Sanjay Manjrekar’s twitter opinion was spot on after the 5-0 drubbing of Kiwis in the T20 series at the hands of a courageous and mentally tough Indian unit. He compared this team under Virat Kohli to that of Pakistani team under Imran Khan which was based on strong self-belief as they found new ways of wining often form losing positions.

And they are surely a reflection of it as they won two games in super-overs. Muhammad Shami defended 4 runs in the last over when all thought the match was in Kiwis pocket, chasing down a 200 run target. Indians have achieved this capability after doing experiments by such as resting senior players.

Since the inception of Indian Premier League in 2008 the Indian cricket has continued to take giant steps by setting new standards through their staggering display of skills, fitness and professionalism.

The impact of this positive mindset has trickled down to their club cricket, domestic and junior teams.

T20 is often praised for taking the fielding standards to a completely new level, for introducing brutal hitting and above all bringing mental toughness among the players. The area of fielding was considered to be the strength of teams like England, New Zealand, Australia and West Indies but in the last 10 years, the Indians have risen and are now able to compete with these teams in the area.

The appointment of Sourav Ganguly last year as the President of BCCI was a clear indication that India’s cricket is getting into safe hands with such stalwarts as Rahul Dravid grooming the younger lot of players and Ravi Shastri being appointed as the head coach of the national team.

Like Australia and England, Indian team is also bringing the mindset of long-term goals by dropping MS Dhoni and providing chances to youngsters such as wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer.

The aggression which Virat Kohli’s aura brings into the team is no different. In my opinion he is a better captain than Dhoni when it comes to playing with attacking approach and self-belief. This current Indian side has all the bases covered in every department of the game.

The way India’s under-19 team has performed in the last three world cups, tormenting teams like Pakistan, Australia and New Zealand just shows what the future holds for them. The way India thumped Pakistan in the semi-final by 10 wickets through their spirited fielding, batting and bowling performances last Tuesday was an eye-opener for Pakistan. Our youngsters looked helpless in the high-pressure match. They clearly failed to match the level of fitness, fielding and other skills of the Indian boys.

The Indians have been investing huge amounts in their domestic circuit as their umpires and players are paid very well.

They have groomed the youngsters and enhanced the quality of pitches which provide balance between batting and bowling.

The most important thing is how they have utilised the funds available. They have been doing it for last 10 years and that’s why the other Asian teams are no match to them.

The selection and recruitment is done on merit and the proven performers are given chances unlike Pakistan where culture of favouritism still continues. The new management, led by Misbah-ul-Haq, vowed to eradicate this culture but has been no different to previous managements in practising discrimination.

Bringing back Muhammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik makes no sense as they have passed their prime. Similarly, dropping Kashif Bhatti without giving him a chance and not selecting Tabish Khan and Nauman Ali are prominent examples of how we have wasted talent.