India’s long tail in Twenty20 Internationals is becoming a major problem, according to head coach Rahul Dravid.
The Indian cricket squad is still struggling with the long-tail issue in the Twenty20 competition. Rahul Dravid, the team’s head coach, has acknowledged the team’s lack of all-around talent. Tilak Varma bowled in the fifth Twenty20 International between India and West Indies, and he took the valuable wicket of Nicholas Pooran. The Indian team management has encouraged Varma and Yashasvi Jaiswal to bowl more frequently, and now even retired cricketers are coming out in support of this strategy.
The Indian side, according to former cricketer Aakash Chopra, should prioritize batting options who can also bowl, giving players such as Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma plenty of opportunities to do so. He also pushed for Washington Sundar, an all-rounder who can spin the ball, to be incorporated into India’s T20I plans.
Since the majority of present Indian batters can’t bowl more than a few overs, the Indian team needs to actively recruit those who can. The rope should be lengthened for Yashasvi-Tilak, and he should be urged to bowl as often as possible. Chopra claimed on X (formerly known as Twitter) that “Washington has to be in India’s T20 scheme of things as well.”
In spite of having rolled their arms a little in their early years, Indian stars like Rohit Sharma (11 international wickets) and Virat Kohli (eight international wickets) have not bowled in years, leaving the team without the variety and options that they could have offered with their part-time bowling. Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, and Suryakumar Yadav are just a few of the modern greats who have contributed to the team as specialized batters.
Batting greats like Sachin Tendulkar (201 international wickets), Virender Sehwag (136 international wickets), Sourav Ganguly (132 international wickets), Yuvraj Singh (148 international wickets), and Suresh Raina (62 international wickets) weren’t just good with the bat; they were also excellent bowlers who could pick up key wickets when their team needed them.
All-rounders Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja, and bowling all-rounders Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, and Ravichandran Ashwin are the only players providing the team with much-needed depth and options due to their capabilities and versatility, as the team relies heavily on their full-time bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bh
India lost the final T20I against West Indies, and they bowled Tilak (14 wickets in first-class, List A, and T20 cricket) and Yashasvi (7 wickets in all domestic formats). Despite a strong start, India ultimately fell short of winning the series. The lack of batsmen in India’s lineup was a major problem during the series.
Notably, Indian bowling coach Paras Mhambrey revealed his team has been training on their bowling with Yashasvi and Tilak in preparation for the fourth T20I against the Windies.
It’s great to have a partner who can help out now and then. Tilak and Yashasvi have bowled in front of me since I was in the U19s. They’ve got bowling ability, for sure. At this stage, they can make progress on it. It’s great to have choices like these available. We’re making plans to have them bowl with us soon. Time is needed. Paras predicted in the press conference before the game that they would bowl at least one over.
To date, Sundar has played 123 Twenty20 matches, during which time he has amassed 1,147 runs at an average of 19.44, a strike rate of above 120, and three half-centuries in 80 innings. With best figures of 3/10, he has 93 wickets in the format overall.
He has appeared in 35 T20Is for India, during which time he has scored 107 runs (including one half-century) and taken 29 wickets.
