Former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock has pointed out a big hole in the Indian batting lineup as he said that this lineup lacks proper finishers which is a key to success in limited-overs cricket.
Notable that India has been missing the services of two key all-rounders in form of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja. That’s why they are struggling to find the right balance between batting depth and bowling options. India had tried multiple options in the past. In South Africa, they handed an ODI debut for Venkatesh Iyer as well but that didn’t work.
“All of them are going to bat in top-3 for their franchise”- Shaun Pollock
On Wednesday India again made a surprising move as they promoted Rishabh Pant up the order. However, that move didn’t work as he struggled to get going and eventually holed out to a short ball.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Shaun Pollock pointed out that India needs to identify their finishers to be a successful ODI unit.
“I think you guys are fortunate with the wealth of batting abilities. I think the biggest challenge for you, as an Indian side, is going to be finding the right 5 and 6.” Shaun Pollock said.
“In 50-over format, you got to develop finishers. It is the key. Often, you get the runs from the top order. But who is going to do the job of finishing? I think when (Ravindra) Jadeja comes in, he does that.
“But in that middle order.. with the amount of T20 cricket being played and when you talk about these guys (Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer), all of them are going to bat in top-3 for their franchise invariably. That doesn’t give you the amount of experience in closing the games out,” he added.
Suryakumar Yadav bats at 3 or 4 for Mumbai Indians, same is the case with Shreyas Iyer. Similarly, KL Rahul, who batted in the middle order in the second ODI opens the innings in IPL.
“I think Hardik Pandya is the one who comes in that middle order. He has had consistent practice of doing that (finishing) in T20s and he could probably translate that to one-day format when he returns. Shreyas Iyer wants to go higher, he wants to bat at top-3. So there’s a challenge,” Pollock said.
He gave an example of South Africa’s David Miller who consistently bats down the order for the Proteas and delivers time and again.
“For example, in the South African side, we have David Miller. (Normally), He has a series where South Africa win one game comfortably and he doesn’t get to be on the crease. Then, (in next game) he walks in for the 10 balls in the backend and just smashes it.
“And then, maybe, in the next game he doesn’t get to bat again. But he’s the guy for the pressure situations. When you need to get home in the World Cup matches, you have to have the experience and ability to do it. And that’s where India need to be conscious of developing,” stated Pollock.
Also read Aaron Finch Backs Andrew McDonald To Take Over As Australia Coach