For a true cricket fan, Kumar Sangakkara's Cover Drive or Brian Lara’s Late Cut or Wasim Akram’s insane swing bowling or Mitchell Strac’s raw pace are nothing but a visual treat. The one common thing among these players is that they are all left-handers. That makes their achievements even more special. Left-handers always treated specially because of their style which is completely different from right-handers.
In Indian cricket also there have been some world-class left-handed cricketers who successfully showcased their talent in International cricket. Now let’s make a squad of only left-handed cricketers who represented India at any point of time. While there are few obvious choices, others have been selected based on their performance and impact on the game.
Top Order
A team is expected to have a good start regardless of the format of the game. For that, the team requires 3 top-quality batsmen at the top order. In limited-overs cricket, the overall score depends on the top 3 mostly because of the power-play. So the batsmen must play aggressive cricket without taking too much risk.
While there are some great right-handed top-order batsmen like
Sachin, Sehwag,
Rohit etc. there are some left-handed batsmen also who played quite successfully at the top-order. So, going by their performance in International cricket here are the players who made into the top order.
Sourav Ganguly (C)
Sourav Ganguly aka “Dada” is one of the greatest players to represent the Indian Cricket team regardless of the time. So his presence in the squad is no surprise. His numbers in ODI cricket are just great. He has scored over 11363 runs with an average of 41 in 311 matches. Out of those matches, he opened the innings 236 times. Opening the innings he scored 9146 runs with an average of 41.57. Out of his 22 ODI centuries, 19 have come as an opener. So it’s a no brainer to play Sourav as one of the opening batsmen.
But taking about Sourav Ganguly, the first thing that hits the brain is his aggressive captaincy. He is one of the greatest captains to lead the Indian team. The revolution of Indian cricket had started under his captaincy. It was during his leadership period when India’s overseas performance showed significant positive growth. So again it’s a no brainer that Sourav will be leading this squad as well.
Shikhar Dhawan
The other batsman accompanying Sourav on the crease will be "Gabbar" Shikhar Dhawan. When he first came into the team, he was seen as the next Virender Sehwag of Indian cricket. His aggressive approach from the very first ball of the innings was similar with Sehwag. He soon proved his mettle in International cricket when batted brilliantly in 2013 Champions Trophy.
Though there is a big question mark on his consistency, when it comes to ODI cricket he is a must-have in the team. His numbers are enough to back his selection. He scored 5688 runs in 136 matches with a strike rate of 94.02 averaging over 45. He scored 17 centuries and 29 half-centuries opening the innings for team India. So, no wonders, that he is in this team also.
Gautam Gambhir(VC)
As the opening slots are now filled, its time to talk about the no.3
position. In ODI matches the top 3 batsmen plays a huge role in building
an innings. No.3 batsman must be capable enough to rotate the strikes
and take the game towards the final overs. Who can better do this job
than Gautam Gambhir!
Gautam has all the qualities to bat at that no.3 position. He can rotate strikes when required, he has all kind of shots to attack bowlers. Altogether he is the ideal choice for this position. For India, playing at no.3 he scored 1810 runs in 48 matches with a strike rate of 83.49. He also scored 3 centuries and 13 half-centuries playing at no.3. To add to this stats, he has probably played his best innings in Indian colours scoring 97 in the world cup final against Sri Lanka, playing at this position only. Looking at his performance as the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) he is also elected as the deputy of Sourav Ganguly.
Middle Order
From the no.4 position, the middle order starts. Usually, it is expected
that the middle order batsmen come to the crease at-least after 30
overs. So, they need to have all kind of explosive shots to create
pressure on the opposition. But everytime it is not the case. If the top order fails,it is the responsibility of the middle order batsmen to keep the scoreboard running without losing wickets.
India have some great left-handed middle order batsmen. Lets find out who made into the list.
Yuvraj Singh
As far as my understanding of the game, the no.4 batsman is the link between the top order and the middle order. At this position, the batsman needs to adapt to the situation he is playing in and adjust his game accordingly. Skills of building partnerships, absorbing pressure are the must-have features for a no.4 batsman.
Yuvraj Singh has mastered these skills over the years. He has served as the no.4 in Indian colours for 109 innings out of the 278 innings he was part of. He scored 6 centuries and 17 half-centuries playing at that position and scored 3415 runs with a strike rate of 89.44.
But frankly speaking, his selection in this team does not depend on the statistics. It is just because of the difference he can create with his presence. We have seen his impact on the 2007 World Twenty20 and 2011 Cricket World Cup. There is no way we can neglect Yuvraj Singh as far as ODI cricket is concerned.
Suresh Raina
At no.5, a proper batsman is needed for
damage control in case the top order fails. If the top order gives a
good start The batsman need to capitalize on the start, and score as
quickly as possible.
Looking at all these skills required at no.5, Suresh Raina is the first that comes to the mind. He has played a total of 226 ODI matches for India. Out of these matches, he played 82 innings as the no.5 batsman. He scored 2448 runs playing at that position with an excellent strike rate on 94.34.
The closest competition of Raina for the no.5 spot could have been Vinod Kambli. He had made his name from his school days. In spite of his promising start, he lost the track in the middle, that lead to his premature end to his international career. So. Raina clearly win this contest and fill the slot for no.5 position.
