assumed choker's tag from SA. 5 ICC final losses in the last 10 years, 3 other semi final losses, these things take a toll even on fans.
2. IPL assuming more importance than Indian cricket.
3. BCCI being the most corrupt and useless sporting organization ever, unholy mix of politics and sports
4. Lack of accountability, media getting its wings clipped
5. Super star players becoming bigger than Indian cricket

It is one thing not having the means and then losing. But to have everything and yet not fulfil your potential, that is much more painful.

Arrogance in Indian cricket ecosystem is at an all time high, maybe it is karma to get back at that. Golden age for me was from 2007 Eng tour to 2011 WC. Series wins in NZ and Eng, series draw in SA culminating with that epic Sachin vs Steyn standoff in Cape Town, a very close series in Aus (monkeygate series) where we won at WACA, Perth. One WC, one T20 WC and that team was much more likable. Dhoni then was a nice, humble guy and players like Sachin, Dravid, VVS, Kumble, Zaheer, Yuvraj, Sehwag didn't have the arrogance and entitlement of current gen, despite achieving so much.

India then was actually a likable team, now I get why neutrals despise our team and players.

 

[Swashbuckler]

Australia with their not so golden age/generation have won two WCs, one T20 WC, one WTC and have been number one ranked test side for a considerable period of time since 2015. They have won test series almost everywhere including Pak, SA, NZ. Drew in Eng twice both full fledged 5 test series, almost beat India in India and won twice on raging turners against Ashwin, Jadeja.

That is the standard every other team must aspire to, we get chuffed after achieving so little, learn from the Aussies.

 

[SamNJ]

A better age than their own abysmal 90s. Nowhere near top teams of past.

 

[VForVendetta]

No, with no silver in their tally for over a decade & not being able to get the job done in SEN red ball tours repeatedly doesn't exactly signify a golden era. What they are is an invincible team in an extremely weak & non competitive era. There's no doubt this unit has a collection of some of the finest toys of modern era. Kohli, Rohit, Ashwin, Jadeja, Shami, Bumrah will all end their career as atg or even potential goat in certain formats. But it's a matter of great tragedy & embarrassment that these guys couldn't become an all conquering juggernaut of their timeline like the WI/Aus of bygone eras.
They are talented, aggressive, stylish, highly expensive but not the final boss.

 

[Buffet]

Are SL, WI, Pak and SA stronger now than they were then? the answer is a resounding no. The only teams who have improved are two of the big 3. the rest are all gone.

NZ, Ind and Eng are surely stronger than 90s.

 

[Buffet]

Basically, it's all Bumrah and the Jadeja/Ashwin AR roles.

India should easily replace the Kohlis and Rohits. They might even replace the likes of Shami. But BOOM is impossible to replace and he'll be a massive void to fill. A combination of Ashwin/jadeja will be equally hard to fill with their formidable all round roles.

+1

Their success has been arrival of generational bowler in Bumrah and two world class spinner who can bat as well. That has helped them to do well despite batting not being great. As soon as this factor goes away, I don't see Indians doing that well.

 

[jnaveen1980]

+1

Their success has been arrival of generational bowler in Bumrah and two world class spinner who can bat as well. That has helped them to do well despite batting not being great. As soon as this factor goes away, I don't see Indians doing that well.

From a bowling standpoint this is definitely golden era. Whatever bowling managed to achieve was neutralized by pathetic batting. A batting line up with spine would have made this bowling attack look much better. Even in batting in the overseas Pant and tailenders saved them (Thakur, Bumrah, Shami) with bat. Fielding is one of the worst ever. Also most one-dimensional cricketers ever to play for India happens to be in this era. They have 4 number 11 batsmen in their set up. Whenever they are perfect they look invincible. Even if it slightly goes off the script they find vulnerable. India has holes in their unit. Gigantic ones. When everything comes together this unit is unbeatable. Imagine for three long years India's no.3/no.4/no.5 averaged the worst in the world, they averaged 30s yet India was a top ranked side.

