Kapil Dev was probably the most magical player India has ever produced (even ahead of Tendulkar and Gavaskar), partly because it was always so unlikely that a country like India would produce a fast-bowling allrounder (as Gideon Haigh captures so eloquently in this piece). In some ways though he is also the worst thing that could have happened to modern Indian cricket, kicking off as it did an eternal pace-bowling all-rounder hunt since he retired about twenty years ago. Often (especially when India are doing badly), it feels like the solution to all problems would be to find a new Kapil Dev. The list of players who have shown a bit of promise and been branded the new Kapil Dev is probably only a bit shorter than a similar list drawn up by English fans (and selectors) of the next Botham.
First there were the 1983 World Cup men in Madan Lal and Roger Binny who despite their stellar efforts in that tournament and ample opportunities in Test cricket (39 and 27 caps respectively) never quite cut it as international all-rounders primarily because they were not consistently good enough in either discipline. Then came Manoj Prabhakar who with his banana swing and doughty opening batting was certainly more effective than the earlier two but Jayasuriya and the match-fixing saga brought an end to his hopes. After a brief hiatus, came the man most inexplicably termed the "next Kapil Dev". Ajit Agarkar's first class record when he got picked for India in April '98 had nothing to suggest that he should be considered anything but a quick bowler. Yet, the flashes of incredibly good (and incredibly bad) cricket he managed to produce meant that he was branded something he really could never be. And finally, there was Irfan Pathan who came closest of all to fulfilling the role of a true allrounder (even if not the next Kapil Dev). Debuting in the match that had what was probably Agarkar's best performance, Pathan was as close to a left-handed clone of Kapil as India would probably ever produce. Prodigious swing at a decent clip allied with a smooth batting technique with big hitting ability meant that he was quickly anointed India's new hope till injuries and a dip in form stymied his career.
Such has the Indian obsession been with finding a seam bowling allrounder that an alien from Mars might think that spin bowlers in India never learn to bat. The truth though is that they never got the right sort of backing or assistance. Ravi Shastri was not as gifted as Kapil Dev but would have ended up with much better figures if he had not been forced to play the role of stock bowler and "crisis-batsmen-anywhere-in-the-order" through much of his career. Anil Kumble scored three hundreds (and three fifties) in his first three Ranji seasons and was good enough to score a Test match ton at age 37 but he batted at #7 just eight times (barring injury to other players) out of 173 innings. Harbhajan Singh was always capable with the bat (as two back to back Test hundreds with India in trouble testify) but he regularly bats 7 or below for his domestic team. Sunil Joshi and Ashish Kapoor had promise but never the confidence of the selectors or their captains.
So its ironic that now, the two men pinned down as the next all-round hopes for India are also the first choice spin bowlers across most formats. Ravindra Jadeja has had a lot to live upto ever since Shane Warne christened him a rockstar, and Ravichandran Ashwin also rose to fame through the IPL despite having a solid first class record even prior to that tournament launching. A quick look at their first class records shows that they both pass the allrounder sniff-test of "Batting avg - Bowling avg >= 3-4 runs" (and in Jadeja's case its an astonishing 25+ runs!) and so far at the international level, they have certainly demonstrated enough ability of their potential. Jadeja in particular has come on in leaps and bounds in the last year or so and has just made it to the top spot in the ODI bowling rankings (and will likely do in the allrounder rankings too given that India play much more than Bangladesh in the next few months). Its their Test match performances though that will demonstrate whether they are the real McCoy or not. As Harsha Bhogle summarises it in one of his pieces on ESPNcricinfo, a lower middle order that reads Jadeja, Dhoni, Ashwin at 6, 7, and 8 will be one of the most important elements of building a competitive Indian side capable of getting back to the top of the rankings. And given that Jadeja averages 50+ in first class cricket surely he should be batting ahead of Dhoni and allowing the skipper to play his natural game at #7. In that light, its a bit of a missed opportunity that Jadeja is not with the 'A' team currently touring South Africa. Ajinkya Rahane at #6 is a bit of a misfit and will not help Fletcher learn anything new about him and playing Jadeja there instead would have given him a chance to at least get a taste for the role. Ashwin on the other hand already has the highest average of all time amongst Indian bowlers (who've played at least 15 games and picked up 50 or more wickets) so he just needs to keep the focus and not let the pressure of being the team's goto spin bowler take away from his batting. The next year or two will tell us whether these two can go on to bigger things and it'll be an interesting journey to follow. If they do maybe then there won't be as much talk of finding a new Kapil Dev.
