Indian cricket’s yearning for all-rounders is an old one. But the qualification to be an all-round resource in T20s is less demanding. You don’t need to be a Kapil Dev. A power-hitter who can also bowl an over of swing and control in the powerplay is more than efficient. A middle-overs banker with bat and ball is equally useful. Are we talking about Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja?
It would be difficult for the selectors to look past the two experienced all-rounders from the east and west of Gujarat, arguably because of the TINA (there is no alternative) factor. That is because there has been no concerted effort to discover more multi-skilled players. Surely, a cricket ecosystem that bars its players from overseas leagues should have thought of giving the Impact Player rule a break from IPL in a World Cup year.
Hardik and Jadeja have lacked zing in their stroke-play, but it has hurt their IPL teams to a lesser degree. As cricket returns to 11-a-side game in the T20 World Cup, all-rounders will regain currency. Hardik and Jadeja are still India’s best options.
Before IPL started, there was anxiety around Hardik’s bowling fitness, returning from his injury suffered during the ODI World Cup. He has been far from his best, having conceded big overs (20 or more runs) thrice this year. The hope is, he will only improve.
The greater concern has been around Hardik’s batting. His power-hitting prowess has seen a steady decline. He isn’t using the depth of the crease as much as he used to against pace – watch his dismissal against Avesh Khan and Harshal Patel in IPL 2024 – when his bat swing takes flight. His 24-ball 46 against Delhi Capitals on Saturday was by far his best innings. His take down of left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav would have given some comfort to chief selector Ajit Agarkar, watching from the stands.
Jadeja has played all over the batting order (4-7) for Chennai Super Kings this season and his scores have been underwhelming (157 runs, SR 131.9). But he once scored 37 runs in an over at the death. So, the selectors live in hope that India’s best spin all-rounder – not to forget his fielding – can sharpen his batting in the coming month of IPL.
Between the two, India would want Hardik-Jadeja to bowl more than four overs; including covering up for a regular bowler when he has a bad day. The importance of a fully-fit Hardik’s overs cannot be downplayed. His overs empower the captain to use his strike bowler Jasprit Bumrah when he wants to, rather than be left with no choice. They also offer the think tank an option to play the extra spinner when needed. By the time India reaches the Caribbean islands from USA for the Super 8 phase, the pitches would have experienced some wear and tear. If the pitches slow down, Jadeja can come into his own. The World Cup runs from June 2 to 29.
Look around the competing pool and Australia’s prospects can cause envy. They have Mitch Marsh, Cameron Green, Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell, who all bowl. England have plenty of slow bowling options like Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali and Will Jacks, besides Sam Curran’s swing.
Who are India’s other all-round prospects? Axar Patel tops the list. Miserly with the ball and only a shade lighter on power-hitting ability to Jadeja, Axar is a top draw player in IPL. What often works against Axar’s India selection is being like-to-like to Jadeja’s skill sets. Besides, he is a much weaker force against adverse matchups. Captains are extremely wary of using his left-arm spin against left-handed batters.
The only other all-round option India has is Washington Sundar with his off-breaks. A victim of the Impact Player rule, the Sunrisers Hyderabad player has got little game time this IPL season. In T20Is, although a smaller sample size, his numbers are more promising – 34 wickets, ER 7.19; 107 runs, SR 150.70.
Who the selectors pick as the third spinner to assist Kuldeep Yadav and Jadeja is going to be a key discussion point. Can they afford to simply include their third best spin resource to exploit the conditions in the West Indies? The specialist spinners in contention are both wicket-taking. Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal is having another good IPL. And Ravi Bishnoi, who bowls more googlies than leg-breaks, goes equally hard after wickets. Bishnoi hasn’t been at his best this IPL but was a regular in the bilateral games India played last year.
Among seam bowling all-rounders, the cupboard is bare. Shivam Dube can bowl, but he has bowled less than two overs on average in his stop-start T20I career; and less than 1 over per match in IPL.
On current form, Dube is the best ball-striker India has, but he cannot bowl the tough overs. It’s the story of India’s T20 playing pool. There are plenty of top-draw impact players adept at what they do best, but they don’t possess a secondary skill set. In military parlance, India has the resources to attack frontally, but not enough to constantly spring surprises tactically.
