India vs WI ODI series: Where is the sixth bowler for India?

As West Indies batsman Shirmon Hetmyer helped himself to a century off just 74 balls in the first one-day international against India at Guwahati, the question on everyone’s lip was, where India's sixth bowler was? If Kohli had been asked which player he had missed the most in this match, his reply would have been Kedar Jadhav.

Kedar Jadhav has been such an effective sixth bowler for India who could roll his arm over for 5 to 6 overs in every innings. He is the man with the golden arm.

Kedar Jadhav - The man with the golden arm

In the absence of a bowler like Jadhav in the first ODI, Kohli had no other option except to continue with the same 5 regular bowlers who were taken to the cleaners by Hetmyer & Co.

Despite the loss of regular wickets, the Windies could accelerate to a score of over 300. In the absence of a sixth bowler in the playing XI, Kohli had to continue with Mohammad Shami (2 for 81) Jadeja (2 for 66), Umesh Yadav ( 0 for 64) and Khaleel Ahmed ( 1 for 64 ) in spite of the pasting they got at the hands of the Windies batsmen. The Indian bowling was so poor that it allowed the West Indies to recover from 114 for 4 to 322 for 8.

This brings us to the question of who could be the sixth bowler in this Playing XI. The three part-time options are Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ambati Rayadu. Kohli had been a regular bowler during his under-19 days. Rohit Sharma used to bowl in the initial stages of his career. Both Kohli and Rohit Sharma midway through their career discontinued bowling for fear of injury or aggravating a niggle.

The last time Kohli bowled in an ODI was in August 2017. For Rohit Sharma, it was January 2016. Ambati Rayadu bowled just one ball in the Asia Cup to complete the over of the injured Hardik Pandya. It is strange to note that in this T20 era, highly talented players like Kohli and Rohit failed to do justice and hone their part-time talent through regular practice. Both Kohli and Rohit could have come in handy for India if they could have manufactured 5 overs between them in a 50 over inning.

It would not be out of place to mention here that the specialist batsmen of the earlier generation like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, and Yuvraj Singh were all very good part-time bowlers in their own rights. Rahul Dravid made his additional contribution to the team as a part-time wicket-keeper.

Suresh Raina has been a useful part-time bowler for India in the past

It is bizarre to note that in the current Indian team apart from Kedar Jadhav and Suresh Raina, none of the other batsmen could contribute with the ball. In this T20 era, a player is expected to contribute to the team in every aspect of the game. A part-time sixth bowler is not expected to run through the opposition. But he can be a surprise variation when one or two of the regular bowlers go the distance. The batsmen are likely to take the part-time bowlers, which could result in losing their wickets.

The idea of playing 2 wicket-keepers in the playing XI doesn’t help India’s cause either. It directly shuts down one bowling option. But the problem with this Indian squad is that the reserve batsmen K.L. Rahul and Manish Pandey don’t bowl either. The other prospects outside of this squad like Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer and Dinesh Karthik, who are all shy of the ball.

India cannot afford to continue with the strategy of going in with 2 wicket-keepers in the playing XI like Sri Lanka. Apart from reducing the bowling options, the second wicket-keeper is found wanting on the field often too.

The rules of the game of cricket are unfair to the bowlers in the sense that it compels all bowlers to bat but the batsmen are never compelled to bowl. The absence of a sixth bowler is normally felt more when bowling second rather than when bowling first.

The return of Kedar Jadhav to the playing XI should solve the sixth bowler problem for India. But whose place will he take? Probably the second keeper’s place.