India vs New Zealand: Hardik Pandya’s Absence Raises Concerns About Team Balance
“Might not have the kind of balance that we probably used in the first four games.”
India coach Rahul Dravid was very candid in response to a question on missing Hardik Pandya for the India vs New Zealand fixture today. India were able to field six bowling options, some depth in the batting because there was a Pandya doing the job with the ball and ready with the pads on too.
With the star all-rounder now unavailable, India could well need more than just one change to keep both bowling and bases covered for this top-of-the-table clash vs New Zealand. It’s not only Pandya’s unavailability but the ineffectiveness of Thakur which could well make the management look the specialist way.
Thakur, the “bowling all-rounder”, is yet to step up and has largely been a back-up for the front-line bowling options featuring Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya.
In the three games he has played so far, Thakur came close to bowling his quota of overs only in the game vs Bangladesh when Pandya wasn’t available. Those 9 overs were a stern reminder of what Thakur brings to the table – nothing substantial as of now – and why the move to have him in the XI is very risky in the absence of Pandya.
“Fourth seaming option”
The management expects Shardul to be the “fourth seaming option” but neither has he looked an effective fourth seamer nor he looks ready to be the third seamer in the absence of Pandya. Dravid said they saw Thakur “as someone who certainly has happy knack of taking wickets” but that hasn’t been the case in the little sample size – 17 overs spread across three games.
“Yeah. So, I mean, without going into too much of specifics, and it’s hard to go into a lot of specifics in a PC, but yeah, I mean, Shardul clearly, his role was to be that kind of bowling all-rounder for us, you know, in the games that he played. In the games that he played, we saw him as someone who certainly has a happy knack of taking wickets as we have seen and then bowling those middle overs for us and being like a fourth seeming option for us on certain wickets which would probably require that fourth seaming option,” Dravid said on eve of the match vs New Zealand.
In the last ten ODIs, Thakur has batted just twice and wasn’t able to give a strong account of his skills. The Asia Cup contests vs Bangladesh and Pakistan saw him return with scores of just 11 and 3 and in both those games, there were around six overs left in the innings, and enough deliveries for the right-hander to show a teaser of his Test match heroics with the bat.
“And plus, obviously, he hasn’t had a chance to really bat a lot over the last bit. But certainly, he’s been working very hard in the nets with his batting. And we’ve been working very hard on it. We’ve seen that he has the ability to hit some big shots and play some good shots. Of course, we’ve seen it more probably in Test cricket, not so much in one-day cricket as yet, because he has not had the opportunity to bat much. But certainly, that was the kind of role he fitted in for us in that bowling all-rounder’s role,” said Dravid on Thakur’s batting.
On eve of the game, Dravid kept his selection cards close to his chest but did keep all options – three seamers, three spinners, getting someone like Mohammed Shami or R Ashwin in – open.
“Many different, different permutations and combinations. I wouldn’t want to give too much away. I mean, we are pretty clear on what our playing 11 is tomorrow. But I wouldn’t want to be giving too much away. But yeah, I think there are different, different combinations we could come up with. Obviously the three seamers, having someone like Shami sitting out there and bringing him in this game is a great option. In some cases, there is Ashwin who has obviously been sitting out, who has great quality as well. So, there are two or three combinations we could use considering this till Hardik gets back,” said Dravid.
No matter what combination India go with for the New Zealand clash, they can’t afford to have Thakur as one of the five frontline bowling options because he has lacked bite, control and penetration with the ball and is a safe bet in the XI only if there is a Pandya doing the heavy lifting with the ball.
News Summary:
- India coach Rahul Dravid expresses concerns about missing Hardik Pandya for the India vs New Zealand match.
- The absence of Pandya and the ineffectiveness of Thakur raise questions about team balance.
- Thakur, the “bowling all-rounder,” has not been able to step up in the absence of Pandya.
- The management sees Thakur as a fourth seaming option, but he has not been effective so far.
- Thakur’s batting skills have also been underwhelming in recent matches.
- Dravid keeps the selection options open, considering different combinations for the match.
- India cannot afford to rely on Thakur as a frontline bowler without Pandya’s support.
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