 

[Buffet]

From a bowling standpoint this is definitely golden era. Whatever bowling managed to achieve was neutralized by pathetic batting. A batting line up with spine would have made this bowling attack look much better. Even in batting in the overseas Pant and tailenders saved them (Thakur, Bumrah, Shami) with bat. Fielding is one of the worst ever. Also most one-dimensional cricketers ever to play for India happens to be in this era. They have 4 number 11 batsmen in their set up. Whenever they are perfect they look invincible. Even if it slightly goes off the script they find vulnerable. India has holes in their unit. Gigantic ones. When everything comes together this unit is unbeatable. Imagine for three long years India's no.3/no.4/no.5 averaged the worst in the world, they averaged 30s yet India was a top ranked side.

Well, Bowling has been simply great in the last 8 years with home and away both averaging at or below 25. ATG bowling unit carried the ordinary batting. Only 3-4 bowling units in history had this kind of output.

 

[ads101]

Best team for around a decade and no trophies. That was their golden era. Now a lot of their best players are closer to retirement.

Don’t think the new players are the same level. Though despite that they are still very talented and I think India will pick up far more trophies in the next decade despite not having players as good as Kohli, Rohit, Dhawan, Bumrah, ,Ashwin, Jadeja, Shami etc.

Not even hating on them. I think they’ve been a bit unlucky too. When you’re that consistently good I feel like you deserve more. Wish Pakistan was that good consistently coming into tournaments as favourites instead of always hoping to succeed as the underdog. But that class of players where just special, dominated in batting and bowling.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Yes, certainly, the golden era of India is ongoing, as it was in 1999 for Pakistan. India is producing one good batter after another, and India was never famous for its pace bowling, now they even have top class pace bowlers challenging batters in almost every condition. With their excellence in pace bowling, it's correct to say that they are in their golden era.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Well, Bowling has been simply great in the last 8 years with home and away both averaging at or below 25. ATG bowling unit carried the ordinary batting. Only 3-4 bowling units in history had this kind of output.

Yes. That and W/L ratio gave an illusion that it is an invinicible unit. But if you do a deep dive analysis it is only half the story. India owes a lot to Rishab Pant to make this a reasonably decent era. If India were not to have Pant in either of Australian series they were not going to win it. Ashwin/Jadeja can win matches at home in auto-pilot mode. You dont need a captain. But as far as overseas wins go Kohli does deserve a bit of credit for going with 4 seamers in SENA tours. 4 good ones. Even though it made the tail super long he was willing to take that risk in the interest of winning Tests. Kohli despite his gigantic records in LOIs he always had passion to play Tests. That is the one thing that will be missed. I am not sure Rohit has the same passion towards Tests or future generation. A super star player showing passion towards Tests mean something. Among the current crop Jaiswal looks the most passionate long format player. Gill might settle down for LOIs as that is where the money is.

 

[ads101]

Good captains win tournaments. We never had one in the last 10 years. Kohli was good only in Tests.

If Rohit had been captain instead of Kohli for all of the last 10 years do you think India would have more trophies?

Unfortunately I think so. I think even if Dhoni had captained a few more years they’d also have more. Don’t even think Kohli’s a bad captain but for some reason it just wasn’t working for him. And I think the side had started to lose faith in winning a trophy under Kohli as a result.

 

[jnaveen1980]

If Rohit had been captain instead of Kohli for all of the last 10 years do you think India would have more trophies?

Unfortunately I think so. I think even if Dhoni had captained a few more years they’d also have more. Don’t even think Kohli’s a bad captain but for some reason it just wasn’t working for him. And I think the side had started to lose faith in winning a trophy under Kohli as a result.

Possibly. There is a reason why Kohli did not win a single IPL tournament despite being blessed with some of the most elite batting unit. MSD won with utterly mediocre cricketers. HE knows how to put together a unit, how to assign roles, how to get the best out of them. If he still doesn't win that means team itself is not good. Ofcourse he also had shelf life at the internationals. But in the IPL he still proves why he is different in LOIs from Kohli who easily gives up. even Rohit. Kohli was a good Test captain as he encouraged fast bowling there. But in LOIs big mhe. He never had it in him to win any tournament. Give the smae AUstralian team to Kohli. I am sure they won't win anything.

