Opinion: Team India must start grooming more multi-functional players for the future

The game of cricket has changed in the last couple of years. Nowadays, a team has the confidence to chase any stiff target by making sure they have wickets in hand for the last few overs. The main reason for this has been the emergence of T20 cricket across the globe.

However, this has necessitated at least two big-hitters in the squad and a few bowlers who could give you a few overs in case one of your five frontline bowlers has a field day. Thus, the presence of multi-functional players in a cricket team has become prominent in recent times.

The success of the England cricket team in the recently held World Cup is the latest example of a squad with a few multi-functional players becoming successful on the field. In most matches, Jofra Archer was batting at No.10 for his team and by no means is Jofra a No.10 batsman. He can strike big on his day but he hardly had to do it at this World Cup because of the other capable batsmen above him in the line-up. Interestingly, England's best batsman Joe Root also contributed to his team with the ball and picked up a few crucial wickets.

On the other hand, the Indian team has had to struggle to find a quality sixth bowler and Virat had to squeeze in Kedar Jadhav and Vijay Shankar in the team only because they could do something with the ball. As seen in many matches, after a good start, the team was unable to capitalize on the advantage because of the long tail. In many matches, only Dhoni was left at the end and India fell short of a quality No.8 batsman. It was only in the semifinals against New Zealand did India realize its mistake and field Ravindra Jadeja at No.8. This decision almost heled them pull off a victory for them.

Hence, it is the right time for the management to invest in players who can contribute to the team in all the departments. Not only would it give flexibility to the captain, but a longer batting line-up can also help a batsman like Rohit Sharma play more freely and a bowling line-up that has depth can allow a bowler like Jasprit Bumrah bowl with more intensity. The team can become multi-layered and if Plan A fails on any given day, the captain has several other players he can turn to.

It should be noted that India does not have the dearth of such players. If cricketers such as Hanuma Vihari, Shreyas Gopal, Shivam Dube, Riyan Parag, and Nitish Rana can be given more chances, it could help the Indian Team in the future.

While Hanuma Vihari is a regular with the Test squad, it might not be a bad idea to give the Andhra batsman a run in the limited-overs team. He is technically proficient and he can be used as a solid middle-order batsman in the team. Vihari has picked 5 wickets with his right-arm off-spin for India in only 4 matches he has played for the Indian Test team so far. It is certainly a good record for a part-time bowler and if there are a couple of left-handers in the opposition's batting line-up, Vihari can certainly be included in the bowling department of the team.

Shreyas Gopal showcased his talent as an orthodox leg-spinner in IPL 2019. He dismissed some of the finest batsmen in the tournament, just like the way he has been doing it in the Ranj Trophy for the last few seasons. However, it has to be noted that Shreyas started as a top-order batsman and bowling was only his second priority. The fact that Shreyas has got 4 Ranji Trophy centuries to his name despite batting lower down the order is proof of his batting skills. Team India certainly needs a few players in the bowling department who can offer some stability down the order and Shreyas can fulfill this role.

Shivam Dube has been doing well for the India A squad in the unofficial Test series against West Indies. The Mumbai all-rounder has majorly contributed with the bat but as seen in the previous Ranji season, Shivam is also a valuable asset with the ball. A left-handed batsman could be a useful option lower down the order and with Shivam's big-hitting abilities, he could well be our next Hardik Pandya.

Nitish Rana has done well in the IPL for three seasons in a row now. Just like Hanuma Vihari, Nitish is a dependable middle-order batsman and a part-time off-spinner. India missed a Yuvraj Singh kind of a player in the recently concluded World Cup and Nitish can succeed Yuvi in the Indian Team.

Although very young, Riyan Parag is also a player who must be considered for selection in the future. He is a genuine all-rounder and if the player can gain some experience, Virat might as well make use of the youngster in the coming years.

Despite having a huge pool of talent at their disposal, the Indian team might not want to change much to the squad which participated in the recently concluded World Cup at least for the next few months. However, the management also has to realize the importance of having multi-functional cricketers within the squad and hence, should soon start integrating a few of such players into the squad.