Mumbai: The last nine months saw Indian cricket's trophy cabinet enriched with two world titles. The team showed versatility and depth by winning the ODI Champions Trophy on sluggish pitches in Dubai earlier this month, and prevailed on surfaces of uneven bounce in USA and slow tracks in the West Indies to lift the 2024 T20 World Cup.

But a renaissance of sorts on the batting front came in the less glorified bilateral T20Is on true batting pitches. Where India were hitherto reluctant to hit top gear, they amassed 283 and 297-run totals in 2024 and scored the most sixes (23) in a calendar year.

The chief architects of this transformation were young left-handers Abhishek Sharma (24), and Tilak Varma (22), and the gifted Sanju Samson, who finally realised his potential. With the T20 World Cup slated next year at home, expect these batters to continue pushing the envelope. If new entrants want to displace them, the only way is to match their intent quotient.

Foremost in the queue would be Yashasvi Jaiswal, 23, and Shubman Gill, 25. When the T20I team was plundering runs, the two rising stars, also seen as future all-format players, had been toughing it out in India's busy Test season.

Merely by being available again they won't become automatic picks. India's T20I template has been refashioned; as modern as any of its competitors. It was exemplified in the last T20I India played last year, at the Wanderers where Varma, promoted to No.3, combined with Samson to ravage the South African bowling attack, piling up 210 runs for the second wicket in 85 balls.

Samson stayed back to punch and pull while Varma brought out his entire range against pace and spin. Earlier, Sharma would shimmy down the track to fast bowlers without a care in the world.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad opener did more of the same when England came calling with their pace pack in early 2025.

"Fearlessness and freedom. When you combine these two, something magical happens," Hardik Pandya said on Wednesday, reflecting on the positive outcomes. "I wouldn't step out against Jofra Archer in the powerplay, but that's the youth. I was 21 once. The ones who are 21, 22, 23 today, they are more fearless and even more exciting. You don't tell them to step out or not to step out. Just give them the freedom and they pick their best options."

Varma, one of Mumbai Indians' retentions other than their high-profile names, would want to capitalise on gains from his international outings and make this a truly memorable IPL.

T20 WC AHEAD

With the likes of Jaiswal and Gill keen to return to the T20I fold, their batting methods in the upcoming season will be closely watched. They know it themselves. "The pace of the game has reached a point where it feels like we could score 300 in a match," Gill told the official broadcaster.

As Gujarat Titans skipper, it would be up to Gill to set the pace. "As a batsman, it is my responsibility to bat in a way that allows us to maximise the Powerplay.

That is what I strive for, and hopefully this time we rectify the errors from last season," he told reporters in Ahmedabad.

Gill would want to pick his battles well. He will relish opening with Jos Buttler over Wriddhiman Saha - Sai Sudharsan opened towards the end - from last year. GT's batting lacked depth and that meant Gill never really broke free. Their team's strike rate was unimpressive in a season where new scoring benchmarks were set, powered by the Impact Player rule.

Buttler's shift to GT will most likely leave Jaiswal opening for Rajasthan Royals with Samson, having warmed up to the new position in India's blues. Samson's last few dismissals have been identical though, falling against the short ball to England's pacers. As he returns from a finger injury, it leaves him with work to do.

Recent memory would tell us that Jaiswal narrowly missed out of India's Champions Trophy squad. He was such a force in the Test matches in Australia. But let's not forget, even before Sharma and Varma found their bearings in IPL, Jaiswal's rasping cuts and drives in the Powerplay were there for all to see. The RR opener would match Buttler shot for shot. That's how he first came to the limelight. It is for him to make heads turn again. That's the only way for him with India's top order batting options aplenty. A happy headache for the selectors is never a bad thing.