5 Players Who Could Become Quality Bowling All-Rounders For India

Team India has had a lack of multi-utility cricketers in the XI. While hardly anyone in the top-order can roll their arm over, the tail-enders do not contribute enough with the bat. This has affected the team balance on many occasions. In this article, we take a look at five players who could become quality bowling all-rounders for India in the coming years.

While it would be hard to hone the bowling skills of the batsmen, it is relatively easier to work on the batting talents of a bowler who has had the experience of doing well with the bat in the junior days. Hence, they could be groomed into becoming a bowling all-rounder, thereby adding depth to the batting unit.

1) Shardul Thakur

Shardul Thakur is one of the cricketers who could become quality bowling all-rounders for India in the coming years. Going by the moves of the team management, Thakur is already being considered as a bowling all-rounder by Team India. This is courtesy of his performances with the bat at the Gabba Test, which proved to be extremely crucial. Thakur has also come up with cameos in the IPL, which further proved his batting skills. Hence, he is likely to be used at No.8 across formats in the coming years.

2) Deepak Chahar

Deepak Chahar stunned everyone with his batting performance on the tour of Sri Lanka. He helped India win a game from an unlikely situation and gave a glimpse of his batting abilities. In his IPL career, too, for CSK, Deepak has had a few cameos here and there. Hence, he is also one of the cricketers who could become a good bowling all-rounder for India in the coming years. It would also be helpful if Deepak does it because he is likely to be a part of the T20 XI in the upcoming months.

3) Ravi Bishnoi

Ravi Bishnoi is a decent batter as per the statistics in the domestic tournaments. Many already see Bishnoi as the future of the Indian spin attack. However, if Rahul Chahar is in the team, Bishnoi may never get a chance. That said, if the youngster can add a few batting skills to his resume, it is likely that he would be fast-tracked into the Indian XI. A bowling all-rounder is always useful at No.8 and if a specialist spinner can fill that role, it would improve the balance of the unit.

4) Harshal Patel

Harshal Patel could get selected to Team India if he does well in the second half of IPL 2021. Apart from being an intelligent T20 bowler, Harshal is also a useful batsman down the order. In fact, in recent years at the domestic level, Harshal has been one of the best all-rounders in India. Hence, he is one of the cricketers who could become quality bowling all-rounders for India in the coming years.

5) R Sai Kishore

Being a left-arm orthodox spinner, R Sai Kishore might have to contribute more with the bat than what he is doing now at the domestic level. With players like Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Krunal Pandya having similar attributes, unless Sai does well in both departments, it is very hard for him to get a chance in Team India. That said, compared to others, he is still young and could offer a long-term incentive for the management.