5 All-rounders tried before Hardik Pandya
All-rounders are a rarity in Indian cricket. The 1983 World Cup winning squad had quite a few of them. Players like Kapil dev, Mohinder Amaranth, Madan Lal, Roger Binny provided the team with abundance of options in both the departments.
But in the past two decades the selectors have been desperately looking to fill in that void and have been on the lookout especially for a fast bowling all-rounder. Before Hardik Pandya became Kung fu Pandya, a huge star in Indian cricket, the selectors had given a chance to some players.
For a brief period of time, Irfan Pathan had started developing into a world class all-rounder. But, as he started to perform with the bat, his bowling lost its bite. Moreover, the worthless experimentation done with his potential did him more harm than good. The Indian cricket lost a world class all-rounder in making.
Since then, the Indian team has tried many all-rounders with little success. Here are five of them who failed to grab their chances
#1. Stuart Binny
He boasts the best figures in ODI cricket for India (6-4 vs Bangladesh), but failed to make a lasting impact. He came into prominence on the back of strong performances for Rajasthan Royals and a decent domestic record.
He has a satisfactory batting average of 28, a bowling average of 21 with 20 wickets in 14 matches for India. He couldn't hone his skill in one department which the team could rely upon. Whether it was batting or bowling, in both areas he remained a bits and pieces cricketer. Owing to his inconsistency, he never managed to seal a permanent spot in the Indian team.