All rounders are fast becoming an extinct species within the annals of Indian cricket as we have struggled to find an all rounder worth his salt since the retirement of Manoj Moolchand Prabhakar in the early 1990's what are the contributory factors? are the dead as dodo pitches responsible for the premature demise of these icons, or then are the current leanings of followers towards a Tendulkar or Sehwag rather than a Kapil Dev or Roger Binny responsible for the absence of a genuine all rounder from the Indian ranks for the last twelve-thirteen years.
Irfan Pathan was the last ray of hope on the horizon, this son of a Baroda muezzin did set the cricketing world on fire with his exploits against the mighty Aussies and mercurial Pakistanis in their own backyards and on the rather familiar Indian climes, alas!this son of the soil faded away into cricketing oblivion almost as fast as he streaked across the Indian cricket scene like a meteor,he suddenly lost the ability to swing the ball both ways at a robust pace of 135+kmph, his batting also began to fall away, his more than useful fielding skills began to desert him, he could not hold onto his place within the Baroda Ranji ranks, on saw him venturing into the alien world of reality dance shows and tele serials as an alternative and his injuries beacame the subject of many a crcicketing debate rather than his sterling exploits on the field of play.
While Pathan did achieve the equivalent of an athletic gold by amassing a little more than a thousand test runs and a hundred test scalps before losing himslef in the cricketing doldrums, one only hopes and prays that the 950,000 dollars paid by the owners of the Delhi Daredevils Indian Premier League franchise to sign him on spur him onto greater deeds and provide the much needed impetus for him to stake his claim to the much coveted all rounders slot as many a wise man have said that money makes the world go around and one ardently hopes that the same holds true for an Irfan Pathan too.
An all rounder adds the much needed depth and stability to a team with the rare ability to add a quickfire thirty five or forty odd runs in double quick time when most needed, sound the alarm bells ringing in the opposition ranks with an incisive spell that ensnares two or three victims into his net or then pulls out an amazing catch out of thin air that turns a match on it's head as Kapil Dev did with his stunning running catch to dimiss a rampaging Viv Richards in the 1983 Prudential World Cup finals at Lords cricket ground London England.
The presence of a genuine all rounder within the ranks provides the team management with the golden opportunity of tinkering around with the teams composition by adding an extra bowler or batsman to the mix depending upon the conditions,opponents and thinking of the team management at the time and the absence of one often time leads to a rather lopsided team composition that provides the opposition with the much needed edge and psychological advantage even before the first ball is delivered.
The Sri Lankans have an Angelo Matthews and Thisara Perreira within their ranks, the mighty Aussies have a Shane Watson,Steve Smith and last but not the least a Cameron White within their ranks,the mercurial pakistanis have a Shahid Afridi and Mohhamad Hafeez in their arsenal,the English have a Paul Collingwood, Stuart Broad and Ravi Bopara adding the much needed zing to their ranks as and when needed while the Kiwis have the best left arm spinner and now formidable left handed batsman Daniel Vettori adorning their team sheet.
While the Indian ranks have boasted of a Virender Sehwag,Suresh Raina,Yuvraj Singh,Virat Kohli and Yousuf Pathan off late all the afore mentioned players are batsmen who can bowl four or five overs when needed rather than genuine all rounders in the humble opinion of yours truly and while the media and some cricketing pundits have gone to town tom tomming the irrepresible Sardar Harbhajan Singh as India's next all rounder after his back to back centuries against the black caps on Indian soil, the man himself has his feet firmly planted on the ground and remains steadfast in his stance of seeeing himself as a bowler who can bat rather than a genuine all rounder.
One only hopes and prays that the ensuing IPL season 4 throws up a few surprises and either leads to the rebirth and resurgence of an Irfan pathan or then throws up an unheralded and unknown cricketer who can emulate the sterling deeds of a Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj and end India's quest of suitable succesor to this greatest all rounder of all time or then one wishes that the much needed wisdom dawns on the Indian teams think tanks and they goad Yuvraj Singh to take his much underrated bowling that much more seriously as the infamous pie chucker has it in him to step up to the plate and end India's all rounder related woes.
