12th MAN:
VINOD KAMBLI
If talent was a measure to judge a cricketer’s prowess, Vinod Kambli was there among the best in the world. Kambli was supremely gifted as a batsman which was reflective in the manner he batted. Kambli had a high back lift and looked pleasing to watch with his flamboyant stroke play.
Kambli had a plethora of scoring shots at his disposal but it was his temperament which more often than not got the better of him. A maverick of sorts, Kambli didn’t do justice to his immense talent as he was plagued with inconsistent performances and attitude issues all through his career.
RESERVES –
NAVJOT SINGH SIDHU
Navjot Singh Sidhu reinvented himself from a stroke less wonder to “Sixer Sidhu”. As an opener, Sidhu always put in a consistent performance by laying a solid platform for the team. Sidhu was a two-dimensional batsman capable of dodged defence as well flaying the attack. Sidhu played spin well and became famous for stepping down the track and tonking spinners for big sixes. It was unfortunate that Sidhu was in and out of the side due to his temperamental nature and off-field controversies.
AJIT AGARKAR
Ajit Agarkar burst onto the international scene by scalping 50 wickets in just 23 matches. Agarkar though erratic in his bowling was a natural wicket taker who gave his side the initial breakthrough on a regular basis. The wiry seamer could clock some serious pace with his quick arm action. Agarkar could hit a few lusty blows down the order to propel the scoring rate.
BENCH STRENGTH:
The Indians had a decent pace reserve with quality swing bowlers in Debasish Mohanty, Harvinder Singh and Abey Kuruvilla who did well whenever they got an opportunity to represent India. Meanwhile, Sunil Joshi, Nikhil Chopra, and Ashish Kapoor were a quality spinner in their own merit. Syed Saba Karim and MSK Prasad donned the keeping gloves in the absence of Nayan Mongia.
I have only taken those cricketers who played regularly for India during the time period taken into consideration (1994-1999) and made significant contributions with bat or ball for the team’s cause on a consistent basis.
The likes of Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif and Harbhajan Singh all bloomed in the next decade so haven’t been considered for my selection. Similarly, Kapil Dev, Kris Srikanth, Ravi Shastri, Sanjay Manjrekar and Manoj Prabhakar had their heydays in the late 80’s and early part of the 90’s so have been overlooked on account of the time frame I have considered.
I hope you enjoyed reading my article and would generally draw a consensus with the players which made it to the Best Indian ODI XI of that era.