Seriously Cricket

Desperately Seeking An All Rounder

India's search for the elusive all-rounder is on ever since Kapil, arguably one of the greatest all-rounders cricket has ever seen. With couple of gems from Pathan, suddenly there is buzz in the air -- has India finally found the all rounder they're looking for?

Problem is, we have been there before. Everytime a bowler makes a fifty, it starts. Everytime a batsmen takes 3 wickets, it starts. Let's look at some other all-rounder candidates that we have seen lately..

Manoj Prabhakar: Now known more for his cricketing Tehelka, this guy was once our prime candidate for an all-rounder -- till he bowled that leg-spin over, and forgot both batting and bowling.

Javagal Srinath: Belive it or not, at one point, he was talked as our next Kapil dev. Thankfully, for him too, the talk dissolved pretty soon, as we realized that he knows only one shot -- the great long handle verity of on-drive. Thankfully, too, he didn't forget his main role.

Sunil Joshi: Now this is where hillarious part starts. Thankfully no one said he'd be the next kapil Dev, this guy just shows how desperate we were for an all-rounder. I mean, the only way you could ever call him an allrounder is by exchanging his bowling and batting avarages. Yes, he could take the spinners to the ropes on good days, but his backlift (and slow reflexes) meant he was always an ideal candidate for anyone who could bowl yorkers. So only team he could have been successful against was the team he was playing for -- poor guy.

Agarkar: All signs of a genuine all-rounder -- including sharp outfield fielding and safe catching hands, Agarkar has to be India's biggest disappointment so far -- especially after the disasterous Australian series which earned him the Bombay Duck nickname. In all fairness, he was an all-rounder material, but couldn't really prove it against the better teams. Some good innings here and there, but nothing that could come close to the Crains's and the Kallis's and the Flintoffs and the Razzaqs of the world -- both in terms of consistency and quality.

Now some batsmen who can bowl:

Ajay Jadeja/Robin Singh: Hard runrs, gritty batters, great fielders part-time bowlers. Glitch is they could hardly find a place in test-team! So predominantly one-day players, bits and pieces at that.

Sachin: I think, we must call him the next best all-rounder since Kapil, if we consider both forms of cricket. If Sachin weren't so concerned about being the best batsmen in the world, and had tried to enjoy his cricket a little early in his life, he could have been an excellent all-rounder no doubt. Still, he's way ahead in the all-rounder league for India.

Sehwag: For test, his bowling lacks the surprise angle that Sachin has. For one-dayes, he is pretty close to being a good all-rounder. Bowls regularly, tidyly, and chips in with those wickets every now and then.

Ganguly: I think since he has taken up captaincy, he is removed from his cricket. All his good batting innings have come more as captain's innings, or against minnows. And he's hardly bowling, at all. God only knows why.

That brings us to Pathan. I think it's too early, and he needs to be groomed. As a bowler, he is a great find -- probably the greatest find since Harbhajan. As a batsman, he has grit, and decent technique. Plus, he is consistent in both forms of cricket and can change his game as and when needed. All the raw material is there. Now let's just pray this time it's more than a wishful thinking.

posted by asuph @ Thursday, October 14, 2004