In the past, India has usually banked on the 6 Batsmen + 1 WK + 4 Bowlers combination. Depending on the pitch, India would play either 1 spinner or 2 spinners among the 4 specialist bowling slots. These 4 bowlers would be supported by batsmen who had extraordinary bowling skills such as Sehwag, Tendulkar and Ganguly. The 6th batsman, whether it was VVS Laxman or Ganguly, was impactful and among the best talents in the country.
For reference, below is the talent pool available for batting slots in the 1990-2014 period:
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Primary team India |
Opposition team Australia or England or New Zealand or Pakistan or South Africa or Sri Lanka or West Indies |
Start of match date between 1 Jan 1990 and 31 Dec 2014 |
Qualifications runs scored greater than or equal to 2000 and batting average greater than or equal to 40 |
Ordered by batting average (descending) |
Page 1 of 1 | Showing 1 - 10 of 10 | First Previous | Next Last |
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Player | Span | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | 100 | 50 | 0 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SR Tendulkar | 1990-2013 | 180 | 300 | 28 | 13968 | 241* | 51.35 | 43 | 63 | 13 | |
R Dravid | 1996-2012 | 147 | 261 | 27 | 11726 | 270 | 50.11 | 30 | 57 | 6 | |
V Sehwag | 2001-2013 | 96 | 168 | 4 | 8151 | 319 | 49.70 | 23 | 28 | 16 | |
CA Pujara | 2010-2014 | 27 | 48 | 4 | 2073 | 206* | 47.11 | 6 | 6 | 1 | |
VVS Laxman | 1996-2012 | 125 | 213 | 32 | 8384 | 281 | 46.32 | 16 | 55 | 14 | |
NS Sidhu | 1990-1999 | 36 | 53 | 0 | 2450 | 201 | 46.22 | 7 | 11 | 5 | |
M Azharuddin | 1990-2000 | 62 | 92 | 6 | 3932 | 192 | 45.72 | 15 | 12 | 3 | |
V Kohli | 2011-2014 | 32 | 57 | 4 | 2354 | 169 | 44.41 | 9 | 10 | 4 | |
SC Ganguly | 1996-2008 | 99 | 169 | 16 | 6311 | 239 | 41.24 | 13 | 31 | 12 | |
G Gambhir | 2004-2014 | 50 | 91 | 3 | 3521 | 206 | 40.01 | 7 | 19 | 6 |
Bowling during the 1990-2014 period:
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Primary team India |
Opposition team Australia or England or New Zealand or Pakistan or South Africa or Sri Lanka or West Indies |
Start of match date between 1 Jan 1990 and 31 Dec 2014 |
Qualifications wickets taken greater than or equal to 100 |
Ordered by bowling average (ascending) |
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Player | Span | Mat | Inns | Overs | Mdns | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 5 | 10 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
R Ashwin | 2011-2014 | 23 | 42 | 1160.4 | 226 | 3403 | 114 | 7/103 | 12/85 | 29.85 | 2.93 | 61.0 | 9 | 2 | |
PP Ojha | 2009-2013 | 23 | 46 | 1234.1 | 293 | 3294 | 109 | 6/47 | 10/89 | 30.22 | 2.66 | 67.9 | 7 | 1 | |
A Kumble | 1990-2008 | 121 | 216 | 6357.0 | 1447 | 17248 | 566 | 10/74 | 14/149 | 30.47 | 2.71 | 67.3 | 33 | 8 | |
J Srinath | 1991-2002 | 58 | 103 | 2153.4 | 500 | 6269 | 203 | 8/86 | 13/132 | 30.88 | 2.91 | 63.6 | 9 | 1 | |
Harbhajan Singh | 1998-2013 | 91 | 166 | 4310.0 | 779 | 12323 | 376 | 8/84 | 15/217 | 32.77 | 2.85 | 68.7 | 24 | 5 | |
Z Khan | 2001-2014 | 79 | 139 | 2759.0 | 559 | 8921 | 259 | 5/29 | 9/134 | 34.44 | 3.23 | 63.9 | 9 | 0 | |
I Sharma | 2007-2014 | 58 | 101 | 2003.3 | 373 | 6716 | 177 | 7/74 | 10/108 | 37.94 | 3.35 | 67.9 | 6 | 1 |
WKs during the 1990-2014 period:
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Primary team India |
Opposition team Australia or England or New Zealand or Pakistan or South Africa or Sri Lanka or West Indies |
Start of match date between 1 Jan 1990 and 31 Dec 2014 |
Wicketkeeper as designated wicketkeeper |
Qualifications runs scored greater than or equal to 500 |
Ordered by batting average (descending) |
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Player | Span | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | 100 | 50 | 0 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MS Dhoni | 2005-2014 | 87 | 140 | 14 | 4683 | 224 | 37.16 | 6 | 31 | 10 | |
PA Patel | 2002-2008 | 20 | 30 | 7 | 683 | 69 | 29.69 | 0 | 4 | 4 | |
KS More | 1990-1993 | 20 | 25 | 5 | 546 | 73 | 27.30 | 0 | 5 | 2 | |
NR Mongia | 1994-2001 | 43 | 66 | 8 | 1441 | 152 | 24.84 | 1 | 6 | 5 |
To summarize the 1990-2014 period:
- Great pool of batting talent, many of whom had good secondary skills in bowling
- Bowling talent pool was relatively limited. The bowling averages are 30 or more, while the SR is 61+
- Those playing as WKs averaged less than 40, which did not strengthen the batting as desired. Gilchrist, the benchmark, averaged 46 when you exclude BD and Zim
Therefore in the 1990-2014, India had a strong case of playing the extra batsman, who was among the best talents in the country and when a bunch of those playing as batsmen could bowl effectively too as the 5th bowler.
