Failure’s biggest gift to a superstar is humility.

For the largest cricketing nation in the world, hardly anyone pays heed to domestic cricket in India.

Selections happen on the basis of IPL performances. Stars are retained. Future potential superstars are given a chance. And the unsung heroes of the past are forgotten.

Everything follows the trail of money – core concept of economics, deadly strategy for a sport fueled by talent.

The big names are returning back to Ranji and so is the fame. Maybe humility finally brought them to the grounds that made them or maybe it’s just another PR stunt. But for me the most interesting aspect of this migration has been the shift of limelight on a scuffed up stone of the past buried under a pile of shining diamonds.

Of all the flaws that he has, Shardul Thakur’s biggest mistake in my opinion is not having a strong PR team. Or maybe amidst ‘selfless captains’ and ‘athletic kings’ he’s not enough of a PR worthy candidate. No rags to riches story, no extraordinary talent, no swashbucking flair for controversy – maybe there isn’t enough drama to churn out a sellable story.

Clutch performance in the famous Gabba win when all chips were down for India. One of the rare fighters in the South Africa tour of 22. And a pivotal contributor in the England tour of 21 – Shardul, much like other less popular players, still managed to find his heroics go unnoticed and being dropped for more ‘strategic’ replacements.

And to top it all he is often mocked with the sarcastic title of ‘lord’ with the undersight that most of his success comes from pure luck.

Lone standing batter in the star studded defending champions Mumbai side, last week Shardul looked much better than some of the stalwarts currently warming the prestigious spots in the Indian Cricket Team.

And he is just one player out of a heap of consistent domestic performers that are time and again overlooked in favour of emerging IPL stars.

I hope and pray that this newfound gift of humility sees our stars being returned to their former glory.

Because if the domestic circuit is continued to be ignored by the selectors and BCCI in favour of teams born out of dazzling leagues, then we risk losing the very soul of Indian cricket. And with it those who live and breathe it – us fans.