Dilip Vengsarkar rues the absence of an all-rounder in India's squad for the England tour

Former national selector Dilip Vengsarkar has lamented the absence of an all-rounder in the Indian squad for the England tour.

Virat Kohli and his men will start their tour of the UK with the ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand in Southampton. This will be followed by the five-match Test series against England.

While the Asian giants have all their bases covered, the absence of a pace-bowling all-rounder could hurt them badly. India's first-choice all-rounder Hardik Pandya was not included in the squad as he has not bowled regularly since his return to action following a lower back injury.

A BCCI source said Hardik Pandya is still not in a position to bowl. The experiment of selectors to keep him during England Test series and prepare him with bowling workload has failed miserably. He'll henceforth not be considered for Test cricket. (To PTI).

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During an interaction with Cricketnext, Dilip Vengsarkar stated that the absence of an all-rounder could impact the outcome of the WTC final.

"An all-rounder makes a lot of difference, gives you the option of playing five batsmen and five bowlers, including the all-rounder himself," said Dilip Vengsarkar. "That is a much better-balanced team. Otherwise, you play with six batsmen and four bowlers."

"When you play with four bowlers, all of them should be capable of taking five wickets in an innings. If one is injured, three bowlers have to bowl 90 overs in a day, and you are on the back foot straightaway. I don’t know about Hardik Pandya because I have not seen him bowl of late. He has to bowl, that is important," added Dilip Vengsarkar.

The wicket-keeper is a very important position in the team: Dilip Vengsarkar

Rishabh Pant, who has enjoyed success in recent times, will be a vital cog in India's line-up for the WTC final. He has scored 662 runs in 11 innings.

Dilip Vengsarkar feels that having Pant in the playing XI will be a massive advantage for India in the WTC final.

"The wicketkeeper is a very important position in the team. Besides effecting stumpings and run-outs, if he is batting well, why not? If you have someone like Rishabh Pant, who can change the complexion of the match with his batting also, that is a huge advantage for the Indian team," noted Dilip Vengsarkar.

Average of Indian batsmen in fourth innings in WTC 2019-21:Rishabh Pant - 98.5Shubman Gill - 74Virat Kohli - 72Cheteshwar Pujara - 37.75 Rohit Sharma - 32Ajinkya Rahane - 18.33

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