Published: Jun 18, 2015, 02:21 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 18, 2015, 02:21 PM (IST)
In the recent times, India have struggled to find an impactful all-rounder in their line-up. Although India have some good contenders, it remains a dilemma on who should the team groom for the number seven position keeping in mind the next ICC Cricket World Cup, that will be held in England in 2019. Suraj Choudhari takes a closer look at the three contenders- Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Stuart Binny.
An all-rounder is priceless in any format; not only he brings depth and stability in the line-up as well as provides flexibility to the skipper. At present, India has three options – Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Roger Binny. India has invested enough time and faith in Jadeja but the results haven’t come the way they would have liked. Though he starred with the ball in the Champions Trophy 2013, Jadeja has more often failed to deliver in crunch games. Axar and Jadeja possess identical all-rounder skills, both are left-arm orthodox spin bowlers and are aggressive batsmen who bat in the lower middle-order batsman. Binny, on the other hand is a right arm medium pace-bowler and an effective middle-order batsman.
Jadeja so far has got enough chances to prove himself, but for a player who made his debut in 2009 and has appeared in 119 One-Day Internationals (ODIs), by now is expected to be more than just another promising player. In fact, in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL), his skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who backed him immensely, didn’t have enough faith in him to hand over the ball in crunch situations and preferred Pawan Negi ahead of him. To add to his woes, he hardly came out to bowl when a left-hander was at the crease. He was expensive with the ball and picked 11 wickets in his 17 IPL outings, whereas with the bat he only managed to score 132 runs at a paltry average of just over 18. He also had a miserable time Down Under during the World Cup 2015. The team management still persisted with him and even in the semi-final against Australia in Sydney, neither did he pick a wicket or provided any inspiration with the bat.
Axar on the other hand had an impressive run in the 2014 season of the IPL and was one of the pivotal reasons behind Kings XI Punjab’s (KXIP) dream run in that season. He although didn’t have a great run in this season of the IPL but his ODI stats justifies his selection. In 13 sporadic ODI appearances so far, Axar has picked 16 wickets at an impressive economy of 4.41. His First-Class records are more convincing; in 11 matches he averages 42.25 with the bat and has 38 wickets to his name. He exhibits immense potential as a 21 year-old but his talent needs to be polished and with time he will only get better. Though Axar was a part of India’s recent World Cup campaign, Jadeja was preferred ahead of him. It’s time for Axar to get his dues. He can probably be the X factor for India in the next World Cup in England. Even in English conditions during the Champions Trophy in 2013, Jadeja proved successful. He failed to replicate that magic since then but his performance puts light to the fact that quality spin bowling can still play a role in those conditions. Here’s why Axar needs to be groomed for that role.
Keeping the next World Cup in mind, Binny too has a great chance of making it to the side. His ability to swing the new ball can come handy but age and fitness might become a huge barrier for him. He will be 35 by that time and India will look forward to invest their eggs in young guns.
Budding talents like Rishi Dhawan, Hardik Pandya and Negi have also done a good job in domestic cricket and are well in the race for grabbing the golden number seven position. India’s once most reliable all-rounder Irfan Pathan too can come handy in swinging conditions but he will be 34 and considering his injury history, there are doubts over him.
As India is looking forward to play five bowlers in the line-up and most of the matches in the upcoming season will be played in the sub-continent, Axar looks the right contender to fit in the big shoes of an effective all-rounder and probably it’s the perfect time to groom him for that role. The World Cup is four years away and it’s too early to speculate but selectors should start building the team for the same and take decisions accordingly.
(Suraj Choudhari, an avid cricket follower who plays the sport at club level, is a staffer with Criclife)
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