The smoke has dissolved from the pyrotechnics above Dubai International Stadium. The laser show has been switched off. The ticker tape has been swept from the field. Even Sunil Gavaskar has finished dancing his jig.
But the show will go on, according to Rohit Sharma. “I’m not going to retire from this format, just to make sure that no rumours are spread moving forward,” he said after leading India to the Champions Trophy on Sunday night. “What is happening will keep happening.”
Why change a winning formula? Under Rohit’s leadership, India have been to four finals in ICC events in a row. In the past two years, they have won two of three major tournaments, and won 23 out of 24 matches in the process. Before that, they also won the Asia Cup.
It goes without saying they are the dominant side of the era. But how much do they have left in the tank, and what does the future look like after the stars vacate the scene?
Experience counts. Between them, India had almost precisely double the amount of ODI caps (1,376) as their final opponents New Zealand (689). New Zealand put up a plucky fight, but India were the more assured side.
This India side are the oldest great side of modern cricket. Shubman Gill, the vice captain, is the only player under 30. Rohit is 38 next month. Even their new guy, Varun Chakravarthy, is just starting out aged 33.
The average age of the XI who won the Champions Trophy is 32. That is older than any of the teams who have won multiple ICC titles this century.
For example, Australia had an average age of 31 and a half when they completed their treble of World Cup titles in 2007.
History suggests moving on after a great side have grown old together can be fraught with problems. Collectively, England were 29 when they won the 2019 World Cup. Some of that side managed to stay together for them to later win a global T20 crown, too. Since then, though, the side has broken up and their form has fallen off a cliff.
India themselves went 11 years between winning the Champions Trophy of 2013 and the T20 World Cup of 2024. In 2011 they had won the World Cup on home soil with a side that had an average age of 29.
The kept it together enough to take out that Champions Trophy two years later, but, again, there were lean times that followed the end of the Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, and MS Dhoni era.
Much as India’s fans would love it, the old guard cannot carry on forever. So, what is to follow them?
If any side can replenish its stocks without undue stress, then surely it is India. When the Champions Trophy was in its knockout phase, the Indian Premier League posted a list on social media of the past winners of its emerging player award.
There are not many misses among them. The early years include the likes of Rohit, Axar Patel and Shreyas Iyer. They have not done too bad in the time since.
More recently there are players such as Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal and Ruturaj Gaikwad, players who could foreseeably slot right in without the team missing a beat.
For now at least, the Dad’s Army are going to stick around and drive standards, just as they have been doing all this time, according to Rohit.
“The guys in the squad are quite mature, and they want to make the most of their time playing for India,” Rohit said.
“There’s not too much work that is done there. At the end of the day, you’re representing your country, and everyone understands that.
“My job is to make sure that whoever we pick to play gets the job done for the team. Like I said, there is a lot of hunger, even for the guys who have played a lot of cricket.
“Obviously it rubs down to a lot of younger players as well. If they see some of their other senior members showing that hunger and going out there and doing the job again it shows this is how this team is built.
“This is how we want to play our cricket, with a lot of hunger and a lot of passion.
“These things are not supposed to be taught. It is very natural to a lot of guys. And luckily, in the squad we've got five or six guys who real stalwarts of this game and then their attitude, their hunger, their passion rubs down to the other guys as well. That makes the job a little easier for all of us.”
And while they are all still enjoying it so much, why go? You are a long time retired, after all.
“I am just so happy we were able to play as a unit and really enjoy ourselves,” Virat Kohli said after the final against New Zealand. “We have had such an amazing time as a team. It has been an amazing tournament for us.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Name: Abeer Al Shahi
Emirate: Sharjah – Khor Fakkan
Education: Master’s degree in special education, preparing for a PhD in philosophy.
Favourite activities: Bungee jumping
Favourite quote: “My people and I will not settle for anything less than first place” – Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
'The Sky is Everywhere'
Director:Josephine Decker
Stars:Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon
Rating:2/5
The specs: 2019 BMW X4
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Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
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The specs
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SPECS
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Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
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