By Karan Thapar

"This sunday morning as the columns around me concentrate on the surprise outcome of the elections, I've deliberately decided to be different. Or do I mean contrary? The latter word has a perverse streak that I'm happy to own up to."

I'm just finishing a series of interviews for the BBC with India's young cricket stars and I'm fascinated by the little details I've discovered. The young men are, of course, thirteen separate individuals, yet their lives have common bonds that suggest a leitmotiv or, at least, a hint of significance. A little seamless web whose silken threads weave a pattern that must be accident but feels uncannily like design.

For instance, whilst you might have known that Irfan Pathan's father is the muezzin at the Jama Masjid at Baroda and that as a child Irfan would often help sweep the mosque and, occasionally, call the azaan, were you aware that at least four of his colleagues come from similar backgrounds? Sanjay Bangar's grandparents were agricultural daily wage-labourers. In fact his father left home because they couldn't afford to educate him. Mohammed Kaif's father is a ticket inspector on the Allahabad-Prayagraj Express. Zaheer Khan's father is a small town photographer in Srirampur in Maharashtra. Romesh Powar's was a compounder.

Can it be denied that their determination and unflinching spirit is in part a product of their struggle? They weren't to the manor born. Instead, they kicked down the front door to enter. That's why they're so different to the Pataudis, Gavaskars, Tendulkars or Gangulys we're accustomed to.

The similarities, however, go further. Though only in their twenties many have experienced the trauma of being dropped and the struggle to get back into the team. Lakshmipathi Balaji was dropped immediately after his debut. Hemang Badani was dropped six months later. Yuvraj within his first year. Murali Karthik (whose real name is Karthik Murali) has been dropped eight times in four years! But none succumbed to these setbacks. Faced with adversity they were defiant. Balaji bowled six consecutive five-wicket Ranji scores. Badani made 127 against New Zealand despite a fractured hand. Karthik kept trying even if he kept getting dropped as well.

Whilst it's the grit and spirit they have in common that's their real link, fate also seems to have dealt them similar hands. No one can forget Ashish Nehra's last over in Karachi. Pakistan needed 9 runs off 6 balls. It came down to six off the last ball but Nehra's bowling ensured that was too much. What you may not remember is that two months earlier, in January in Adelaide, Sanjay Bangar faced an identical situation. Australia needed 9 off the last over. Ganguly threw the ball to Bangar, a choice that was as surprising as Nehra in Karachi. Bangar conceded a couple of runs and got a wicket. But, once again, it came down to 6 off the last ball. Dion Ebrahim, like Moin Khan, skied the shot. The stadium held its breath but it failed to reach the boundary. India won.

Often the coincidences signify nothing but they're still striking. When Kaif scored his famous 87 to clinch victory in the Nat-West Trophy his parents missed seeing their son's triumph. When Irfan Pathan got his first wicket (Mathew Hayden at Adelaide) his parents did not possess a television set to see it. Parthiv Patel's career has been guided by his father's brother, Jagatbhai. Irfan's by his mother's brother, Ahmed Mian. When he was three Zaheer was almost electrocuted. He was playing with live electricity wires. Irfan was two when he fell into a well. He lay there unconscious until passers by came to his rescue.

Intriguingly, the coincidences continue off the field. Karthik proposed to his wife Shweta at 5.30 in the morning. She was in Singapore, he in Delhi. Karthik would not put the phone down till Shweta said yes. Sulakshana kept Hemang on tenterhooks for four years. Their only contact was the phone. Sulakshana foiled all Hemang's attempts to meet her. And when he proposed she thought it was a joke!

But what I personally find most admirable is that these young cricketers do not fight shy of religion. At their age I found it difficult to handle the subject. Not them. Balaji, Irfan, Zaheer, Sanjay Bangar, Aakash Chopra and Ramesh Powar speak about their belief with a certainty and an assurance I did not possess.

Are these just coincidences? Perhaps they are. But isn't it uncanny that the new generation of Indian cricketers should have so many striking similarities? No doubt it's their talent that makes them special. But behind their individual skill is the small but significant way fate has fashioned them from the same mould. Could this be the hand of destiny?