NEW DELHI: It used to be a nippy December night time in Delhi in 2015 when the then chairman of selectors Sandeep Patil announced the title of an unheralded Barinder Sran within the squad for an ODI series in Australia.
"We felt the Indian One-day team was becoming predictable of late," Patil had claimed while justifying the decision. In the same assembly, Ashish Nehra used to be brought back into the frame after four years for the next T20I series. Two months previous, Sreenath Arvind used to be passed his handiest global cap in a T20I towards South Africa.
The message used to be clear: the Indian staff management used to be getting restless within the absence of a left-arm choice of their attack. Both Sran and Arvind light away as Nehra's products and services had been restricted to the T20 codecs until he announced his retirement in October 2017.
Cut to September 2018 ahead of the Asia Cup. The dialogue accrued steam with every other bold choice in Khaleel Ahmed, who had no exposure in first-class cricket following his appearance within the U-19 World Cup in 2016.
This time, simply ahead of Friday's choice assembly for the limited-overs home series towards Australia, Jaydev Unadkat's title were doing the rounds. He had already disillusioned in a T20I tri-series in Sri Lanka previous within the year before bobbing up with spectacular spells within the Ranji Trophy. Speculation grew as if it used to be a compulsion for the selectors to have one left-arm pacer within the ranks. Instead, the MSK Prasad-led choice committee selected neither Khaleel nor Unadkat for the ultimate global series before the World Cup.
The non-selection of a left-arm pacer has put a query mark at the function of this breed of bowlers for the instant. "The team management sometimes gets obsessed with the need to have a left-arm pacer. But if the left-arm pacer isn't good enough, then you can't take him for just the sake of it," Nehra instructed TOI.
"For example, (just because) Kuldeep and Chahal are doing well, you can't play just anyone who bowls wrist spin. Keep aside the period between 2003 and 2011 when Zaheer, Irfan Pathan, RP Singh and I played, India didn't play a left-arm pacer in World Cups. I remember Zaheer, Irfan and I played together in the XI in ODI match at Eden Gardens in 2005. It happened because we were better than others."
Since the 2015 World Cup, the Indian staff management has been looking to groom left-arm pacers. There used to be talk of Nehra making it to the Champions Trophy in 2017 before breaking down within the previous IPL. A left-arm pacer is needed within the nets to allow batsmen to cope with the likes of Trent Boult, Mitchell Starc and Mohammad Amir, but the board has already addressed the problem by means of roping in a consultant left-arm throwdown specialist in September.
For all of the hype around the Indian staff's dominance within the 50-over format since Virat Kohli assumed full-time captaincy, India have been usually looking round for a pacer to back up the consistency of Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Nehra said common cutting and changing has put the selectors in a dilemma over the fourth pacer. "Had Shami not come good in Australia and New Zealand, the selectors would have been worried about the third pacer, leave alone the fourth one. Khaleel is the only one who has got a decent run in ODIs ahead of the likes of Siraj, Sidharth Kaul, Umesh Yadav and Deepak Chahar. Now that both Khaleel and Umesh are not in the ODI squad, it means there is uncertainty."
Nehra feels the staff management has to take a choice between having enjoy and raw ability. "Umesh has the experience of bowling well in a World Cup. If he goes, India will retain the core of the 2015 World Cup and there will be Bumrah to boost. Khaleel is raw. He doesn't have the experience of first-class cricket. His pace has dropped but that happens to any young bowler. He will learn and get better," Nehra said.
"We felt the Indian One-day team was becoming predictable of late," Patil had claimed while justifying the decision. In the same assembly, Ashish Nehra used to be brought back into the frame after four years for the next T20I series. Two months previous, Sreenath Arvind used to be passed his handiest global cap in a T20I towards South Africa.
The message used to be clear: the Indian staff management used to be getting restless within the absence of a left-arm choice of their attack. Both Sran and Arvind light away as Nehra's products and services had been restricted to the T20 codecs until he announced his retirement in October 2017.
Cut to September 2018 ahead of the Asia Cup. The dialogue accrued steam with every other bold choice in Khaleel Ahmed, who had no exposure in first-class cricket following his appearance within the U-19 World Cup in 2016.
This time, simply ahead of Friday's choice assembly for the limited-overs home series towards Australia, Jaydev Unadkat's title were doing the rounds. He had already disillusioned in a T20I tri-series in Sri Lanka previous within the year before bobbing up with spectacular spells within the Ranji Trophy. Speculation grew as if it used to be a compulsion for the selectors to have one left-arm pacer within the ranks. Instead, the MSK Prasad-led choice committee selected neither Khaleel nor Unadkat for the ultimate global series before the World Cup.
The non-selection of a left-arm pacer has put a query mark at the function of this breed of bowlers for the instant. "The team management sometimes gets obsessed with the need to have a left-arm pacer. But if the left-arm pacer isn't good enough, then you can't take him for just the sake of it," Nehra instructed TOI.
"For example, (just because) Kuldeep and Chahal are doing well, you can't play just anyone who bowls wrist spin. Keep aside the period between 2003 and 2011 when Zaheer, Irfan Pathan, RP Singh and I played, India didn't play a left-arm pacer in World Cups. I remember Zaheer, Irfan and I played together in the XI in ODI match at Eden Gardens in 2005. It happened because we were better than others."
Since the 2015 World Cup, the Indian staff management has been looking to groom left-arm pacers. There used to be talk of Nehra making it to the Champions Trophy in 2017 before breaking down within the previous IPL. A left-arm pacer is needed within the nets to allow batsmen to cope with the likes of Trent Boult, Mitchell Starc and Mohammad Amir, but the board has already addressed the problem by means of roping in a consultant left-arm throwdown specialist in September.
For all of the hype around the Indian staff's dominance within the 50-over format since Virat Kohli assumed full-time captaincy, India have been usually looking round for a pacer to back up the consistency of Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Nehra said common cutting and changing has put the selectors in a dilemma over the fourth pacer. "Had Shami not come good in Australia and New Zealand, the selectors would have been worried about the third pacer, leave alone the fourth one. Khaleel is the only one who has got a decent run in ODIs ahead of the likes of Siraj, Sidharth Kaul, Umesh Yadav and Deepak Chahar. Now that both Khaleel and Umesh are not in the ODI squad, it means there is uncertainty."
Nehra feels the staff management has to take a choice between having enjoy and raw ability. "Umesh has the experience of bowling well in a World Cup. If he goes, India will retain the core of the 2015 World Cup and there will be Bumrah to boost. Khaleel is raw. He doesn't have the experience of first-class cricket. His pace has dropped but that happens to any young bowler. He will learn and get better," Nehra said.
Team India still looking for a left-arm pacer?
![Team India still looking for a left-arm pacer?]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
February 17, 2019
Rating:
