India and its All-Rounder woes

What does it take to be called an All Rounder?

“My dad is 70 and my mom is 60, so the chances of India seeing another Kapil Dev is next to zero”, answered Kapil Dev when asked what the chances of India seeing another Kapil are.

What qualities does a player need to possess to qualify as an all-rounder? Well, a player possessing multiple skills in more or less the same proportion can be termed as an all-rounder – a player who can bat and bowl equally well or a wicketkeeper who is also a good batsman. Then, of course, there are players like Jonty Rhodes and Ab De Villiers who make a tremendous difference with their fielding.

The present Indian team can boast of only one genuine all-rounder – Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Yes, MSD is the only person in the current team who is an all-rounder to the hilt. He could, very likely, retain his place in the team even if he had just one of the many skills he possesses. He is also an exceptional leader, something that is a skill in itself.

It is the all-rounders that set the winning teams apart from the rest. Players like Sanath Jayasurya and Yuvraj Singh have proved this by almost single-handedly winning the World Cups for their teams. Gone are those days when a fast bowler could bowl few good overs then relax until his turn to bat came and it would just be a formality for him to walk out with a bat, for he would be walking back to the pavilion soon. It is time now for the bowlers to pad up and get some batting practice and the batsmen should start rolling their arm over!

Some of the best all-rounders to have represented India include Kapil Dev, Vinoo Mankad and Dattu Phadkar. Kapil was one of the greatest bowlers ever born in India but he also won us matches on a regular basis with his batting. The opening line of this article more or less sums up the all-rounder scenario of India. We have had tons of players who were branded as ‘All-Rounders’, but actually were just batsmen who could bowl a few overs, and bowlers who could play the role of sloggers lower down the order. And then, we have also had bits and pieces players like Robin Singh and Manoj Prabhakar who would not be in the team but for their combined skills.

With talent popping up from different parts of India so very often, it has become inevitable that middle order batsmen work on their bowling skills. And the bowlers, likewise, should learn to wield the willow. Yusuf Pathan was preferred to Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina because he had proved himself to be a useful spinner. Dinesh Mongia was preferred to VVS Laxman in 2003 world cup because he could bowl a bit and was a much better fielder. No player can now take his place for granted in the team. Even players like Yuvraj, Harbhajan and Yusuf have started working on their secondary skills.

It is imperative that a player gets all round training and pays equal attention to all departments of the game right from his formative years. It is unacceptable that you are among the 11 chosen ones to represent your country and can’t even get the batting stance right. Even teams like Bangladesh and Netherlands have players like Shakib Al Hasan and Ryan Ten Doeschate. If, in the years to come, India wants to maintain its top billing it is important that they concentrate on all round development of the player especially fielding which has been our main problem for decades now . Looks like the mantra for the future is ‘Jack of all trades-master of all’.