It has been a season of upsets in Test cricket of late. (More Cricket News)
Sri Lanka have just beaten England comprehensively by eight wickets in the final Test at the Oval in London.
And nearly 8000 km away in another part of the world, Bangladesh have completed a clean sweep in their short, two-Test match series against Pakistan away from home.
Even though the Sri Lankans lost the series 1-2, and were mostly outplayed in the first two matches, there were passages of play in both the games where they ran England close, but let slip from their grasp in potentially game changing situations.
However, if they had cashed in on those opportunities, the line separating the two teams would have been even thinner.
There was a strong sense of Deja vu in the second innings of the Third Test, when young wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith launched a blistering counterattack with England struggling at 82 for 7, and raced away to a 50 in just 19 balls.
And the game seemed to be slipping away from Sri Lanka yet again.
But, this time around, their bowlers held their nerve, and England could only set them a modest victory target of 219.
The question on everyone‘s lips was, would Sri Lanka hold up as a team, or go under once again?
But in an admirable show of character, the attacking Pathum Nissanka, fresh from a fluent 64 in the first innings, shut out the England bowlers with a brilliant unbeaten 127 that saw his team romping home in style.
And England were left wondering yet again whether they would ever find a way to win Test Matches where Joe Root had failed to make a big contribution.
On the evidence of this game, they are yet to find that elusive path.
In between, came the shocking news of former England star batter Graham Thorpe taking his own life by jumping in front of a train, at 55 years of age.
And even as the cricketing community and his former team mates mourned him, it brought back into sharp focus the mental health issues that often plague top athletes, and the importance of recognising these symptoms and seeking early treatment.
100 Test matches, 16 Test hundreds, nearly 7000 Test runs at an average of 45...and what a way to go.
Teammates Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton paid tribute to him as one of England’s finest batters, a lionhearted fighter on the field in all circumstances.
Sadly, that mental strength did not help him in his final battle.
And it reminded of ace tennis player Premjit Lal, who once led the legendary Rod Laver by two sets to love at Wimbledon, before losing in five.
He had tried to similarly take his own life at a Kolkata metro station some years ago, but was saved by bystanders in the nick of time.
And of Robin Uthappa, who played 46 ODIs and 13 T20Is for India, who showed courage in speaking about his own clinical depression issues and how he overcame them.
But to return to the cricket, half a world away, Bangladesh set up an equally famous victory as they came back from the dead at 26 for 6 in the first innings of the second test, riding a wonderful 138 by wicketkeeper- batter Litton Das.
He combined with spinner Mehidy Miraz in a crucial 165-run, seventh-wicket partnership that brought them right back into the game.
And like England, Pakistan collapsed abjectly in their second innings to leave the door open for Bangladesh to notch up a second successive Test match victory, and complete a clean sweep of the two-match series.
This was even more creditable in view of the major political upheaval and uncertainty at home where a former Bangladesh cricket captain had his home torched by marauding mobs.
The fate of South Africa's tour of Bangladesh immediately after their series against India, currently hangs in balance.
Meanwhile in India, the 2024-25 domestic season kicked off with the prestigious Duleep Trophy played in a new format this season, ahead of the two Test matches against Bangladesh.
The premier red ball tournament has four teams, India A, B, C and D this year, unlike in the past when it was played in its original inter-zonal format.
All four squads have been picked by the national selectors, making it a de facto Test trial.
It has assumed even greater significance in the light of the upcoming away series against Australia starting from 22 Nov, and the intention here is definitely to take a close look at all players who are in the fray for the tour.
That series between the two topsides in world cricket, could easily receive the billing of an unofficial World Test Championship.
And after two successive series wins Down Under, a feat achieved only a handful of times before by a visiting side in 147 years of Test Match history, India would be keen to add to those successes and confirm their status as the No.1 Test side in the world.
Australia on the other hand, would be thirsting for revenge, and the cricket will be tough and uncompromising.
The Duleep Trophy meanwhile, has become even more competitive this year with the BCCI insisting on mandatory participation from senior players
Its exalted status as the tournament from which top India players made their way to the national team, for more than sixty years now, has been restored.
The good news coming out of the tournament is that Rishabh Pant, the hero of ‘Gabbattoir 2021’ is all set to return to Test Cricket after a career threatening road accident two years ago.
The return further means that Dhruv Jurel, the wicketkeeping find of the last England series at home, may have to sit out these two Test matches against Bangladesh.
Similarly with the big guns Virat Kohli, KL Rahul coming back into the middle order, there is no room in the playing XI at present for young Sarfaraz Khan who made such a wonderful impression in that series.
While Devdutt Padikkal and Shreyas Iyer have not found a place in the squad.
Also missing from the side is star pacer Mohammed Shami, who has been out of action with surgery and rehab for ankle injury after a wonderful ODI World Cup.
And although he has been bowling again in recent weeks, the selectors, did not want to be rush his return to international cricket, hoping for complete fitness in time for the Australia tour
Shami’s absence has made way for the inclusion of young Yash Dayal in the squad.
A remarkable resurrection for the young pacer who had seemed down and out after being smashed for five sixes by Rinku Singh in the last over of an IPL game, a little over a year ago.
The upcoming Test series against Bangladesh therefore promises to be a testing ground for a team that is a blend of youth and experience, as it prepares for much sterner battles ahead.
Given Bangladesh’s recent success against Pakistan, it has all the makings of an absorbing contest.
And the fact that Jasprit Bumrah has been recalled to the squad, is enough indication that India are not taking it lightly.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author. The author is a veteran Wing Commander of the Indian Air Force, who has played Ranji Trophy for Services.
