Is there a dearth of all-rounders, part-timers in Team India?
Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer believes India are short of quality all-rounders in white-ball cricket at the moment. According to the 44-year-old, this is the reason why Sanju Samson could not feature in India's XI in the second ODI against New Zealand. Samson was dropped despite the growing talks of giving him a longer rope. Is there a dearth of all-rounders in Team India?
Why does this story matter?
Gone are those days when even the legendary Indian batters used to deliver significant spells with the ball across formats. Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, and Yuvraj Singh are among the eminent names. Such part-time bowlers helped their captains refine the team combination. However, T20 cricket has made the roles more specialized. As per Jaffer, Samson is a victim of this.
A look at India's top six (1st ODI)
India's top six (1st ODI): Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, and Samson. Each of them does not bowl in international cricket. With Hardik Pandya missing the series, Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur were the only all-rounders. Since Thakur had an off day, Deepak Chahar replaced him in the 2nd ODI. Samson had to make way for Deepak Hooda.
The team combination was lively in 2000s
India's Playing XI against Pakistan (1st ODI, 2005): Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, MS Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Harbhajan Singh, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra. Only Dravid, Kaif, and Dhoni could not bowl from this group. One has to admit that the Indian XI certainly had more variety a couple of decades ago.
Are India managing their all-rounders well?
Is the Indian team management nurturing their all-rounders well? In a recent tweet, Jaffer threw several names (Vijay Shankar, Venkatesh Iyer, Shivam Dube, and Krunal Pandya) who seem lost due to poor management. Shankar's '3D' case is a classic example. The three-dimensional player was preferred ahead of Ambati Rayudu for the 2019 World Cup. However, injury issues and poor form resulted in Shankar's ouster.
The absence of part-timers
Jaffer opines that the batters have stopped rolling up their sleeves with the presence of bowling machines and throwdown specialists. As stated, the advent of T20 cricket is directly proportional to specialists. One might argue that T20s give teams fewer opportunities to experiment. However, during the 2016 T20 World Cup, Dhoni used Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina as bowlers during crunch situations.
Dhawan explains the reason for Samson's exclusion
The absence of part-timers, as explained above, resulted in Samson's exclusion in the second ODI. Indian captain Dhawan drew criticism for dropping Samson after giving him a solitary game (scored 36 in the 1st ODI). However, the former clarified that it was a strategic move. "We wanted the sixth bowler to come in, so Samson missed out and Hooda came in," Dhawan explained.
