For India, to find an imperative allrounder has always been a tough task. The Indian Cricket team is still struggling for allrounder but if we compare with India’s cricketing history then we had some good team players. Nowadays, players with both batting and bowling technique are not hard to find in Indian team itself. But the longevity has often mattered the most.
There are occasions when according to pitch, opposition and further considering the playing conditions, skipper opts to bring in part-timers apart from the all-rounders.
When India is in need of a bowler to fill overs, the batsman with satisfactory bowling skills is risked to sent down a couple of overs.
Well, there have been occasions in ODIs when the Indian players have opened the batting and the bowling in the same ODI.
Here are the five Indian players who have opened the batting and the bowling in the same ODI:
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Roger Binny
Former Indian cricketer Roger Binny is known for his magnificent bowling for India in 1983 World Cup. He has played a key role in making India win the 50-over World Cup.
The allrounder was an energetic batsman and a good fielder too but his bowling technique has given him a place in the Indian team.
He has played 72 ODIs and in two of them, he has played as an opening batsman and started off the proceedings with the ball in the same match.
India lost both the matches which were played against Australia in Benson & Hedges World Series Cup at Sydney.
In the first match, he scored 31 runs off 53 balls and in the second he struck 21 runs off 66 deliveries. But he was not able to take a single wicket in both matches. However, India went on to lose that match.
After that, he was not given the chance to play as an opening batsman neither to start off bowling for India.
2. Manoj Prabhakar
Manoj Prabhakar was a right-arm medium-pace bowler who has played 39 Tests and 130 ODIs for India. He has generally played as a lower-order batsman but has also played as an opener. He has used slower deliveries quite well apart from outswingers.
Prabhakar was a defensive batsman who further scored reasonable runs in a match. In 130 ODIs, he has smashed 11 half-centuries and 157 fours with the highest score of 106.
The legendary cricketer Prabhakar has consistently opened for India apart from sending down the first over for his team. He has done this job in 45 ODIs and 20 Test. Thus, it stands as most by any player in these formats.
But he has faced a rough time as he was alleged for the match-fixing.