It was a rainy summer day when I was trying my level best to tune in to the correct short wave frequency for BBC Test Match Special, thanks to the unavailability of ESPN on the idiot box.
India was touring the Old Blighty in the summer of '96 and this was the mother of all test matches that I had ever seen till then. It was being played at the Mecca of cricket, the Lord's cricket ground.
A certain 23 year old Saurav Ganguly from Kolkata was playing a reassuringly good innings according to the TMS commentators and with each passing delivery my confidence in his abilities was getting stronger. India was 0-1 down going into this second test and was playing catch up to England's first innings score of 344. The overseas woes of Indian cricket were back to haunt it. But this young southpaw was playing like he belonged at the highest level.
In some time, at the fall of the fifth wicket with India still at 202, 142 in arrears, a certain Rahul Dravid joined Ganguly in the middle and started showing the world that India's future was in safe hands. This guy's style was moulded in solid defence and proper shot-making techniques. You, as a superstitious Indian cricket fan felt for the first time that you can relax, this guy won't get out any time soon.
Saurav had replaced Sanjay Manjrekar in the lineup and Rahul had come in place of his fellow Karnataka team mate Sunil Joshi which partly explains his batting position of number 7. Now, Manjrekar was a fine exponent of technique but he was on a comeback trail and was unable to find his mojo. For Saurav also it was a comeback to the squad as he had toured with the team to Australia in '91-92. There were many critics who had raised questions on his selection for the England tour in '96 . But what the critics forgot was that the Prince of Kolkata was a fairly good left-handed batsman as well who had done the hard yards of domestic cricket. Of course, this was his first test but for Saurav it was also about answering those critics. Rahul, on the other hand, had a quiet but assured path leading up to his first test. He had proven himself at the Ranji level and was knocking on the doors of the selectors for a considerable time now. He had to measure up to the expectations that people had from him.
Saurav ended up with a dream debut century at Lord's with a score of 131 which he followed up with another century at Trent Bridge. Rahul fell agonizingly short of a debut century with 95 to his credit. But what these guys announced to the world that day was something more significant. The emergence of two young debutants in the same series meant that India had serious talent which was waiting in the wings. That India's batting didn't just start and stop with Sachin. Of course, in times to come these guys went on to take Indian cricket to greater heights with their captaincy, skills and understanding of the game.
The way these two legends ended their careers signified their entire journeys as well. Saurav with that 2 year golden comeback trail where he always played on frontfoot. Rahul, the old warrior who still fought it out the way he knew best on India's two most humiliating tours of England and Australia in 2011-12.
Indian cricket would do well to look at young talents like Shreyas Iyer, Virat Singh, Sudip Chatterjee and a host of other players who have the ability to go on to become the Sauravs and Rahuls of the future.
