is irfan pathan paying the price of being a left-arm bowler...?

shared by straight point on Wednesday, November 03, 2010

in my quest to find solution to india's no.7 conundrum... the one name which keeps coming back to my mind, and i am sure i am not alone, is of irfan pathan's...

the selectors and more importantly team management has virtually shut the door on him at least for the world cup squad, if not completely for the future...

the reason being given is that he does not inspire confidence of about 10 'safe' overs if not wicket taking ones... while nobody doubts his batting prowess...

now i have this theory...

since zaheer khan and ashish nehra are given names in final xi baring alarming drop in form or freak injury... irfan's candidature is not looked upon as feasible option coz the team management fears the sameness of attack might prove counter productive...

this theory gains some weight if we look upon most sides no.7 or so called 'allrounders'... collingwood, shane watson, angelo mathews, abdul razzaq etc... now don't tell me they are superior both in terms of variety, skill or pace than irfu bhai...

13 comments:

wasim said...

SP

If we consider the fact that this century by Razzaq was his first score above 50 in last 4 years then I don't think he has bailed us out consistently.
And also if we cosider that his bowling has been the only soft spot in our bowling line up and he rarely bowls more than few overs then he primarily plays only as a batsman.

If India will play Uthappa at #7 don't you think it will weaken their bowling a bit more which they can't afford.

straight point said...

look at this way wasim...

we have tried pathan borthers... jadeja etc for the all rounder slot...

yusuf pathan is neither a bowler nor a batsman... jadeja is slightly spuerior to yusuf but just slightly... so we are not gaining much or losing much in terms or bowling... than say other part timers in yuvraj, sehwag (who bedi and me feel best off spinner in india) and of late, raina...

but what we miss if we play yusuf pathan, jadeja etc is a go-allout batsman which uthappa is...

uthappa is on your face hitting kind of batsman and since he has opened the innings too he can be relied to spend some quite overs in middle too if there happens to be a collapse... hence my argument... :)

Golandaaz said...

I think India will have to go for an unconventional approach for the #7 spot. What is needed is a bowling allrounder and in my view Pathan fits the bill.

You may be partially right. He is paying the price of being "same" as AN and ZK.

He is also paying the price of neither AN nor ZK having a run saving ball at the death.

In #7, Dhoni is trying to find someone who can overcome all current shortcomings.

I think we should convert the #7 spot into a specialist slot and play an extra batsman or an extra bowler based on the game

If there are no skills in the market just eliminate the job

straight point said...

If there are no skills in the market just eliminate the job

totally agree with you gol... i have been advocating this for quite a while now... only that you have summed it brilliantly...

tho i doubt that they will go with five bowlers hence i have put fwd uthappa as my man friday for no.7 spot tho come to think of it... irfu bhai can hold his own very well even as no.7 bat... :)

Wasim said...

I agree with you it's better to play a batsman than a lousy bowling all rounder but you can only do it if you have five or six other dependable bowlers.

straight point said...

but you can only do it if you have five or six other dependable bowlers.

wasim bhai... make no mistake WC pitches won't have any juice for bowlers... and team will be resigned to chase steep target...

even with dependable bowlers the par odi scores in subcontinent has been about 325 or more... :)

Golandaaz said...

I think Robin U is a sound choice in the X1. I am not sure he is a "closer". But he could be in the side with someone like a Virat or Raina or Dhoni playing the "closer" role.

Mahek said...

Maybe Irfan Pathan is paying the price for just not being fit. He's not even part of his Ranji side in the first round of matches.

I don't think him being a left-arm bowler is being held against him. We've played three left-arm seamers quite a few times in the last few years. Also, Kirsten has made no secret of his desire to have a seam bowler who can also bat. There's only so much the management can do, the final step has to be taken by Irfan.

straight point said...

gol... but we would never know if RU fits the bill of blaster as well s closer until we try... and its not that we dint have chance to try him out...

straight point said...

mahek its not that i disagree with you what you have said... but still i can't fathom this think tank keen on having three left arm bowlers bowling at tandem...

Dean @ Cricket Betting Blog said...

England use Collingwood more as a 6th bowling option, or if conditions suit him.

He is in the side as a specialist batsman.

I agree with Golandaaz, that if there isn't a player good enough to fill the role, then why try and create one? It dosen't make any sense.

England had a similar problem with replacing Flintoff. They took Luke Wright to SA last year in the test squad, thankfully they didn't use him, he was there as a potential test all-rounder.

If he had been picked to play, it wouldn't have been because he is a test class player (which he isn't), it would simply have been because he is an all-rounder by trade.

straight point said...

welcome dean...

so india is not the only country who is searching for an illusive all-rounder in vain... tho you would be pleased to know that in his last (few) test irfan won MoM for his all-round performance in perth... :)

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