A genuine all-rounder would be the perfect solution for India
Well, after losing 7 out of the last 10 international matches they have played, team India has shown a bit of grit in the 2-day practice match played today in New Zealand. Although the opposition was quite weak, India still did well. From the Indian side, big names like MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli also missed this encounter. Team India showed good skills today and were able to stop the hosts on 262 for 9 declared.
Obviously, with the return of the veteran Zaheer Khan, our bowling attack has strengthened and this would have definitely boosted the morale of our young bowlers. The latest arrival on the scene – Ishwar Pandey – displayed his good bowling skills. He bowled with a controlled line and length, thereby taking 3 wickets with a reasonable economy rate of 3.
Other bowlers shared the remaining 6 wickets with reasonable economy rates. Likewise, in the batting too, Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay have given us a good start and India had scored 41 for no loss at stumps.
However, many of the experts have already emphasized that there is a dire need to include an effective all rounder immediately in the team. This becomes vital, as after the downfall of Yuvraj Singh, the negative impact of not having an all-rounder has been noticed by one and all.
So this is high time that the administrators initiate necessary steps instantly to find and groom a talented all-rounder. We have got almost one year before the next World Cup and it will be in the fitness of the things that whosoever is shortlisted, he should be included in the team at once to get acclimatized with the team and the different environments.
Although the management is liable to take care of the issue, but I believe that we have got a suitable player ready to fit in the role, namely Rishi Dhawan. Of course, there is a need to sharpen his skills and providing him quality coaching.
Let us have a quick view of the vital stats of Rishi Dhawan. He is a young and hardworking cricketer from Himachal Pradesh. He is 23 years of age and a right hand bat. He is also a right arm fast medium bowler. So far he has played 33 first class matches and he has got a pretty good batting average of 40.50.
Additionally, he has taken 145 wickets with a fairly good bowling average of 23.84 – that too with a good economy rate of 2.88. He is a very dedicated player whose determination is treated as par excellence.
He has developed his skills due to his own hard work as the facilities in Himachal Pradesh are not at par with Delhi or Mumbai. He is a very good fielder as well. He has maintained an excellent level of fitness. Also, he is very humble and always eager to learn and improvise.
Many of the fans strongly believe that if nourished properly under the guidance of able coaches, the services of this talented young man might prove very fruitful. Keeping in view the fact that the World Cup is not too far away, it has become imperative to have a long term solution. The media and the fans have got a distinct role to play in mobilizing things in favour of Rishi Dhawan. Hope to see some strings moving soon!