India’s limited-overs captain MS Dhoni recently said that he was happy with the contributions of his batsmen who could double up as part-time bowlers. It is, of course, well-known that Dhoni absolutely loves to stand behind the stumps when his spinners are operating. He gets chirpier and tells the bowler how he is reading the game.
As the wicket-keeper and the skipper, Dhoni has perfected the art of reading the game accurately to squeeze the opposition. We got glimpses of Dhoni’s brilliance during India’s group stage match against Ireland in the World Cup 2015.
Ireland had got off to a blistering start, but Dhoni, by rotating his spinners and part-timers, reined them in. One simply had to be in awe of Dhoni’s clear thinking and sharp wit as he marshalled his troops that day.
Importance of part-time bowlers
It is not just MS Dhoni, but more and more captains these days are now in favour of using part-time bowlers. If even a top-order batsman can turn his arm over and bowl a few decent overs, it is an added bonus for the team.
No wonder then that such all-rounders are being preferred by captains now ahead of specialist batsmen.
In Indian cricket, for instance, two of the best batsmen from the 90s – Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly – could double up as useful bowlers if need be. And they did it to a devastating effect by providing the crucial breakthroughs.
They were truly the men with the golden arms. Not too long ago before them, India had Robin Singh – much before we thought there would be someone like Dhoni – who was a specialist finisher and a very useful medium-pace bowler.
But it is incredibly difficult to keep performing in both the departments at the same time. Australian captain Steve Smith started out as a spinner who could contribute with the bat in the lower-middle order.
But he has now turned into one of the finest batsmen in the world and he hardly bowls at all. His countryman Cameron White was another such example.
But closer to home, we had Irfan Pathan -- the devastating swing bowler who won a million Indian hearts when he burst onto the scene. Under Greg Chappell, he started to fashion himself as an all-rounder and even batted at number 3 at times, getting crucial runs.
The consequence, however, was disastrous. His bowling began to suffer and ultimately one of India’s most promising prospects was lost in the din.
The challenge of being able to maintain good form with both the bat and the ball is thus a considerable one.
Part-timers as a strategic decoy
Modern captains, therefore, rely more heavily on all-rounders. Many believe that the era of true all-rounders is over – Shakib al Hasan being an exception – and what we have instead is good batsmen who can turn their arm over.
Such players always allow teams to play an extra bowler or a batsman and give them additional balance in the team composition.
In a tournament like the ICC World T20, the importance of part-time spinners can never be underestimated. On dry pitches, many of which may turn out to be square turners, teams will use their additional part-time bowlers because of the spin-friendly conditions.
This can be a two-pronged strategy. Sometimes, part-timers can struggle and prove to be costly in T20 cricket. But it can only backfire if batsmen try to be overly aggressive and lose their wickets in the process.
This, thus, if used wisely, turns out to be a great strategic decoy on the part of good captains. And then there is the other instance of part-timers being on a roll, especially when the conditions assist their style of bowling.
Under MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina has emerged as a renewed player who can be very useful with the ball. This started as an experiment when Dhoni had first asked Raina to bowl for the CSK in the IPL. When Raina started doing well, Dhoni started using him in ODIs and T20Is as well.
Most of these part-timers had started out bowling as an odd experiment and gone on to become somewhat successful. JP Duminy is one such case. He started to turn his arm over in limited overs cricket but no one took him seriously. That was until Duminy started spinning the ball at times and even picked crucial wickets.
Other notable part-timers like Mohammad Hafeez, Glenn Maxwell and Steve Smith are a different case altogether. They had emerged on the scene as bowlers but have become such good batsmen that their bowling suffered. They can now be called part-timers at best but can have crucial roles to play in the ICC World T20.
Then there are the West-Indian all-rounders like Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy. Though most of them are part-timers when it comes to bowling, the amount of T20 cricket they play has turned them into dangerous all-rounders. This obviously has turned the West Indies into one of the favourite teams going into the tournament.
Part-timers might dominate in the middle-overs
Most of these cricketers play so much T20 cricket around the world that they are no longer afraid to bowl in the shortest format of the game. And the fact that many of them have played in the IPL is an added bonus as that has now made them familiar with the conditions.
In fact, some of them now know the sub-continental conditions so well that many have argued that India will have no added home advantage. In T20 cricket, the batting team very often gets off to a fast start in the powerplay overs which makes it important for the slower bowlers to come in and put brakes on the scoring rate.
On flat, placid tracks, the only way bowlers can stop batsmen from scoring is if they take the pace off the ball or if the ball starts turning considerably. That is where the part-timers will have a role to play.
Most of these part-timers, like Raina and JP Duminy, have simple, short run-ups and can finish their overs quickly. In the absence of spin, they try to push through deliveries and follow the batsman, making it difficult to score off them.
Not surprisingly, it is increasingly being seen that teams are getting off to great starts in T20s only to lose their way as the slow bowlers come in. The middle-overs are turning out to be the most important overs in T20 cricket now when more matches are being won or lost.
Yuvraj Singh epitomized the importance of part-time bowlers with his stellar performances in the World Cup 2011. India will be happy to have him back and Dhoni concedes that Yuvraj might have a similar role to play in the ICC World T20.
Speaking about him, Dhoni said, “I am happy that he is in the team as he is a champion player and a match-winner. He also brings a balance in the team as in T20 cricket you don't include a fifth bowler."
Speaking about the use of part-timers in the Indian team, Dhoni added, "We also don't have a genuine all-rounder so we have to rely on part-time bowlers who are specialist batsmen.
“Yuvraj is one and we have Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina. They will chip in an over each and that makes it a lot easier for us."
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
