Rohit, Kohli, Suryakumar or Gill - who is India's best part-timer?
Team India's final group-stage clash of the 2023 World Cup, played against the Netherlands at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, saw them experiment with a few rarely used bowling options.
After scoring more than 400 on the back of hundreds from Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma had plenty of room to work with. As the crowd egged him on, he brought on Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shubman Gill and finally himself to give the specialist bowlers a rest.
India have been playing with five bowlers ever since Hardik Pandya's ankle injury in the game against Bangladesh. While Mohammed Shami's sizzling hot form after entering the playing XI at Shardul Thakur's expense has papered over the cracks caused by Hardik's injury, they might be forced into turning to one of their part-timers in the semifinals and potentially the finals.
Who should be India's first choice if they need a sixth bowler?
Virat Kohli, unorthodox and unpredictable, might be the best option
It's easy to establish the two clear front-runners when it comes to part-time bowling options. Kohli and Rohit, who are two of India's most high-profile batters, might also be their best two part-timers.
Suryakumar tossed the ball up against the Netherlands and got walloped for a couple of sixes. While he wasn't particularly unimpressive despite being hit, the Men in Blue can't afford to have their part-timers flight the ball and try to deceive the batters through the air.
Suryakumar has bowled in only 18 of his 137 List A games, with six wickets at an economy rate of 5.36. He has also bowled in just one ODI, the game against the Netherlands.
Gill, meanwhile, has bowled in just two of his 97 List-A matches. He hasn't picked up a wicket in any of the three formats he has played, even on the domestic circuit. Moreover, the opener didn't look particularly reliable against the Netherlands, dragging many down and being lucky to escape without further punishment.
Kohli has five wickets to his name in ODIs, apart from four in T20Is. He has managed to get rid of big names such as Alastair Cook, Quinton de Kock, and Brendon McCullum.
More importantly, Kohli offers something unorthodox and unpredictable, thereby increasing India's chances of forcing an error from the opposition batters. Despite his lack of pace and control, the 35-year-old being given the ball is an event in itself, one that will invariably stir a couple of questions in batters' minds.
On a skill-for-skill basis, Rohit is probably the best part-timer in the Indian XI. The skipper can turn the ball and is also fairly accurate. He has an IPL hat-trick to his name, as commentators never fail to recollect, to go with nine ODI wickets.
Rohit is also the most accomplished List A bowler among the quartet. With 31 scalps at an economy rate of 5.11, he could've become a regular all-rounder had he continued to work on that skill.
Rohit has dealt with finger and shoulder injuries that have curtailed his bowling ability, but if he is working on it in the nets, he is the most conventionally good option for India to turn out.
Bowling Gill or Suryakumar doesn't seem safe. Kohli and Rohit, the senior men in the side, appear to be the best options.