Let us look at the numbers from 2015 to Present period.
Batting
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Primary team India |
Opposition team Australia or England or New Zealand or Pakistan or South Africa or Sri Lanka or West Indies |
Start of match date greater than or equal to 1 Jan 2015 |
Qualifications runs scored greater than or equal to 500 and batting average greater than or equal to 40 |
Ordered by batting average (descending) |
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Player | Span | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 0 | 4s | 6s | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
V Kohli | 2015-2019 | 43 | 71 | 4 | 4003 | 243 | 59.74 | 6768 | 59.14 | 15 | 10 | 4 | 425 | 10 | |
CA Pujara | 2015-2019 | 39 | 63 | 3 | 3181 | 202 | 53.01 | 7186 | 44.26 | 12 | 12 | 5 | 358 | 7 | |
RR Pant | 2018-2019 | 9 | 15 | 1 | 696 | 159* | 49.71 | 943 | 73.80 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 70 | 17 | |
RG Sharma | 2015-2018 | 17 | 30 | 5 | 1009 | 102* | 40.36 | 1810 | 55.74 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 86 | 25 |
Bowling
View overall figures [change view] |
Primary team India |
Opposition team Australia or England or New Zealand or Pakistan or South Africa or Sri Lanka or West Indies |
Start of match date greater than or equal to 1 Jan 2015 |
Qualifications wickets taken greater than or equal to 20 |
Ordered by bowling average (ascending) |
Page 1 of 1 | Showing 1 - 9 of 9 | First Previous | Next Last |
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Player | Span | Mat | Inns | Overs | Mdns | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 5 | 10 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
B Kumar | 2015-2018 | 9 | 17 | 252.1 | 67 | 730 | 34 | 5/33 | 8/96 | 21.47 | 2.89 | 44.5 | 2 | 0 | |
JJ Bumrah | 2018-2019 | 10 | 20 | 402.4 | 95 | 1073 | 49 | 6/33 | 9/86 | 21.89 | 2.66 | 49.3 | 3 | 0 | |
RA Jadeja | 2015-2019 | 27 | 52 | 1259.5 | 316 | 2998 | 135 | 7/48 | 10/154 | 22.20 | 2.37 | 55.9 | 7 | 1 | |
R Ashwin | 2015-2018 | 39 | 74 | 1791.2 | 374 | 4972 | 212 | 7/59 | 13/140 | 23.45 | 2.77 | 50.6 | 16 | 5 | |
Kuldeep Yadav | 2017-2019 | 6 | 10 | 164.5 | 22 | 579 | 24 | 5/57 | 6/119 | 24.12 | 3.51 | 41.2 | 2 | 0 | |
A Mishra | 2015-2016 | 9 | 18 | 267.4 | 44 | 853 | 33 | 4/43 | 7/72 | 25.84 | 3.18 | 48.6 | 0 | 0 | |
Mohammed Shami | 2015-2019 | 29 | 56 | 848.2 | 160 | 2700 | 103 | 6/56 | 6/74 | 26.21 | 3.18 | 49.4 | 3 | 0 | |
I Sharma | 2015-2018 | 26 | 49 | 736.3 | 164 | 2001 | 73 | 5/51 | 8/86 | 27.41 | 2.71 | 60.5 | 2 | 0 | |
UT Yadav | 2015-2018 | 27 | 54 | 714.5 | 138 | 2367 | 70 | 6/88 | 10/133 | 33.81 | 3.31 | 61.2 | 1 | 1 |
To summarize the 2015 to Present period:
- Only 4 batsmen average 40 or more. Rishabh Pant, who plays as the WK averages close to 50. Rohit Sharma's average is more condition dependent. We do not have batsmen who can serve as the 5th bowler like what some of those mentioned used to in the past
- Almost all bowlers average less than 30 and also have a SR of less than 61. Though the performances of spinners and bowlers such as Bhuvneshwar Kumar are condition dependent. Unlike in the past, Bowling is the key strength for India
- With Pant, we have a WK whose batting can be leveraged much like Gilchrist's
Therefore, by playing the 6th batsman, who many times is more like a glorified nightwatchman, we are not necessarily strengthening our line up. The WK Pant performs better than the 6th batsman. Our bowling is more focused on picking wickets, which means that they prefer to be used in relatively shorter spells where they can bowl with all their force rather than bowling within themselves to get more overs in. To keep these bowlers relatively fresh and keep bowling them at their full force, the role of the 5th bowler gets paramount.
