OPINION | All-rounder or all-round confusion as India and South Africa face-off?

When Nitish Kumar Reddy got Ben Duckett caught behind on the first day of the 3rd test of the India-England test series, at Lords, it came as a surprise. And not just because Duckett had bottom-edged a pull shot down the leg side to the keeper. Not because Duckett had managed to survive Bumrah-Akashdeep-Siraj, only to fall to a lesser pacer.

The Reddy surprise

We were surprised because it was Nitish who got that wicket. The degree of surprise increased when he got the other opener, Crawley, too and to an unplayable delivery. Why were we surprised? Because till that point, everyone felt Nitish was primarily in the team as a batsman who could bowl a bit. In his debut series in Australia, he had claimed five wickets in the same number of tests and his victims were a mixed bag - Mitchell Marsh (not an established test batsman), Marnus Labuschagne (twice, albeit out of form), Pat Cummins and Mitch Starc. He had shone with the bat, making a series of 40s in his first two tests and following it up with a century at Melbourne.

A Sundar conundrum

The surprise can be attributed to no one being clear as to what Reddy’s primary skill is. And that is not a scenario unique to Reddy. Let’s examine the case of Washington Sundar. Coming into the team as a bowler who could bat – to some extent a replacement for the illustrious R Ashwin – Sundar’s bowling returns of 35 wickets in 15 tests look meagre, 11 of those coming in a single test.

On the other hand, his batting performance has been consistent, right from his first test innings when he made a critical 62 in the Brisbane victory over Australia in 2021. Yet, he bats in the bottom five of the line-up. Which makes him primarily a bowler. In the second innings of the third test, Sundar is the wrecker-in-chief with four wickets, restricting England to 192. Despite this, the role confusion continues in the fourth test. In the first Indian innings, he bats at number eight, below even Shardul Thakur. And when England bat, he is relegated to sixth bowler. In the second Indian innings, Sundar finds himself promoted above Shardul and in absence of an injured Pant, to number 6. Sundar then proceeds to underline the conundrum about his primary role by making a match saving maiden test century.

Question to be asked

From these player selections, positions in the line-up and performances, it is amply clear that both the selection committee as well as the team management are happy to pick players basis convenience. While no one cares as long as India does well, the players themselves would do well to mull over the key question of their primary role in the team and refine the one skill that will keep them in the squad.

If either Reddy or Sundar assume that a good spell in one match and a century in another will ensure a long test career, that may become a delusion. The careers of bits-n-pieces players usually end in pieces. Ask Irfan Pathan and Shardul Thakur, if a doubt persists. In India’s highly competitive cricket, there is another equally good replacement always waiting in the wings…unless a player has done so much that he can be persisted with on the basis of sheer potential, such as a Rishabh Pant. Reddy already finds himself out of the squad for the first test against South Africa. Obviously, his performance against the West Indies was subpar: a knock of 43 and four wicketless overs do not ensure continuity.

Remember the legends

Reddy, Sundar and other aspirants for all-rounder slots would do well to look at the careers of some distinguished players to realize one basic truth – that every person who went on to become a great all-rounder came into the team basis one skill, made a spot in the XI their own, basis that skill, and then grew the other skill/s.

Kapil and Imran both began as pace bowlers. Imran’s batting took several years to make an impact – in his first 28 test matches, he made a solitary half century and no centuries. While Kapil had made a century and three fifties in his first 10 tests, there was no doubt what he was in the team for – pace bowling. If Reddy and Sundar are still confused about how to stabilise their place, they need to look no further than their current teammate, Ravindra Jadeja.

Transformer Jadeja

A young man from Saurashtra came into a team in transition in 2012. While he was a gun fielder and had made useful runs at the Ranji level, his primary calling card was of a conventional left arm spinner and that got him into the test side. His position initially was of being a second spinner to Ravichandran Ashwin who was by far the leader of the new crop of spinners. Over the years, he showed the ability to grab every half-chance to excel.

In a short series in South Africa in 2013, Ashwin went wicketless and SA nearly chased down a 450 plus target in the first test. In the second match, Jadeja replaced him and managed to take 6 for 138. Though India lost, a spinner who could do a good holding job overseas was gained. Making Jadeja the preferred spinner in SENA tests, over Ashwin. At this point, he was a bowler who could bat a bit. He stayed that way in his first 22 tests, with 91 wickets and just two half-centuries.

However, in the next ten tests, he began a transition to being a genuine all-rounder – with six half centuries and 64 wickets. Overall, in his first 48 tests, he remained primarily a bowling all-rounder with 1,844 runs (one century) and 211 wickets (nine five-wicket hauls). Post 2020, another change began – one that was highlighted in the home series against New Zealand in 2024. Jadeja’s bowling had gradually declined. This period has witnessed the rise of Jadeja 2.0. In 39 tests since the beginning of 2020, he has made 2,146 runs (five centuries) and picked up 127 wickets (six five-wicket hauls).

R Ashwin too witnessed a decline as a bowler, albeit to a lesser extent than Jadeja. However, Jadeja had more dimensions to his game which made him an asset to the team – a better bowler on SENA pitches, a better batsman and an outstanding fielder – ensured his career’s longevity. Ashwin retired while Jadeja reinvented himself as a batsman who can bowl.

Jadeja 1.0 is a lesson to Reddy and Sundar in getting one primary skill in place before further expansion. And Jadeja 2.0 may have shown a mirror to Ashwin. Had the latter leveraged his ample batting capability to advantage, he could have played more overseas tests as a batsman who bowled.

Let’s see if Sundar is able to showcase a primary skill against South Africa and if Reddy can develop that skill to come back into the squad.

(Arjun Kumar is a heritage explorer by inclination with a penchant for seeking obscure sites. A brand consultant by profession, he tweets @HiddenHeritage.)

Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.