Gautam Gambhir, the Indian head coach, and BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar came in for some indirect criticism by former India cricketer Parthiv Patel. This happened after India suffered their biggest Test loss by 408 runs in the second Test against South Africa in Guwahati.
This was more than simply a horrible day at work for Parthiv Patel. In a structure based on roles and clarity, it was the inevitable result of a perplexing selection philosophy that is overstuffing the squad with all-rounders while depriving it of specialists.
Parthiv's main point is brutally straightforward: India is losing because the XI is structurally flawed, not because its players aren't trying.
“There are two things. One is the mistake of the coach. The batters and bowlers are doing their job. But the question is, are we playing the right XI? Does India need so many all-rounders in Test cricket? I believe that Test cricket is a game of specialists. You must have six batters. The best thing is you have a wicket-keeper batter who is among the best and who has an average of above 40. Then you need four bowlers and one all-rounder,” Parthiv said on Star Sports.
Parthiv Patel’s words put focus on the architecture of the Indian team. India's present lineup, which includes Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Kuldeep Yadav, puts them in an odd position: not quite packed with proper batsmen, but also not fully laden with frontline bowlers.
Parthiv even suggested a more balanced lineup: six specialist hitters, a top-tier wicketkeeper-batter, four bowlers, and one genuine all-rounder. It is a model based on depth in both fields, rather than the illusion of depth created by bits-and-pieces roles.
“Actually, we are blessed that we can call both Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar all-rounders because they bat and bowl well. Then you have Kuldeep, who is a good wrist-spinner, and then two quality pacers. If it is a green wicket, then play an extra pacer. But that extra all-rounder, we have seen the value of a player increasing, and we have seen the difference by impact players come in the IPL. We are not playing with a proper batter or a proper bowler. I am not picking on Nitish Kumar Reddy, but I think it is important for India to change their thinking,” said Parthiv Patel.
India looked like a team short on both a batter and a bowler in the second Test in Guwahati, as the batting crumbled and bowlers couldn’t exert any pressure on the Proteas.
