Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Parthiv Patel questioned the selection policy after India suffered a 2-0 series loss against South Africa. The hosts lost the second Test match by a mammoth margin of 408, recording their biggest Test loss in terms of runs, at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, on Wednesday.
Patel questioned if India needs so many all-rounders in the playing XI. India played with Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, and Nitish Kumar Reddy in the final XI in the second Test against the Proteas.
While Sundar bowled only one over in the opening Test match at Eden Gardens when India played with four spinners, Reddy bowled a total of 10 overs in the second Test.
Patel said Test cricket is a game of specialist players and India are not playing with the right combination.
“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 with 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,” he said on Star Sports.
Patel added that India is blessed to have quality all-rounders like Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar in their team. The former Gujarat captain said he is not targeting Nitish Kumar Reddy but India’s approach should be right.
“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 coming 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,” he said.
India will next take on South Africa in a three-match ODI series, starting Sunday.
