Gautam Gambhir, head coach of the Indian national men’s cricket team, has been urged to address one area of concern in the future in the World Test Championship cycle.
India needs a proper fast-bowling allrounder, believes former New Zealand allrounder Craig McMillan after the duo of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shardul Thakur failed to make a seizable impact on the England tour.
“In Asian conditions, you need a spin-bowling allrounder like Jadeja, Washington or previously R Ashwin. In New Zealand, Australia and England, you need a fast-bowling allrounder. It is where India is missing a player like Hardik Pandya, who can bowl medium pace and bat lower down the order,” McMillan was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
Pandya, who was once touted to be India’s next big thing in red-ball cricket, has not played the longest format since July 2017. A major back injury has hampered his progress.
So far, he has featured in just 11 Test matches, scoring 532 runs with an average of 31, including a maiden Test century. As far as bowling is concerned, Pandya took 17 wickets with the best figures of 5/28.
Meanwhile, on Shubman Gill’s captaincy, the ex-Kiwi star said, “He looks like a good captain. The first series is very tough. In such a pressure-cooked series, he probably made a few mistakes. But you expect those in his first series. He will get better with experience. He is the future, so India will invest in him. He will get to know his team’s game, which I think is really important, and the style of play.”