Still some lacunae to be filled
Almost all outstanding teams in the game's history have had one or twoall-rounders
Partab Ramchand
24-Oct-2002
How good, then, is the current Indian team? One cannot, by any
yardstick, call it a great team, for three main reasons - unimpressive
showings abroad, an inconsistent bowling attack, and the lack of an
all-rounder. It would certainly qualify as a great team in home
conditions, and this has been proved beyond doubt by results. Only one
series has been lost since 1987, and since then the overall record
shows 28 wins and only 10 losses in 51 matches, including the two
victories in the current contest against the West Indies. This also
includes an unbelievable run of 10 straight victories in the period
1988-1994.
Almost all outstanding teams in the game's history have had one or two all-rounders. Keith Miller in the all-conquering Australian side of the late 40s and early 50s, Trevor Bailey in the virtually unbeatable England team of the 50s and Gary Sobers in the great West Indian team of the 60s are names that come immediately to mind. |
The mediocre bowling is also a hindrance to the Indian team's
objective of climbing up the ratings ladder. Unfortunately there is
little that can be done about it. The pace bowling will continue to
revolve around the resurrected Javagal Srinath, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer
Khan and Ashish Nehra, while Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and
Sarandeep Singh will continue to man the spin department. The reserve
strength of players like Tinu Yohannan, L Balaji, Murali Kartik and
Amit Mishra does not inspire confidence. While it is true that Zaheer,
Kumble and Harbhajan have done reasonably well abroad of late, the
chief thrust of their striking power is still restricted to Indian
conditions.
For some time now, the Indian team has also lacked a genuine allrounder. The last player to don that mantle was probably Manoj
Prabhakar, and he last played a Test in 1995. Since then players like
Sunil Joshi, Agarkar and Sanjay Bangar have all played utility roles
without graduating to the more exalted all-rounder status. Sourav
Ganguly has also chipped in with some valuable bowling spells, but one
would hesitate even to call him a utility player. In desperation,
captains have even turned to Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, but
to be candid all that such tactics do is to expose the fact that India
does not possess an all-rounder.
Almost all outstanding teams in the game's history have had one or two
all-rounders. Keith Miller in the all-conquering Australian side of
the late 40s and early 50s, Trevor Bailey in the virtually unbeatable
England team of the 50s and Gary Sobers in the great West Indian team
of the 60s are names that come immediately to mind.
Of course there have been a few exceptions to this rule. The rampaging
West Indian side of the 80s did not have a genuine all-rounder, but
the awesome strength of their batting and bowling covered up for this
lacuna. For that matter, even the current Australian team, regarded as
the finest in the game today, do not have a genuine all-rounder in
their ranks, but again the very strong batting and bowling makes up
for it.
The problem with the Indian team is that while the batting line-up is
the kind that the bowler sees in his worst nightmares, it is not able
to fully make up for the rather ordinary bowling and the lack of an
effective all-rounder. On designer pitches at home, the bowling
suddenly becomes formidable, and this, aligned with the powerful
batting, has seen the Indians enjoy an enviable record in this
country.
Indeed, the batting really is something else. I am inclined to believe
that Indian batting has never had it so good. Never in the past, from
the heady days of Vijay Merchant and Vijay Hazare in the 40s, through
Polly Umrigar and Vijay Manjrekar in the 50s, MAK Pataudi and Chandu
Borde in the 60s, Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Viswanath in the 70s, to
Dilip Vengsarkar and Mohammad Azharuddin in the 80s has a line-up
inspired such awe.
Never before has an Indian batting line-up possessed three players
with career averages of 50-plus and four more with averages of 40-
plus, as this Indian side had going into the second Test of the
current series. Unfortunately even this embarrassment of riches
arguably the best batting in Test cricket today - cannot guarantee the
Indian team finishing anywhere near the top of the rankings for
reasons already stated, and this is a real pity. Till then, the side
will hover between the good and the very good without being a great
one.