 

[ads101]

Possibly. There is a reason why Kohli did not win a single IPL tournament despite being blessed with some of the most elite batting unit. MSD won with utterly mediocre cricketers. HE knows how to put together a unit, how to assign roles, how to get the best out of them. If he still doesn't win that means team itself is not good. Ofcourse he also had shelf life at the internationals. But in the IPL he still proves why he is different in LOIs from Kohli who easily gives up. even Rohit. Kohli was a good Test captain as he encouraged fast bowling there. But in LOIs big mhe. He never had it in him to win any tournament. Give the smae AUstralian team to Kohli. I am sure they won't win anything.

Dhoni is the best LOI captain I’ve seen. Honestly kind of felt a waste when he was playing as a player after dropping captaincy. When you get a captain that good he captains till he retires I think. Unless if maybe Kohli was winning everything in IPL.

He’s too old now but I would have loved to have seen Dhoni captain an actual good bowling attack.

 

[AMSS]

In fairness, Windies never won a trophy throughout the 80s and early 90s so India aren't standing alone in that department.

 

[happydavy]

Golden age? We just lost the WC final on a tampered pitch which was 'made to order' as per the team management's requirement. We haven't won a test series in England, NZ or SA since the last 15 years.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Dhoni is the best LOI captain I’ve seen. Honestly kind of felt a waste when he was playing as a player after dropping captaincy. When you get a captain that good he captains till he retires I think. Unless if maybe Kohli was winning everything in IPL.

He’s too old now but I would have loved to have seen Dhoni captain an actual good bowling attack.

He sticks to a certain process no matter what. It works more often than not. Kohli/Rohit haven't reached the stature yet. He won 3 tournaments. CT/World CUp/World T20. These guys as a combo did not win anything other than Asia cups.

 

[jnaveen1980]

There was an interesting point Akram brought up in the current sereis how backing a player in Australia is different from backing a player in subcontinent. It is not just backing a player it is also team expectation that is different in subcontinent. You would hardly see a backlash in Australia if they don't win tournaments. Sure ther will be reaction when they lose an Ashes series. But other than you would hardly see a reaction if they don't win. But subcontinent teams cannot handle pressure of expectations. More you become desperate more the pressure will be.India is victim of their own expectations. If India had huffed and puffed their way to finals there would not have been expectations. 4th world cup in a row they breezed through the first round only to falter at final stage. Only in 2011 they did it. India missed 3 winnable tournaments. 2017 CT , 2019 WC, 2023 WC due to this. Losing the last match of the tournament is not a disaster in itself. But losing frequently will leave a black mark in their legacy.

 

[KP From India]

Babar Azam in his pre-game presser for the iconic clash against India

About the 7-0 streak

"I never look back at the past but instead like to look ahead and focus on what's coming up; Records are made to be broken; We will try and put in our best performance tomorrow and I have a lot of confidence on my team who have done well in the past 2 games and Inshallah will do well in the upcoming games as well."


Message to his troops ahead of the game against India:

"To be honest, India and Pakistan matches are always high intensity games so what I have told my players is to give it their best, to believe in themselves and do what they have been doing before and to execute our plans; Ahmedabad is a huge stadium and a lot of people are coming to see this match so it's a golden opportunity for us to perform well in front of the fans and become heroes"


Experience of local conditions

"From what I know, I can say that pitches behave differently in each city; Some places it turns more and in others not so each stadium has different conditions and we have planned accordingly. So, staying in one location for a while (Hyderabad) helps you in understanding local condition".


On Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi

"As a team and as a captain, we will really miss Naseem Shah because his bowling had been very impressive during the Asia Cup and we could see that he was improving day by day as a bowler; As far as Shaheen Shah Afridi is concerned, we know that he is one of the best bowlers, he's a champion and I have a belief that he is a big-match bowler and he will perform well; It does not matter if he doesn't get wickets in one or 2 games; There is no question mark on him and this is not the way I or my team thinks; We have belief in Shaheen as does he in his own abilities and he will Inshallah put in good performances in big games"


Pressure of playing in front of Indian fans in Ahmedabad

"There will be no pressure because we have played such games in front of large crowds many times before, such as in MCG; We know that Ahmedabad will be mostly blue and it would have been good to have some Pakistan support if the fans were allowed to come there but just as in Hyderabad, we expect some support for Pakistan in Ahmedabad too."


