India cricket team has embarked on a new era after Gautam Gambhir took over the reins as the new head coach from Rahul Dravid. Within three series with the ex-Indian opener at the helm, impactful changes are already visible in the Indian camp, across formats. While Dravid and Gambhir have played alongside each other, their techniques and beliefs when it comes to coaching surely don’t match. Fresh & innovative approaches for the team from the fiery southpaw is a welcome step for the Indian team and the fans.
One such approach, that has rather resurfaced, is the resurgence of part-time bowlers. Across formats, especially white-ball, the Men in Blue have often been dependent on a select few specialist bowlers and all-rounders to deliver with the ball. While this trend continued for the last 5 years or so, India finally seem to have come up with a solution for it. A solution that is a replica of what was followed for years previously – the ability for part-time bowlers to effectively contribute.
The resurgence of part-time bowlers & how it helps India
Let’s talk about the latest incident. Suryakumar Yadav threw the ball to Abhishek Sharma in IND vs BAN 2nd T20I in New Delhi. The southpaw, who is a part-time bowler, answered his skipper’s call with a wicket off his very first over. He went on to finish his spell with 1/10 from 2 overs, a valuable contribution with the ball from his side. While SKY can be credited for being brave and backing his part-time bowler to delver, the coach must also be credited for backing the approach.
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Another example of a part-time bowler acing his role is Riyan Parag from the T20Is and ODIs against Sri Lanka. Parag went on to take 6 wickets in both series combined, with a best spell of 3/5 in the T20Is and 3/54 in ODIs. He didn’t stop there. He added another wicket to his tally in the IND vs BAN 2nd T20I. With the youngster set to be part of the white-ball squad for a considerable amount of time, he can turn out to be a viable option for the captain to turn to, instead of being just dependent on his regular bowlers.
Yashasvi Jaiswal is another option who can be a part-time option for India. It is pertinent to mention that these part-timers don’t essentially have to deliver with the ball on most occasions but their contributions in certain clutch matches would be welcome. We’ve seen Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and other stars who weren’t regular bowlers roll their arms and even get rewarded for the rare over with a wicket.
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