'They are bench marking all-rounders wrongly' - Former Indian cricketer slams Indian management on usage of all-rounders

Amit Mishra (Image source: Twitter)

The Indian Team has not had a great start after the 20-20 World Cup in Australia, as they lost the ODI series 1-0 to New Zealand and 2-1 to Bangladesh. They have a side that will be in transition in a couple of years and also Team India have been plagued with injuries.

Injuries to the likes of Mohammad Shami, Kuldeep Sen, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, and Rohit Sharma in recent times have affected the balance of the Indian side which has resulted in them losing matches. One more pressing issue that is affecting the Indian Team at present is the makeup of the side.

One instance concerning this has been India not playing a leg spinner at the 20-20 World Cup and being at the receiving end of it. The decision of the management not to play Yuzvendra Chahal when sides like England and Pakistan tasted success with Shadab Khan and Adil Rashid was baffling.

When a wrist spinner plays, he is your wicket taker- Amit Mishra

Former Indian cricketer Amit Mishra shared his views on India’s lack of playing all-rounders and how the metrics should be measured. "It's absolutely true. I had once raised this topic but they silenced me. Picking a bowler on the assumption that he will bat and score runs is no benchmark for an all-rounder. How many all-rounders does India have? You say that we have Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja who bowls and bats both. Ashwin too can bat and as can Axar Patel. How many all-rounders do you need?" Mishra told Sports Tak.

"Every team has 2 all-rounders along with part-time bowlers and the main leg-spinner who can take wickets. Bowlers win you matches. Till the time you don't take wickets, how will you win a match? Even if you score 300 runs, but if you don't have wicket-taking and main bowlers, there is no way you can win a game."

He was also flummoxed when the Indian management did not give Chahal a game and played him directly in the big semi-final. "Whenever a leg-spinner or a wrist-spinner plays, he is your wicket-taker. The shorter the format, the higher are the chances of picking wickets. If Chahal had played and given you 3/40, that would have changed the mindset."