His advice to bowlers given the high-scoring games in the World Cup

"Most of the games are very high-scoring and the margin of error for bowlers is very less, especially if you are bowling outside the stumps, so I have just asked my bowlers to hit the length and bowl stump to stump,and that's it"


Which Indian bowler and batter will provide the biggest challenge to Pakistan?

"The whole game against India is a challenge for us! All fans in India and Pakistan are waiting for this game and even are very excited; We will see how to get their top order and how to score runs against their bowlers - all that really matters is that we play our best game on the day"?


Handling the off-field pressure of the India Pakistan game about the losing streak

"I have got a lot of phone calls for tickets! In the past we have not been able to execute our plans but in 2019 we changed it - We believe we can do it and we have done it; Tomorrow we could do it again - you never know - we will go with full confidence in this game and give our best on the day".


Dew and toss - will they be big factors?

"All the games we have seen so far, toss has been vital to the outcome of the game as the pitch seems to behave very nicely under lights; We saw some dew last night here, but we will ask the match referee and umpires if they will spray the field or not."


Captains have lost their jobs as result of the India-Pakistan games.

"First of all, I never worry about the fact that I could lose my captaincy due to this game - I will captain as long as the Almighty wills it; I did not become a captain due to one game, and I will not lose it because of one; The main thing is to execute your plans and most of all enjoy this game".


Record against India not been that good - is it playing on his mind?

"My record in this World Cup has not been that good; Against India, we only play in World Cups so there is a bit of a gap between the times we play them so I wouldn't say that I have a problem against any specific bowler but I would say that I sometimes get out due to my own mistakes but I try and make sure I commit as few mistakes as possible"


Indian reporter tried to ask about Rizwan's Gaza tweet, but Babar asked to stay on c

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Darkest era for Indian cricket since fixing saga IMO.

1. Have assumed choker's tag from SA. 5 ICC final losses in the last 10 years, 3 other semi final losses, these things take a toll even on fans.
2. IPL assuming more importance than Indian cricket.
3. BCCI being the most corrupt and useless sporting organization ever, unholy mix of politics and sports
4. Lack of accountability, media getting its wings clipped
5. Super star players becoming bigger than Indian cricket

It is one thing not having the means and then losing. But to have everything and yet not fulfil your potential, that is much more painful.

Arrogance in Indian cricket ecosystem is at an all time high, maybe it is karma to get back at that. Golden age for me was from 2007 Eng tour to 2011 WC. Series wins in NZ and Eng, series draw in SA culminating with that epic Sachin vs Steyn standoff in Cape Town, a very close series in Aus (monkeygate series) where we won at WACA, Perth. One WC, one T20 WC and that team was much more likable. Dhoni then was a nice, humble guy and players like Sachin, Dravid, VVS, Kumble, Zaheer, Yuvraj, Sehwag didn't have the arrogance and entitlement of current gen, despite achieving so much.

India then was actually a likable team, now I get why neutrals despise our team and players.

Dont club in the loser generation of Sachin, VVS, Dravid with Dhoni, Yuvi.

Dhoni, Yuvi, Gambhir won us trophies not that loser generation who got shellacked by australia team without Mcgrath and Warne.


As for Superstar culture, guess who is the epitome of that?

Kohli as test captain has achieved more than the whole trio of Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman.

Interestingly Kohli has already won more ICC trophies than Tendulkar,Dravid, Laxman combined.

 

[MenInG]

As for Superstar culture, guess who is the epitome of that?

I am not sure why 'superstar culture' is a bad thing for India?

 

[happydavy]

I am not sure why 'superstar culture' is a bad thing for India?

