Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Settings X
For Quick Alerts
ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS  
For Daily Alerts
 

Not ‘three dimensional' or ‘bits and pieces' but specialist players: Manjrekar, Bhogle, Border hinted at same thing

Although Ravindra Jadeja, who was at the receiving end of Manjrekar's words, vehemently opposed the latter and even accused him to be patient of "verbal diarrhoea", but subsequent talks have given Manjrekar's words some form of validation.

Allan Border

Bengaluru, July 25: Ever since former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar spoke about his disliking for "bits and pieces" cricketers during his commentary stint in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, it seems the cricketing world has found itself caught up with a debate.

Although Ravindra Jadeja, who was at the receiving end of Manjrekar's words, vehemently opposed the latter and even accused him to be patient of "verbal diarrhoea", but subsequent talks have given Manjrekar's words some form of validation.

Expert commentator Harsha Bhogle recently clarified his statement that not many cricketers are coming through the ranks in India who have more than one quality. After a fan asked him asking whether people with a specialisation were history, Bhogle said his point was not understood rightly. He spoke not in favour of players who do a bit of this and that and neither of anything.

Border also bats for specialisation

And then, former Australia captain and ex-selector Allan Border spoke in favour of the Ashes defender picking as many as six batsmen in the upcoming high-voltage series starting on August 1. He was not in favour of the Kangaroos picking an all-rounder at No.6 and preferred six solid batsmen to do the job.

Manjrekar, Bhogle and Border might have spoken in different contexts and for different formats but in essence, they hinted at similar things and it is about following the conventional wisdom in cricket. Thanks to the advent of its shorter and shortest formats, cricket has also become a business in which optimum use of resources is stressed on and the result is bringing in more players who are this and that.

No, these 'this and that' cricketers are not true all-rounders as many believe them to be, but those who just keep the game moving on multiple fronts without making any major contribution. Terms like "three dimensional" and "bits and pieces" are used to describe these players - positively or negatively as people perceive them - but at the end of the day, they run the risk of a backlash.

India just lost a genuine middle-order batsman because he felt snubbed by the choice of a 'this and that' cricketer. It's a poor thing to have happened for the game and the likes of Manjrekar, Bhogle and Border and pointing it out.

Story first published: Thursday, July 25, 2019, 11:29 [IST]
Other articles published on Jul 25, 2019