India’s 16 that were picked for the Sri Lankan tour
originally didn’t have an ‘all-rounder’; a few eyebrows rose as a consequence.
A fast bowler gets injured and an all-rounder is drafted into the mix as the
replacement! Indian team selections or replacements have never been flawless,
in terms of reasoning or justification, and neither been according to logic, at
times!
The debate around Irfan getting a chance at international
cricket is a different topic altogether. The bigger picture is that around the
obsession surrounding the word ‘all-rounder’ in and around India’s cricketing
circles. How would you define an all-rounder in cricket? It is such a
subjective question to answer and more so when we have a habit of analyzing the
game so much that we demand a certain set of numbers to qualify a player as an all-rounder.
The legacy of the all-rounder community is pretty rich; Kapil Dev,
Ian Botham, Imran Khan et al. The modern day generation has names like
Flintoff, Kallis, Cairns, Harris, Razzaq and currently Shakib Al Hasan, Watson,
Hafeez etc. What knit these names together are their performances in 50-over or
the impact their dual armory (fielding not included as it may or may not be an
attribute) has had in ODI cricket. Test cricket and test teams are generally
chosen with specialists forming the core and the all-rounder, if any, is
expected to chip in. In 50-over cricket the all-rounder is the go-to man for
the captain; can expect him to deliver as a floater in the batting order or
throw the ball to him to break a partnership. In T20 cricket you don’t need a ‘genuine’
all-rounder to constitute your line-up, for part-time bowlers or pinch-hitters can
satiate that requirement.
50-over cricket is thus the ideal format for an all-rounder
to display and maximize his dual skills. If statistics are the basis, India has
had in its history only 20 all-rounder (min. 500 runs and 25 wickets in ODI cricket);
20 out of 193 that have played ODI cricket for India! India’s obsession (fans,
media, team, critics included) for a genuine all-rounder have never been fictitious
but have never had an answer. Robin Singh, Ravi Shastri, Manoj Prabhakar, Ajay
Jadeja were a few names that contested for the role of the allrounder. Recently
we have had Agarkar, Irfan, Ravindra Jadeja, and Yusuf Pathan featuring in that
role. Indian cricket followers have never been satisfied with the execution of
the role of any player in the shoes of ‘all-rounder’; either the player is
forced to squeeze one attribute of his arsenal or expected to be infallible in
either skill!
It is a fact that India has never managed to produce ‘the-genuine’
all-rounder; there could be a few reasons for that. Indian culture hasn’t produced
too many physically strong cricket players. School cricket, domestic cricket
doesn’t encourage dual skilled players, as subsequent promotion is based more
on numbers. Selectors aren’t clear with what they expect the all-rounder to
deliver, consequently creeping in confusion. India won the world cup last year
without major contributions from the ‘genuine’ all-rounder but rather from a
batsman who could fill in 10 overs with success. The all-rounder puzzle
continues to remain an unsolved mystery in Indian cricket and the search to
find the missing link doesn’t cease. Irfan Pathan is back in the fold; will
have an opportunity to prove a point, but like Sidharth Monga suggests he
himself remains a bit of a puzzle! MS Dhoni may or may not be satisfied with
Irfan’s inclusion but for an Indian fan’s sake the inclusion of a genuine ‘all-rounder’
is a reassuring move!
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