Considering that now we have a) a WK that has the ability to average 40+, and b) batsmen who do not bowl that often and those playing as the 6th batsman produce diminishing returns, the best way to add the 5th bowler is to play an Allrounder (AR), who can add value to both bowling and batting.
Hardik Pandya
Among ARs, Hardik Pandya is unique in the sense that he not only has the ability to hit test 100s and change the game with his batting abilities, but also bowl at 140+. As a fielder, he is also among the best in the country.
Below is Pandya's performance so far in Test cricket:
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Mat | Runs | HS | Bat Av | 100 | Wkts | BBI | Bowl Av | 5 | Ct | St | Ave Diff | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
overall | 11 | 532 | 108 | 31.29 | 1 | 17 | 5/28 | 31.05 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0.23 |
Pandya in matches won:
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Match result won match |
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Mat | Runs | HS | Bat Av | 100 | Wkts | BBI | Bowl Av | 5 | Ct | St | Ave Diff | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
unfiltered | 11 | 532 | 108 | 31.29 | 1 | 17 | 5/28 | 31.05 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0.23 | Profile |
filtered | 6 | 323 | 108 | 46.14 | 1 | 10 | 5/28 | 18.70 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 27.44 |
For someone in his first season, the stats are good as:
- Pandya has mostly played in difficult batting conditions in SA and Eng, where many specialist batsmen have averages much less. In Asia, he averages 60+ with the bat. And has a 50+ score in each of the series he has played in
- Pandya, a pace bowler, has bowled mostly with a relatively soft ball to bowl overs when the new ball is around the corner. His bowling average and SR improve when he bowls with a relatively hard ball where he won India a test in Eng with a career best of 5/28
With most of the other ARs, we see that they have a dominant primary skill. Pandya is also unique as he does not appear to have a dominant primary skill. Since he is equally good at both batting and bowling, one challenge for him would be to figure out the area of his main focus. Because he would be more of a 4th or 5th bowler, my recommendation is that he focus more on his batting. Pandya could use someone like Gilchrist, who is an WK AR and a flamboyant batsman who can change the game with his batting when playing in the lower middle batting order, as a reference for performances in tests.
Another AR who much like Pandya is equally good in both departments in Jason Holder. Below is how Jason Holder performed in his first two years:
Records type all-round analysis [change type] |
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Opposition team Australia or England or India or New Zealand or Pakistan or South Africa or Sri Lanka |
Start of match date less than or equal to 26 Jun 2016 |
Ordered by start date (ascending) |
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Mat | Runs | HS | Bat Av | 100 | Wkts | BBI | Bowl Av | 5 | Ct | St | Ave Diff | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
unfiltered | 36 | 1761 | 202* | 33.86 | 3 | 88 | 6/59 | 28.29 | 5 | 28 | 0 | 5.56 | Profile |
filtered | 13 | 546 | 103* | 27.30 | 1 | 21 | 3/15 | 39.00 | 0 | 10 | 0 | -11.69 |
The above shows us that unique ARs need some time to develop. ARs do not always appear ready made. Once such talent is identified, teams have to make an effort to develop them. Once developed, they become a force to be reckoned with as they can win their team games both with the bat and the ball.
Considering the various points discussed with respect to current talent pool in batting, bowling and wicket keeping, Pandya should be played in tests especially on batting friendly and sporting pitches. By playing Tests, Pandya will improve as a cricketer which will help India in LOIs as well.
The Pant-Pandya combination slotted at 6-7 is impactful and has the potential to become a game changer for India. With that, India can optimize its 5 batting and 4 bowling slots. To me, an optimized Test line up for 2020s appears like the one below:
Agarwal
Shaw
Pujara
Kohli
Gill
Pant
Pandya
Pacer / Spinner per conditions
Kuldeep (can be developed as a most conditions spinner)
Shami (Wicket taking pace bowler)
Bumrah (Wicket taking pace bowler)
- Currently, Shaw, Gill, Pant, Panyda, Kuldeep and Bumrah are among the best talents in the country and 25 years old or less. If India invests in them, it can reap great rewards in near future
References / Acknowledgements:
- Cricinfo for stats / numbers