ALLROUNDER IS KEY TO TEAM’S BALANCE: VIRAT

Napier, Jan. 22: India captain Virat Kohli on Tuesday stressed the importance of all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s presence in the ODI side in order to get the ideal bowling combination for the World Cup.

Pandya has been suspended pending an inquiry after his sexist comments on a TV chat show and already the Indian team have had issues with their third specialist pacer ahead of the five-match ODI against New Zealand starting Wednesday.

Rookies Khaleel Ahmed and Mohammed Siraj both got a fair amount of stick against Australia in the first two ODIs before Hardik’s replacement Vijay Shankar bowled a steady spell of six overs in the series decider in Melbourne.

When asked if there can be an ideal bowling combination, the skipper said: “Depends on the allrounder, to be honest. If you see the strongest sides in the world, they have two all-rounders at the least, some sides have three, so that gives you a lot of bowling options.”

For Kohli, a third fast bowler is an option only when a specialist allrounder is unavailable.

“Only if someone like a Vijay Shankar or a Hardik doesn’t play, then (only) three fast bowlers makes sense. Because if an all-rounder can chip in with a few overs of seam up, then you don’t necessarily need a guy bowling 140kmph as the third bowler along with the two fast bowlers,” Kohli said ahead of the first ODI at McLean Park.

Kohli, in a very subtle yet strong manner, put across his point about Hardik’s absence from the side.

“So whether it’s me backing three bowlers or during Asia Cup, every time it happened when Hardik wasn’t available. We have had to play three fast bowlers. So every time, the all-rounder is there, you are not thinking about a third fast bowler unless you are playing in conditions which are totally against spin bowling,” the skipper said.