India, March 19 -- In a matter of months, things can upend in a big way. English wicketkeeper Jamie Smith will vouch for it. Late last year, he went unsold in the IPL auction. The Ashes then went horribly wrong for him, both with the bat and gloves. Across five Tests, he got just one fifty, and he dropped Australia's most dangerous batsman Travis Head, shockingly in one of the games. He wasn't part of England's T20 squads for Sri Lanka and the T20 World Cup earlier this year.

From December to today, Smith's perception of things has changed though. He has started believing that all that happens, happens for good.

"At the time, I would have definitely liked to have gone [to the IPL]. It's an ambition of mine to strengthen all sides of my ...