Australia has once again been humiliated in the Test cricket arena by India.

The Jasprit Bumrah-led team bounced back from a shock series loss to New Zealand earlier this month with a display of peerless class and ruthlessness at Perth Stadium.

It leaves Australia contemplating a fifth consecutive series loss to the subcontinental powerhouse.

Depth of talent is one immediate concern, particularly when it comes to batting, but it may not be a problem longer term if Australia can do what the Kiwis did — promote and develop players of South Asian heritage to help counterattack their parents’ homeland.

New Zealand’s victory featured three Test cricketers of Indian heritage.

Rachin Ravindra, 25, made a century and was named man of the match in the first Test of the series; Ajaz Patel, 36, took 11 wickets and was man of the match in the third Test. Legspinner Ish Sohdi also played in the third Test.

Australian cricket was envious: Its last victory in a Test series against India was in 2014-15 when Michael Clarke was captain and the series was played on home soil.

The last time India visited Australia for a Test series was in 2020-21, with the visitors winning 2-1.

Pat Cummins and his charges may yet win the current series, but it will require a mighty comeback.

For Australia to beat India or even remain competitive in the future, Cricket Australia knows it will need a richer talent pool at all representative levels.

It is slowly happening.

Cricket in Australia and India is now inextricably linked by the record number of South Asians playing Down Under.

“Cricket is a part of life in South Asia,” Mumbai-born Adelaide-based cricket commentator Bharat Sundaresan says.

The boom

The current participation boom is unlike any other trend in Australian sport: Five years ago, 10 per cent of cricket players registered at all levels in Australia had South Asian heritage; Cricket Australia Chief of Cricket James Allsop says that figure is 20 per cent and rising .

Registrations for ‘Cricket Blast’, a backyard cricket-style introductory program for kids under 10, saw children of parents from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan go up by 26 per cent for boys and 29 per cent for girls over the past year.

Representative programs run by local, state, and national organisations have noted 17 per cent of their players are now of South Asian heritage.

In the Under 12 age group that number is an amazing 40 per cent in boys and 25 per cent in girls.

But the revolution is yet to reach the professional ranks, where contracted state players from South Asian families make up fewer than five per cent of 166 elite men and 122 women.

At the highest level, only Usman Khawaja and Alana King have national contracts.

Cricket Australia has drawn up a multicultural plan that aims to double the number of South Asian players at state level by 2027.

Cricket Australia’s chief of cricket James Allsopp is also optimistic.

“We’re making inroads,” Alsopp says.

“But we’ve still got a lot of work to do and we’re not shy about that. We want to make sure that all clubs are accommodating for people from all cultural backgrounds, which has been a big focus for the last five years.”

Transforming Australian cricket at the top level

The greatest challenge for Cricket Australia is to harness this movement for a healthier grassroots system while unearthing world-class players of Indian and South Asian heritage to compete against their parents’ homeland.

Australia U19 spinner Vishwa Ramkumar, 18, is a model of success.

Vishwa’s father Ram Srinivasan first wanted to move to Australia after watching India win the World Championship of Cricket at the MCG in 1985.

It took him two decades to immigrate via New Zealand (Vishwa was born in Auckland), before settling in Melbourne.

“My dad was passionate,” Vishwa says. 

Vishwa was a stand-out at age nine, always competing against older boys and his progress through the talent pathway system was seamless.

“They saw something special in Vishwa,” Mr Srinivasan says. “They gave him that opportunity. And I hope that he continues to get the blessings.”

Tapping into transcontinental opportunities

Vishwa now plays for Dandenong in the Victorian Premier competition, one step below state cricket.

“Vish has been great since he came to us,” Dandenong coach Tom Donnell says. 

“There’s a lot more opportunities now for all cricketers. Vishwa went to India in the off-season for a month and played there and took a couple of the guys with him. India’s a powerhouse in world cricket so it’s a no-brainer to tap into their resources.”

Vishwa also represented the Australian Under 19 team in India last month.

“It was an unreal experience playing in India,” Vishwa says. 

Relatives from India and Melbourne were there to watch him.

His mother’s cousin Satya Jagan, from Navi Mumbai, said her family was cheering for Vishwa, and therefore Australia.

“I was just speechless,” she says. “You know I have been manifesting this for so many years.”

Cheering during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be more complicated for Vishwa’s father.

“I keep telling Vishwa it’s Australia you have to support,” Mr Srinivasan says. 

“I would say [my own allegiances are] 51/49 per cent [for India]. It’s closing.”

Bharat Sundaresan reckons the biggest change in Australian cricket will arrive when the likes of Vishwa Ramkumar or Australian female Under 19 star Hasrat Gill finally crack the national Test teams.

The greatest challenge

New South Wales-contracted player Tanveer Sangha is of Indian heritage and says that ultimately the transformation will be based on merit.

“It’s 11 or 12 people that get picked in the Australian cricket team,” Sangha tells 7.30. 

“So I think you’ve got to have the best skills in the world to get picked in that team. The more [players of South Asian heritage] you get at the bottom [community-level] the more you get feeding into the top.”

Khawaja spoke to 7.30 three years ago about the cultural changes that are needed so that South Asian heritage players can follow in his footsteps.

Loading…

“It was hard to break down that cultural barrier,” Khawaja said at the time. 

“You know, I didn’t go out drinking. I went and prayed on Fridays, so, I was very different. And that is held against you to some respect. And I saw it from time to time. 

“The majority, 98 per cent of people, that I’ve dealt in cricket were great people, but whether they understand or like to admit it or not, there’s always a certain connection you have with someone who looks a bit more like you, who has got similar cultural beliefs as you.”

Sundaresan, who is a CA multicultural ambassador, says the sport’s bosses should keep listening to Khawaja.

“He’s a success story,” Sundaresan says. “Firstly, acknowledge the fact that Usman Khawaja got to where he is despite being put in positions which were very uncomfortable for him.

Sundaresan also recommends CA finds coaches and umpires of South Asian heritage to move into leadership roles.

“To people who come from that part of the world, the cricket coach is put on the same pedestal as a school teacher or school principal or even the parent.”

He also believes the Big Bash League will be a good format for young players to prove themselves before reaching international cricket.

ABC Sport will be live blogging the summer of cricket and it will be broadcast on ABC Grandstand.

Watch 7.30, Mondays to Thursdays 7:30pm on ABC iview and ABC TV