Auckland: The Indian team think tank will have to grapple with the collective inexperience of bowlers Gurnoor Brar, Anshul Kamboj, Auqib Nabi and Yash Thakur, who have played a total of just 11 ODIs among them, as the visitors take on a very sorted New Zealand side in the five-match ODI series starting here on Wednesday.
With the addition of two extra ODIs, whether one views it as an accommodation by the BCCI to allow New Zealand Cricket (NZC) to cash in on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s final sojourn in the Southern Hemisphere or a complete mess in scheduling, India will be compelled to field a depleted bowling attack.
For the record, all the bowlers included in the ODI set-up will play their first ever ODI series in New Zealand.
It is expected that Mohammed Siraj, the most experienced man in the line-up with 77 wickets from 51 ODIs, will also leave for red ball preparations after the first three games.
Nitish Kumar Reddy, the only all-rounder in the squad, is supposed to leave the ODI set-up after the first game to prepare for the World Test Championship.
This leaves Arshdeep Singh, with experience of 18 ODIs, as the leader of the attack with Brar (9 ODI), Kamboj (1 ODI), Nabi (1 ODI) and Thakur (yet to make debut but selected for last two games) being the other members. Arshdeep will have to do the heavy lifting.
However, the issue will be the selection of the third seamer on some of the batting belters that will be on offer for the ODI series.
The Eden Park ground, whose dimensions are more suited for New Zealand’s national game rugby rather than cricket, is one such ground, where it is very difficult to even run a double.
One can either take a single or just hit a boundary or a maximum.
While Siraj and Arshdeep are certainties, the choice of the third seamer is between Brar, Kamboj and Nabi.
Brar has nine matches to his credit but he has been far too costly with an economy rate closer to 8 runs per over (7.71 rpo). He has extra pace and can extract disconcerting bounce with his 6-foot-5-inch frame but his natural length, which is slightly backwards, could lead to mishits going for maximums.
In case of Kamboj and Nabi, their respective average speeds are in the same range (135 kmph) but they are raw in terms of international experience, and could lack knowledge of various game situations and be found wanting in executing plans under pressure.
Among the quartet of newbies, the one blessed with distinct skill-set comprising change of pace and variations in blockhole deliveries — traditional and wide yorkers — is Yash Thakur.
However, Thakur isn’t part of the first two games.
India’s most successful ODI bowler in current set-up, Kuldeep Yadav, with 201 wickets from 124 matches, becomes a very combination-specific bowler in conditions outside the sub-continent.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir’s template of stacking the order with batters down to No. 8 makes it extremely difficult for Kuldeep to fit in.
But with team needing experience, Kuldeep is likely to get some game time, unlike in the T20I series in which he was forced to warm the bench.
