Michael Holding believes that modern-day Team India differs significantly from the Indian team he played against in terms of fitness, mindset, and attitude. The 67-year-old also stated that the change in pitches has played a significant role in the team’s recent success. During the 1960s and 1970s, several pitches caused problems or turned fiercely, causing hitters and bowlers to struggle. Michael Holding on indian cricket team for change in modern-day.
‘It’s a totally different era’: Michael Holding lists reasons for change in modern-day Indian cricket team
The former fast bowler stated that the skill levels are comparable to what he has seen throughout his playing career. India has looked impressive internationally in recent years, putting up a fight against teams such as South Africa, Australia, and England.
All along the journey, Indian captain Virat Kohli has been open about his desire for a fitter team, which has resulted in India excelling in all three phases of the game. When Holding used to play against India, he thought just two Indian players were fit, but things have completely changed now.
“Well, it’s a totally different era when it comes to Indian cricket. When I played against India, probably two of the players were fit. Now everybody on the field is fit. You see how athletic they are, how dynamic they are,” Holding told in an Interview.
“The skill level hasn’t really changed that much but when you have fitness, and change of attitude along with skill level, obviously the cricket will also change.”
‘The pitches that they played in India were slow and low’: Michael Holding
The former legendary cricketer also discussed how, during his time, the pitches were not good enough to survive long, but that, now, not just in international matches but also in domestic matches, there are much better pitches, which has helped Team India’s success.
“What has also helped Indian cricket is that a lot of pitches in India, for domestic cricket and cricket in general, have improved. The ball bounces a lot more and since it carries, batsmen are able to cope on overseas pitches.”
“In my time, once India left India, that was it. The pitches that they played in India were slow and low and it became dusty,” Holding added.
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