3 reasons why Ravi Bishnoi’s selection for West Indies series is a positive move
Young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi has earned his maiden call-up to the Indian team for the limited-overs series at home against West Indies. Having been stunned in South Africa, the Men in Blue will now take on the Windies in three ODIs and as many T20Is from February 6 to 20.
21-year-old Bishnoi has featured in 17 List A matches and 42 T20 games. The young Rajasthan cricketer grabbed the headlines when he finished as the leading wicket-taker for India in the 2020 Under-19 World Cup. He has subsequently featured in two IPL editions for the Punjab Kings (PBKS), and has 24 wickets to his name at an average of 24.91 and a brilliant economy rate of under 7.
Bishnoi’s selection in India’s white-ball squad comes just a few days after he was chosen by new IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants for ₹4 crore as one of their three draft picks.
Why picking Ravi Bishnoi makes sense
While the young leggie may lack experience at the domestic level, here are three reasons why his selection makes absolute sense.
#1 India need a wicket-taking leg-spinner
The Men in Blue have struggled in the spin department of late in the white-ball formats, which explains why they went back to Ravichandran Ashwin after a gap of four years. The experiment with Varun Chakravarthy at the 2021 T20 World Cup failed and, in no time, he seems to have slipped out of the selectors’ radar.
Yuzvendra Chahal was surprisingly dropped from the squad for the said World Cup. While he remains a force in the IPL, his performances in Indian colors have not been up to the mark in recent times. He was a disappointment in South Africa and a shadow of the bowler who bamboozled the Proteas batters during the 2017-18 tour.
With two World Cups (T20 and 50-overs) coming up, India need a leg-spinner with the ability to take wickets at crucial moments in the game. We saw what Adam Zampa and Ish Sodhi did for Australia and New Zealand respectively in last year’s T20 World Cup.
Ravi Bishnoi gets his maiden
call up for the T20i series
against West Indies.
Congratulations 🎉😍😍
@bishnoi0056 https://t.co/CcJg8WbSIr
Considering his inexperience, it is too early to predict whether Bishnoi can perform the role for India. But he does have the basic ingredients in place and is known as an attacking spinner. It is thus important to give the young gun a chance now and review his performances keeping the ICC events in mind.
#2 A genuine talent who can be groomed
From what has been on show about Bishnoi so far, it is clear that he has the talent to succeed at the international level. The youngster is still a work in progress but is definitely someone who can be groomed for the future. In the 2020 U-19 World Cup as well as in the two IPL seasons he has played so far, the leggie has displayed his talent in tremendous manner.
Variations and accuracy are two of his greatest strengths as a bowler. He hardly gives anything away with the ball and has an economy rate of 7.62 in T20 matches, which is hugely impressive for a leg-spinner, an art which is not easy to control. The 21-year-old also has a well-disguised googly, which has undone some highly talented batters in the IPL.
It is important not to put too much pressure on Bishnoi and expect him to perform right away at the international level. Instead, he needs to be given the confidence that he will be backed for a certain period of time so he gets a fair chance to prove himself. Head coach Rahul Dravid will have a big role to play here, just like he did at the India A and U-19 level.
#3 Bishnoi has the right temperament for a youngster
Having talent is one thing but having the temperament and right attitude to succeed at the international level are equally important assets to possess. Hailing Bishoi as a fighter, Lucknow franchise skipper KL Rahul recently had this to say about the young leg-spinner on the show Backstage with Boria:
“Bishnoi has a big heart for a youngster who hasn’t played too much. In IPL cricket he has shown a lot of heart. He wanted to be in the fight and bowl to the likes of Pollard, Russell, Hardik and Rishabh. Whenever they came in, he would say, ‘bhaiyya mujhe ball do’. I can see him playing for India soon and for a long time.”
Rahul knows a thing or two about the promising cricketer having captained him at Punjab Kings for two seasons. The aspects of Bishnoi’s character Rahul spoke about have been evident on the field. He has not shied away from a fight. His body language has been positive even when he has been taken for runs. Significantly, he has hit back with wickets on a number of occasions.
twitter.com/BCCI/status/14…
Happy for Deepak Hooda, Ravi Bishnoi and Avesh Khan 🤩🔥 twitter.com/BCCI/status/14… https://t.co/02aknrrTFo
With the Men in Blue looking jaded and lost, an infusion of fresh spirit and new energy in the form of youngsters like Bishnoi can only be good for Indian cricket. They will come in without any baggage and, as the cliche goes, could be just what the doctor ordered.