Who should be India's all rounder? India have invested a lot of time in Jadeja. Jadeja has come in for a fair bit of criticism in the recent past, some of it a tad harsh. He's done well with ball. He's economical, gets the odd wicket and generally bowls his full quota of 10 overs. Most of his matches have come in the batting paradises on offer in the subcontinent. So he does deserve some credit for that. The problem is his batting. Jadeja strikes me as the kind of player, who on a good day can pick up the singles and twos and hit the occasional boundary. He does not seem to be able to change gear though and at no 7, which is where he is going to bat, you need a player who can play the big shots.
Yusuf Pathan is another option. He's been found out in recent times largely due to poor technique especially against the short ball. Teams are going to keep bouncing him and unless he can overcome this particular weakness, he is likely to struggle. Yusuf is also not as a good a bowler as Jadeja is.
The only other option is Irfan Pathan. Pathan is quite obviously not the bowler he was in the early noughties. It's disappointing to see a natural swinger of the ball, resorting to the cutters and slower balls that he seems to bowl all the time at the moment. What we need to remember though is that Pathan, if selected, will be India's 5th bowler. He is not required to lead the attack. He can be used once the field is spread out and batsman are looking more at rotating the strike.
Where he really scores over the other two is his batting. Unlike his brother Yusuf, Irfan's game is built on a solid platform. He does the basics well. He does not have as big a problem with the short ball. He's got all the shots and has played some crucial innings' for India in the past. Irfan also has the ability to play the big shots that are needed lower down the order.
With not too much time to go before the WC starts, India certainly need to give Irfan a few games and see how he goes. If he can strike some form going into the tournament, he still has the potential to be an asset to the side.
3 comments:
You got it bang on correct, but is a hard-hitting batsman required at no.7 ?
Harbhajan at no.8 has done a decent bit of slogging in the last two years and his batting avg of 13 really surprises me everytime he comes to bat these days.
So I look it up on Statsguru to see how good he s been in the last year, well averages 15 runs at S.R 95.
Hmm not very impressive, but we all remember some of the good innings and crucial finishes ?
So I changed it to chases and he averages 22.4 at S.R 115 :)
Thats definitely good no.8 material.
Another vital point with Irfan is that India now actually have three good seamers (touch wood).
Apparently Praveen averages 34 when chasing and 32 overall in the last 1 yr..(I really dint know that)
I think there is definitely no place for the fourth (not so good) seamer, especially in a sub-continent World Cup.
With Sachin, Yuvi and Sehwag in the team, Raina can bat lower( good they are already trying this).
Do not also forget that a spinner (Jaddu) is quicker in getting the middle overs through. Not only does this help the over rate, but also helps keep the pressure.
I personally like Irfan a lot, but he will fit in MY team ONLY when he can take the new ball and swing it like he did.
P.S Rohit maybe u shud give me access to this blog :D
We should write together biatch! I agree with you in some ways. Reason I'd still pick Irfan is because between Yuvraj, Sehwag & Raina - you should easily get 6-10 overs between them. So assume the worst case scenario and Irfan has a really bad day - he's still playing as a 5th bowler. So you can get all the others to chip in if required. Yeah I agree with you on Harbhajan's improving record - but he's always going to be hit ans miss. And I honestly do not rate Jadeja as a batsman. You cannot play him for his bowling alone - for that I'd rather play a specialist spinner - cuz I cannot see Jadeja contributing with the bat.
I do agree that Irfan on a bad day can get slaughtered - but there is back up in case that happens. Playing Jadeja at 7 IMO is a huge risk. 2-3 quick wickets early on and its curtains.
Of course this does not mean that Irfan is the solution to all of India's lower order problems. His record in ODI's as a batsman isnt exactly mind blowing. But having seen both of them bat, I certainly feel Irfan has far more potential than Jadeja.
Yep Jadeja isnt a great choice either, but I think he s a better package overall compared to Pathan, I would actually play two proper spinners.
The kind of batting line-up india has 6 batsman should do the job
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