When Mahendra Singh Dhoni decided that young blood was the way forward for Indian cricket, at least in the limited-overs game to start with, the intelligent Jharkhandi wasn’t unaware that the path he had chosen to tread was fraught with dangers. Particularly in India, the shaking up of the established order is frowned upon.

Superstars aren't shown the door; time waits for them to call it quits, however belated that might be. To go against the grain, therefore, and insist on the blooding of youth at the expense of some of the biggest names to have graced the cricket firmament called for not just immense conviction, but also great courage.

To the cynical several, Dhoni’s successful push for the infusion of young blood was a pointer to his rapidly growing clout within the establishment. The Dhoni success story is unparalleled in recent times in India; less than three years after he made his international debut, the national captaincy had been conferred on the youth icon from the inner reaches of a state with little cricketing pedigree. The Twenty20 World Cup triumph under his stewardship was the first, but by no means conclusive, indication that Dhoni was the right choice. Subsequent events have reiterated that Dhoni, him of the mature head on broad young shoulders, is a sound investment as a leader.

Much time has been spent dissecting and debating Dhoni’s experiments with youth. Particularly given the disastrous results at last year’s World Cup, change was inevitable; that change didn’t happen until six months later, once Rahul Dravid gave up the national captaincy without warning. The search for his successor, at least on the limited-overs stage, ended with Dhoni, already nominated the Twenty20 skipper after Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly made themselves unavailable for the World Cup.

Natural progression

As such, his elevation as one-day captain was a natural progression. Dhoni the skipper might have had to bide his time if Virender Sehwag hadn’t gone into a form slump and out of national reckoning, or indeed had Yuvraj Singh not picked up a knee injury late in 2006 that kept him out of cricket for a few months. The winds of change swept in within a few months of the Dhoni regime.

For the first time since Dravid established himself as a key cog in the Indian one-day wheel in 1999, India went into a one-day competition minus both the Bangalore right-hander and Ganguly when the squad for the ongoing tri-series in Australia was announced. Neither man was unavailable injured or otherwise, leaving Sachin Tendulkar as the sole representative of the 'Big Five' of Indian cricket, what with VVS Laxman out of one-day favour for a while now and Test skipper Anil Kumble having announced his limited-overs retirement last year.

The onus, clearly, was on young blood, fresh legs and untouched enthusiasm. Dhoni's stock has constantly been on the rise since he exploded on the world stage as a hard-hitting batsman who was more safe than outstanding behind the stumps. The Twenty20 triumph solidified his popularity, and suddenly, he found himself in a position where the establishment was willing to buy into his theories, based as they were on sound cricketing logic.

Whilst it will be foolhardy to expect the young brigade to start delivering instantaneously — not that India were winning every game when the big boys were around — there is no denying the impression the younger lot is already starting to make. The most obvious gains have been in the fielding department, not necessarily one of India’s strengths in the past but quickly on its way to matching some of the best in the business; the batting too looks headed in the right direction, while the bowling hasn’t had much tinkering in any case.

The emergence of Gautam Gambhir as both an anchoring and attacking number three is one of Dhoni’s greater successes as leader. The left-hander from Delhi has played less than 50 games since his debut five years back, and didn’t play more than five games at a stretch until this tour. Secure in the knowledge that he wouldn’t have to look over his shoulder after two or three straight failures, the 26-year-old has blossomed into an exceptional accumulator of runs.

Upwards of 400 runs in the league phase of the tri-series, including two centuries, have marked Gambhir out as the batsman of the competition to date. He has batted with poise and panache, his growing confidence all too visible. That he is a left-hander makes his presence as vital as Ganguly’s used to be in the past; that he is an accomplished opener means even in the eventuality of the loss of an early wicket, he is technically competent enough to handle the new ball.

While Gambhir has been the stand-out success, Rohit Sharma and Robin Uthappa have had their moments. Just six months after making his debut, the Mumbaikar occupies the coveted number four slot. He must embrace consistency and shrug off the propensity for looseness early on, but hey, he is still only 20!

Uthappa is a little older, both in terms of age and international experience. He is the floater in the order, preferred lower down but providing the option of being pushed right up, given he is a specialist opener.

The Bangalorean will realise, quickly, that the odd cameo will no longer suffice, that he must make more meaningful contributions on a regular basis. At number seven, that doesn’t necessarily translate into fifties and hundred, but as Yuvraj has shown in the past, it’s a slot with the potential to be the springboard for greater things.

The chasing pack is also youthful. Manoj Tiwari and Suresh Raina are awaiting their chances, alongside the seemingly forgotten Dinesh Kaarthick. There’s a healthy competition for places, and therefore the motivation — if any more was required than representing the country — of not taking things for granted. The youth pitch isn’t the worst, and not certainly when it seems to be paying dividends, if not massively.

The biggest loser in Dhoni's perestroika is Sehwag. At 29, the Delhi dasher isn't old enough to be old, nor young enough to be really young. He has led the country in Tests and one-dayers, has an outstanding record in the former and a brilliant strike-rate in the latter. He is, though, the first to get the axe when the additional bowler is played. Not necessarily fair, but that is the captain’s all. Oh, to be 22 all over again!