An edited version of this piece is here
First there were the 1983 World Cup men in Madan Lal and Roger Binny who despite their stellar efforts in that tournament and ample opportunities in Test cricket (39 and 27 caps respectively) never quite cut it as international all-rounders primarily because they were not consistently good enough in either discipline. Then came Manoj Prabhakar who with his banana swing and doughty opening batting was certainly more effective than the earlier two but Jayasuriya and the match-fixing saga brought an end to his hopes. After a brief hiatus, came the man most inexplicably termed the "next Kapil Dev". Ajit Agarkar's first class record when he got picked for India in April '98 had nothing to suggest that he should be considered anything but a quick bowler. Yet, the flashes of incredibly good (and incredibly bad) cricket he managed to produce meant that he was branded something he really could never be. And finally, there was Irfan Pathan who came closest of all to fulfilling the role of a true allrounder (even if not the next Kapil Dev). Debuting in the match that had what was probably Agarkar's best performance, Pathan was as close to a left-handed clone of Kapil as India would probably ever produce. Prodigious swing at a decent clip allied with a smooth batting technique with big hitting ability meant that he was quickly anointed India's new hope till injuries and a dip in form stymied his career.
Such has the Indian obsession been with finding a seam bowling allrounder that an alien from Mars might think that spin bowlers in India never learn to bat. The truth though is that they never got the right sort of backing or assistance. Ravi Shastri was not as gifted as Kapil Dev but would have ended up with much better figures if he had not been forced to play the role of stock bowler and "crisis-batsmen-anywhere-in-the-order" through much of his career. Anil Kumble scored three hundreds (and three fifties) in his first three Ranji seasons and was good enough to score a Test match ton at age 37 but he batted at #7 just eight times (barring injury to other players) out of 173 innings. Harbhajan Singh was always capable with the bat (as two back to back Test hundreds with India in trouble testify) but he regularly bats 7 or below for his domestic team. Sunil Joshi and Ashish Kapoor had promise but never the confidence of the selectors or their captains.
So its ironic that now, the two men pinned down as the next all-round hopes for India are also the first choice spin bowlers across most formats. Ravindra Jadeja has had a lot to live upto ever since Shane Warne christened him a rockstar, and Ravichandran Ashwin also rose to fame through the IPL despite having a solid first class record even prior to that tournament launching. A quick look at their first class records shows that they both pass the allrounder sniff-test of "Batting avg - Bowling avg >= 3-4 runs" (and in Jadeja's case its an astonishing 25+ runs!) and so far at the international level, they have certainly demonstrated enough ability of their potential. Jadeja in particular has come on in leaps and bounds in the last year or so and has just made it to the top spot in the ODI bowling rankings (and will likely do in the allrounder rankings too given that India play much more than Bangladesh in the next few months). Its their Test match performances though that will demonstrate whether they are the real McCoy or not. As Harsha Bhogle summarises it in one of his pieces on ESPNcricinfo, a lower middle order that reads Jadeja, Dhoni, Ashwin at 6, 7, and 8 will be one of the most important elements of building a competitive Indian side capable of getting back to the top of the rankings. And given that Jadeja averages 50+ in first class cricket surely he should be batting ahead of Dhoni and allowing the skipper to play his natural game at #7. In that light, its a bit of a missed opportunity that Jadeja is not with the 'A' team currently touring South Africa. Ajinkya Rahane at #6 is a bit of a misfit and will not help Fletcher learn anything new about him and playing Jadeja there instead would have given him a chance to at least get a taste for the role. Ashwin on the other hand already has the highest average of all time amongst Indian bowlers (who've played at least 15 games and picked up 50 or more wickets) so he just needs to keep the focus and not let the pressure of being the team's goto spin bowler take away from his batting. The next year or two will tell us whether these two can go on to bigger things and it'll be an interesting journey to follow. If they do maybe then there won't be as much talk of finding a new Kapil Dev.
An edited version of this piece is here
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