Gurkeerat Singh has been on the bench for India in the ongoing One-Day International (ODI) series against South Africa, while Suresh Raina has played all the matches so far. This is not surprising at all; Raina has been one of India’s main batsmen in ODIs for the last few years, and Gurkeerat is largely an unknown quantity. However, on closer inspection of recent form, one could possibly make a case in favour of Gurkeerat at the expense of Raina. Let us see how the two batsmen have done in recent times.
Gurkeerat’s performances over the last few months make for impressive reading. He scored an unbeaten 87 to help India A beat Australia A in the final of the recent tri-series (also involving South Africa A). The Punjab all-rounder then followed it up with a phenomenal show against Bangladesh A, scoring 65 and taking 5 for 29 with his off-spin in the same match to rescue India from a precarious position. He did not do much in the next two games against Bangladesh A, but scored an unbeaten 201 for Punjab against Railways in the first round match of Ranji Trophy 2015-16.
On the other hand, Raina’s recent scores are 16, 17, and 104 for India A against Bangladesh A, followed by 14 and 22 in the T20Is against South Africa, and 3, 0, and 0 in the first three ODIs. He has rarely lasted beyond an over, which is especially exasperating for India. He was dismissed while attempting to slog in the first and third ODIs, and was strangled down the leg side in between. This has hampered India greatly, as Raina is the one batsman in the middle order who can come out swinging from the first ball.
Raina is clearly going through a bad patch, and his failures lower down the order are doing nothing to help an already struggling India. With the series 2-1 in favour of South Africa at the moment, India are in desperate need of some inspiration. That is unlikely to come from Raina, who seems completely out of sorts at present. Gurkeerat has shown the ability to play the kind of role India needs Raina to play.
Gurkeerat bats at No. 5 or No. 6, has the ability to play the big shots — he has a strike rate just shy of 80 in First-Class cricket, while his List A strike rate is nearly 90, and his T20 strike rate is 122 — and can also bowl some handy off-spin. And of course, he is a wonderful fielder (remember that catch to get rid of Ross Taylor at square leg during IPL?) as well.
Gurkeerat is in good form at present, and will bring a fresh energy to the side. He has a few solid seasons of domestic cricket behind him (he averages 46 in List A and 50 in First-Class cricket), and deserves a chance to prove himself. A brief absence might actually do Raina some good; it will give him a chance to collect himself and come back a fresher, stronger player. The time has come for Gurkeerat to shine.
The article first appeared in CricketCountry
(Shiamak Unwalla is a proud Whovian and all-round geek who also dabbles in cricket writing as a reporter with CricketCountry. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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