Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra criticized the batsmen’s lack of bowling practice during the net sessions. Chopra feels that the rise of sidearm bowlers is one of the reasons for India’s lack of all-rounders, as batters do not bowl in the nets.
He also recalled how the batting legends Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, and Yuvraj Singh used to be strike bowlers for the team. The batting icons used to be part-time bowlers but they had the ability to provide a much-needed breakthrough.
“Why do our batters don’t bowl? The likes of Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, and Sachin Tendulkar used to bowl but now no one bowls. The batters have completely stopped bowling in the nets, they either bat or field and then they leave. So it is a big problem,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
‘It is a cultural thing’- Chopra
Chopra thinks that the team is finding it hard to produce any part-time bowler because the players are told to focus on only one department so they don’t train for other things that might be useful for the team.
“Now the Indian team takes four net bowlers along with them everywhere and then there are two who throw with the side-arm. So the bowlers’ batting is improving because they bat against the side-armers, both the batters and bowlers are doing the same thing,” he added.
While countries like England, Australia, and even New Zealand have some great all-rounder players who can do a bit of both at the highest level, India have very few players of that skill set. While Hardik Pandya surely and Ravindra Jadeja have made a name for themselves with their exceptional allround abilities, Chopra feels it is a cultural thing of excelling in one primary job and not bother about other things.
“It is a cultural thing. As a nation, we talk about specialists. When a child is growing up, if he is playing cricket he is told not to go for football practice, that if he has to become a doctor or engineer he shouldn’t play or do arts.”