Without the superstar culture, both in 2019 wc and 2023 WC, once the semis position was guaranteed, team would have given lower order/out of form batsmen some batting practise. Sky and Jadeja would have batted for 10-20 overs instead of superstar Kohli scoring his meaningless centuries. Ditto in 2019, Rohit/Kohli were in great form and didn't let anyone else bat much. Even in the last match against lanka in 2019 the top 3 were busy with their own stats rather than giving others a chance to be amongst the runs.

 

[happydavy]

Without the superstar culture, both in 2019 wc and 2023 WC, once the semis position was guaranteed, team would have given lower order/out of form batsmen some batting practise. Sky and Jadeja would have batted for 10-20 overs instead of superstar Kohli scoring his meaningless centuries. Ditto in 2019, Rohit/Kohli were in great form and didn't let anyone else bat much. Even in the last match against lanka in 2019 the top 3 were busy with their own stats rather than giving others a chance to be amongst the runs.

The lower middle order of Pant/Karthik/Jadeja had batted for 3/1/1 times in the tournament before the semi final. Any team with good team culture and not superstar culture would have noticed this.

 

[Sachin136]

At the end of the day, tests are the most important format and bilateral series wins are what counts in that format. The WTC has been around for far too little time to have any sort of significance. And as far as tests go, India has been by some distance the best team in the world for the past 5-6 years. They're nigh unbeatable anywhere in Asia + Australia + WI and competitive in England and South Africa.

The past few years have also been the only time when India could reasonably lay claim to having the best pace bowling attack in the world, with Bumrah, Shami, Ishant, Umesh, etc all performing well.

 

[happydavy]

At the end of the day, tests are the most important format and bilateral series wins are what counts in that format. The WTC has been around for far too little time to have any sort of significance. And as far as tests go, India has been by some distance the best team in the world for the past 5-6 years. They're nigh unbeatable anywhere in Asia + Australia + WI and competitive in England and South Africa.

The past few years have also been the only time when India could reasonably lay claim to having the best pace bowling attack in the world, with Bumrah, Shami, Ishant, Umesh, etc all performing well.

Between 2007 and 2012, SA won series home and abroad against every country, baring a drawn test series in India. Series victories included multiple away series victories against Australia and many other countries. That's called a great team, not a team like India which for all the hype hasn't won a test series in Eng, SA or NZ since 2008 that's like 15+ years. And I am not even getting into the legendary teams of Aus and WI of yesteryears. To claim we have the best bowling attack and all is fine but it doesn't mean anything without the series victories. We are unbeatable in India and that's where we win all our series to top the earnings and the fact is this bowling attack you had mentioned doesn't even come into the picture in home pitches. The pitches we prepare, a bowling attack comprising of Washington Sundar and JP Yadav will win us matches.

 

[Sachin136]

Between 2007 and 2012, SA won series home and abroad against every country, baring a drawn test series in India. Series victories included multiple away series victories against Australia and many other countries. That's called a great team, not a team like India which for all the hype hasn't won a test series in Eng, SA or NZ since 2008 that's like 15+ years. And I am not even getting into the legendary teams of Aus and WI of yesteryears. To claim we have the best bowling attack and all is fine but it doesn't mean anything without the series victories. We are unbeatable in India and that's where we win all our series to top the earnings and the fact is this bowling attack you had mentioned doesn't even come into the picture in home pitches. The pitches we prepare, a bowling attack comprising of Washington Sundar and JP Yadav will win us matches.

2007-2013 South Africa were definitely one of the best test teams in history, but they lost a series at home to Australia and had three drawn home test series against England, India, and Australia. That's quite a lacklustre home record for such a great team. If India manage to win in South Africa this time around, I'd have a very hard time picking between 2015-2023 India and 2007-2013 South Africa.

 

[kron]

Great team in tests only.
Very good team in odi like top 2 but they ruin it for themselves by picking weird selections.

In t20 they are an average side.

 

[kron]

2007-2013 South Africa were definitely one of the best test teams in history, but they lost a series at home to Australia and had three drawn home test series against England, India, and Australia. That's quite a lacklustre home record for such a great team. If India manage to win in South Africa this time around, I'd have a very hard time picking between 2015-2023 India and 2007-2013 South Africa.