Wicket-keeper
In
Indian Cricket history, there are only two wicketkeepers who were
left-handed batsmen and represented India in ODIs. The First
wicketkeeper is Parthiv Patel and the second wicketkeeper is Rishabh
Pant. Choosing between the two is quite a tough task. Though Parthiv
debuted for India in young age but could never create his space
International cricket. Soon after, Dhoni took over the wicket keeping
and continued to do so for more than 15 years. So Parthiv did not get
the second chance to prove his game. Similar to Parthiv, Rishabh also
debuted at a very young age. After explosive batting performance in the
U-19 world cup, the nation found the next Dhoni in him. But till now he
could not deliver as per the expectations.
Rishabh Pant (WK)
Talking about the selection, Rishabh has an edge over Parthiv because of his match-winning ability. In limited-overs cricket, the batting skills of the wicketkeeper is equally important as that of the wicketkeeping skills. Even sometimes the requirement of the batting skill prevails. At no.6 the batsman should have the ability to hit boundaries continuously and should also have the skill to adjust with the situation he is coming to bat. This criteria supports the selection of Rishabh Pant over Parthiv Patel as long as the ODIs are concerned.
All Rounders
Now it’s time for the all-rounders to be picked. The selection of the
all-rounder is crucial because the balance of the team depends on it.
Their job is difficult because all-rounders are expected to contribute
with both bat and ball. They need to score quickly and hit a big shot
while batting and bowl in the right areas not allowing the batsman to
play freely. At times all-rounders have to play with the tail-enders. So
they need to be comfortable to play in that situation and adjust their
game-plan accordingly.
Ravindra Jadeja
The first of the two all-rounders picked in this team is “Sir” Ravindra Jadeja. Just like Pant, Jadeja is also a part of the U-19 World Cup-winning team. Soon after that 2008 U-19 World cup win, he debuted in Men’s senior team. Although the initial years of his career were below average, he kept on improving his skills. Today he is India’s one of the most useful players in the limited-overs cricket for India.
He is known for his stump line bowling and economical spells. But in recent years he is also performing with his bat as well. Till now he has taken 187 ODI wickets and scored 2296 runs in ODIs. Currently, he is probably the best fielder in the world. That makes him a perfect player to pick in the all-rounder category.
Irfan Pathan
The first all-rounder in this team is a left arm orthodox spinner. So it's a good option to have a pace bowling all-rounder in the team to assist other pace bowlers. But when you have someone like Infan Pathan, he can be the strike bowler with his high quality swing bowling. He can use the new ball and get early breakthroughs for the team.
Though his primary job is bowling, but he is a good batsman as well. He played at no.3 for India for sometime. He has the ability to hit big shots just what is expected from an all-rounder. He has played 120 ODI matches for India. He has taken 173 wickets and scored 1544 runs in his ODI career. There is no way Irfan can be kept out of the team when there is a need to left-handed pace bowling all-rounder.
Tail Enders
Now it's time to pick the most important players of the team irrespective of the format of the game. The Batsmen can score ton of runs but you need high quality bowlers to pick up wickets. Otherwise even 500 runs can not save the team from defeat. That is why there is a term which says " Batsmen win you matches Bowlers win you Tournaments".
Zaheer Khan
Though India had continuously produced world-class batsmen over the time, but pace bowling was never our strength. It is in the last two decades when the Indian team has slowly emerged as a team to have a quality pace bowling unit. It all started when Zaheer Khan came into the team in 2000. After Kapil Dev, India had found a fast bowler of the highest quality in him.
Before Zaheer, there was hardly any left-handed pace bowler who played successfully in Indian colours. But after his arrival, the scenario has changed. He was consistent with his bowling throughout his careers. He has played 200 ODI games for India and took 282 wickets. He holds 3rd position in the list of most wickets by an Indian pace bowler. Forget the wickets, his skills to use both the new and old ball makes him a must-have in the squad.
Ashish Nehra
With Zaheer Khan, there is another left-handed pace bowler who made his name as a fast bowler. He could consistently bowl over 140 kph. Though injuries have shortened his career to an extent, but no doubt he is a talented bowler. Yes, I am talking about Ashish Nehra.
Ashish has made his debut in ODI cricket in the year 2001 against Zimbabwe. Though his last ODI game was in the year 2011, he played T20I cricket till 2017 in Indian colours with pride. He represented the country in only 120 ODI matches in which he took a total of 157 wickets. Had his career not been affected by injuries, he could have been in the highest wicket-taker's list. So, it is certain that he is in the team.
Talking about left-handed pace bowlers, RP Singh is another option to look for. But while Zaheer and Ashish is in the competition its tough to pick RP Singh over them.
Kuldeep Yadav
After the pacers are chosen, it is now time to select the spin bowling option for the team. In limited overs cricket, spin bowlers usually bowls in the middle overs of the innings. So it is very important for a bowler to restrict the scoring opportunities and also take wickets to maintain the pressure. In recent years, Kuldeep Yadav is performing this responsibility with Yuzvendra Chahal. They are the new spin twins of Indian cricket.
Since his debut in ODI cricket against West Indies in the year 2017 he has been a consistent performer for the Indian team. Till now he has taken 104 wickets in only 60 matches. He is the quickest to reach the feat among all Indian spinners. There is no doubt a bright future is waiting for him. His left-arm chinaman bowling can be the x-factor in the middle overs. Looking at the performances he is putting in the limited overs cricket he definitely makes into the team.
Excellent ♥️
ReplyDeleteTeam looks great.
ReplyDeleteJust love the batting order. ..
ReplyDeleteI don't think there is any type of comparison between pant and Parthiv Patel. Patel is far better than Pant in Both the fields of the Game. Apart from this it is Perfect and happy to see that you mention the first name in this list is Our "DADA"
ReplyDelete