Will IPL 4 provide the much needed answers or then will the pied piper of Punjab, Yuvraj Singh step upto the plate, let's all pray,wait and watch with bated breaths.
SUNDEEP CHOPRA
Irfan Pathan was the last ray of hope on the horizon, this son of a Baroda muezzin did set the cricketing world on fire with his exploits against the mighty Aussies and mercurial Pakistanis in their own backyards and on the rather familiar Indian climes, alas!this son of the soil faded away into cricketing oblivion almost as fast as he streaked across the Indian cricket scene like a meteor,he suddenly lost the ability to swing the ball both ways at a robust pace of 135+kmph, his batting also began to fall away, his more than useful fielding skills began to desert him, he could not hold onto his place within the Baroda Ranji ranks, on saw him venturing into the alien world of reality dance shows and tele serials as an alternative and his injuries beacame the subject of many a crcicketing debate rather than his sterling exploits on the field of play.
While Pathan did achieve the equivalent of an athletic gold by amassing a little more than a thousand test runs and a hundred test scalps before losing himslef in the cricketing doldrums, one only hopes and prays that the 950,000 dollars paid by the owners of the Delhi Daredevils Indian Premier League franchise to sign him on spur him onto greater deeds and provide the much needed impetus for him to stake his claim to the much coveted all rounders slot as many a wise man have said that money makes the world go around and one ardently hopes that the same holds true for an Irfan Pathan too.
An all rounder adds the much needed depth and stability to a team with the rare ability to add a quickfire thirty five or forty odd runs in double quick time when most needed, sound the alarm bells ringing in the opposition ranks with an incisive spell that ensnares two or three victims into his net or then pulls out an amazing catch out of thin air that turns a match on it's head as Kapil Dev did with his stunning running catch to dimiss a rampaging Viv Richards in the 1983 Prudential World Cup finals at Lords cricket ground London England.
The presence of a genuine all rounder within the ranks provides the team management with the golden opportunity of tinkering around with the teams composition by adding an extra bowler or batsman to the mix depending upon the conditions,opponents and thinking of the team management at the time and the absence of one often time leads to a rather lopsided team composition that provides the opposition with the much needed edge and psychological advantage even before the first ball is delivered.
The Sri Lankans have an Angelo Matthews and Thisara Perreira within their ranks, the mighty Aussies have a Shane Watson,Steve Smith and last but not the least a Cameron White within their ranks,the mercurial pakistanis have a Shahid Afridi and Mohhamad Hafeez in their arsenal,the English have a Paul Collingwood, Stuart Broad and Ravi Bopara adding the much needed zing to their ranks as and when needed while the Kiwis have the best left arm spinner and now formidable left handed batsman Daniel Vettori adorning their team sheet.
While the Indian ranks have boasted of a Virender Sehwag,Suresh Raina,Yuvraj Singh,Virat Kohli and Yousuf Pathan off late all the afore mentioned players are batsmen who can bowl four or five overs when needed rather than genuine all rounders in the humble opinion of yours truly and while the media and some cricketing pundits have gone to town tom tomming the irrepresible Sardar Harbhajan Singh as India's next all rounder after his back to back centuries against the black caps on Indian soil, the man himself has his feet firmly planted on the ground and remains steadfast in his stance of seeeing himself as a bowler who can bat rather than a genuine all rounder.
One only hopes and prays that the ensuing IPL season 4 throws up a few surprises and either leads to the rebirth and resurgence of an Irfan pathan or then throws up an unheralded and unknown cricketer who can emulate the sterling deeds of a Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj and end India's quest of suitable succesor to this greatest all rounder of all time or then one wishes that the much needed wisdom dawns on the Indian teams think tanks and they goad Yuvraj Singh to take his much underrated bowling that much more seriously as the infamous pie chucker has it in him to step up to the plate and end India's all rounder related woes.
Will IPL 4 provide the much needed answers or then will the pied piper of Punjab, Yuvraj Singh step upto the plate, let's all pray,wait and watch with bated breaths.
SUNDEEP CHOPRA
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