There’s no backup for Hardik Pandya. Disparity in talent and perhaps a lack of planning have played a role. But India has to actively look for players who bowl pace and can contribute with the bat. Shardul Thakur was tried and discarded. Neither his batting nor his bowling stood up.
Since making his debut, Nitish Kumar Reddy has been tried across formats to fit in the ‘Pandya mould’. The move hasn’t really worked out. Apart from his success with the bat in T20Is, Nitish has struggled to make a mark across formats with either skill.
Gambhir’s Harshit Rana experiment
Gautam Gambhir realises that if India can’t find a perfect all-rounder like Hardik, they’ll have to make do with someone who can win matches for India with one skill and assist the others with the other. That’s why he wants to make Harshit Rana an all-round bowling all-rounder by the time the 2027 ODI World Cup arrives.
“That’s one of the reasons why we are trying to probably develop someone like Harshit, who can actually bat at 8 and contribute with a bat at No. 8. We need to find the balance, because come South Africa in two years’ time, we would be needing three proper seamers as well,” Gambhir told reporters after winning in Vizag.
Harshit averages 31.18 in first-class cricket with a hundred to his name. While his List A record is abysmal, his batting ability was showcased during India’s white-ball tour of Australia in both T20Is and ODIs. Gambhir wants him to perform like Pat Cummins or Mitchell Starc do for Australia.
“And if he can continue to develop as a bowling all-rounder, it’s going to give us a massive boost. Because obviously with Jasprit Bumrah coming back, and what we saw of Arshdeep, Prasidh and Harshit in this series, it was incredible,” he added.
Given that the ODI World Cup will be played in South Africa, India will need about 4 or 5 fast bowlers. Assuming Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj will be the first names on the team sheet, and you can’t pick more than 3 pacers in the lineup, Harshit’s ability to bat could give India the depth they desire.
“All these three guys do not have a lot of experience under their belts, especially in the 50-over format. They’ve played less than 15 ODIs, all these three bowlers, but they’ve done a fabulous job. So I feel that if we can develop someone like Harshit at No. 8, who can contribute with the bat, I think it is going to give us the right balance as well. Let’s see. I think it’s still a long way,” Gambhir concluded.
Harshit Rana & Nitish Reddy ODI stat comparison
| Matches | Runs | Highest Score | Batting Average | Batting Strike Rate | Wickets | Bowling Average | Economy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harshit Rana | 11 | 41 | 24* | 20.50 | 128.12 | 20 | 25.55 | 6.01 |
| Nitish Reddy | 2 | 27 | 19* | 27.00 | 128.57 | 0 | – | 7.74 |