Yes india need to beat either SA or nz away from home to cement the legacy. 2 test is a lottery though.

 

[Swashbuckler]

Dont club in the loser generation of Sachin, VVS, Dravid with Dhoni, Yuvi.

Dhoni, Yuvi, Gambhir won us trophies not that loser generation who got shellacked by australia team without Mcgrath and Warne.


As for Superstar culture, guess who is the epitome of that?

Kohli as test captain has achieved more than the whole trio of Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman.

Interestingly Kohli has already won more ICC trophies than Tendulkar,Dravid, Laxman combined.

So called loser generation took us to number one test ranking in a much tougher era where Aus and SA had legit beast sides. Won test series in NZ, Eng and drew the greatest SA team in their backyard, yes that SA had peak Steyn, G. Smith, Kallis, ABDV, Amla, Morkel, not Bavuma's joke side. Drew Aus in Aus, almost won in 2007-08, won at WACA etc.

Dhoni and Yuvi were test faulures.

Kohli has achieved nothing, as we see in his ICC resume and SENA tests. The greatest series win in Aus happened after Kohli ran away home after the 36 all out disaster. That series was won by Pant, Rahane, Pujara, Ashwin, Jadeja and rookies. We got to number one ranking because of our fast bowlers and mainly Ashwin, Jadeja who make India almost impossible to beat at home.

Bolded bit is false. Even the 2011 WC, Kohli was a liability and seniors carried us.

 

[BouncerGuy]

It would have been a golden age for Indian cricket if they had won that World Cup. But still indian team has been on a roll here. Number 1 side it is.

 

[Hitman]

Test cricket? Yes!

ODI cricket? No!

T20 cricket? It'a a joke of a format.

 

[FearlessRoar]

I think the golden days are about to come to an end soon because the pool of talent in the India's test side is more pathetic than Pakistan

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

So called loser generation took us to number one test ranking in a much tougher era where Aus and SA had legit beast sides. Won test series in NZ, Eng and drew the greatest SA team in their backyard, yes that SA had peak Steyn, G. Smith, Kallis, ABDV, Amla, Morkel, not Bavuma's joke side. Drew Aus in Aus, almost won in 2007-08, won at WACA etc.

Dhoni and Yuvi were test faulures.

Kohli has achieved nothing, as we see in his ICC resume and SENA tests. The greatest series win in Aus happened after Kohli ran away home after the 36 all out disaster. That series was won by Pant, Rahane, Pujara, Ashwin, Jadeja and rookies. We got to number one ranking because of our fast bowlers and mainly Ashwin, Jadeja who make India almost impossible to beat at home.

Bolded bit is false. Even the 2011 WC, Kohli was a liability and seniors carried us.

Wrong, getting humiliated in 2007 in Aus vs a team which was settling after the retirement of Warne, Mcgrath, Langer, Gillespie is absolutely disastrous and not something to celebrate, but i guess for that generation even getting beaten 2-1 was a good result.

Getting to number onr ranking under Dhoni is an okay achievement, but Virats team was number one for 5 years and won 5 mace lets not get into this, it will be embarrassing for you.

The likes of Tendulkar, Warne couldn’t win a series when Australias main bowlers were not there while Kohli emerged victorious in 2018 when he faced a similar scenario.

Kohli winning more icc trophies than that generation combined is true, your sadness won’t change that, he was the highest scorer in semis and finals of ct along with a valuable contribution in the final of 11 wc, where Sachin failed.

Anyone who thinks Kohli isn’t the greatest test captain from India should stop watching test cricket, it’s simply too hard for them.

Coming back to topic, which was about the whole generation, team India of 2015-2023 had achieved way more than any other Indian test team without a shadow of doubt.

Also lol at winning series in Nz, just take a look at that Nz team and compare it to the current one.

Losing Home series against Aus and England was yet another gift by that generation.

 

[MenInG]

The loss in the 1st Test in South Africa is a serious blemish to this era....