Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill and More- Why the sudden hike of bowling among India batters? An old trend set to return?

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India's training in Sri Lanka would have looked like a parallel world to the cricket followers - where bowlers given long minutes to Bat and vice-versa.

After a fantastic outing in the T20 World Cup, Rahul Dravid left the helm as head coach and Gautam Gambhir has been appointed. And the new coach has taken up a unique approach.

In the training of the Indian team in the ongoing Sri Lanka Series, people have witnessed a trend of bowlers given time to bat in the net sessions, while the frontline batters are rolling their arms.

Even in the T20 series, India literally won the final match courtesy of captain Surya Kumar Yadav and Rinku Singh. But make no mistake, the duo with the ball got India back in it and picked up four wickets in two overs to force the match into the super over and then won it.

India's interim bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule recently said that the batters are good bowlers and they will be given further opportunities to bowl in the nets. Shubman Gill was given an over to bowl in the first ODI against Sri Lanka. But there are questions on why the Indian team is looking for a certain shift in strategy. The answer is simple.

India want bowling from Top Batters

The Indian think tank has stressed to exert some overs from their main batters. The likes of Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma all can bowl and their efficiency has been underused till date. Gautam Gambhir and his staff want to explore their full potential and that is the reason why the Indian team may opt to bowl the batters a lot in the coming days.

Rohit used to bowl regularly at Deccan Chargers and also has an IPL hattrick. The likes of Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gil have exposure to bowling and they may have a chance to showcase their other skill as well. But there are some reasons behind the thought-

To accommodate an Extra Batter

It will also enhance the impact of a player in the team and will provide a much larger option in the hands of a captain. If the Indian batting stars can roll their arms, the Indian team can play an extra batter in the coming years and grind out around 10-15 overs in an ODI match from their part-time bowlers.

Utilize full potential of players

A batter getting a chance to bowl and picking wickets won't just boost one's own morale, but it will make the team a lot more efficient. The members will have multifaceted importance and that is beneficial for the team. Given the potential players such as Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer and others have, India can shift their strategy and can accommodate part-time bowlers in the plan, especially in ODI cricket.

Batters with the Ball - An Old Trend set to Return?

Over the last few years, the Indian team didn't take the avenue of using part-time bowlers. During the Sourav Ganguly era, it was a regular part of India's strategy. Ganguly's fondness of playing with seven batters meant the likes of Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Ganguly himself rolling their arms.

The practice continued with youngsters such as Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina also got into the system and rhythm. But during the Virat Kohli era, the practice became non-existent. Ravi Shastri and Kohli preferred to go with frontline bowlers. It persisted in the Rahul Dravid era, but is likely to change as Gambhir looks to steer the Indian cricket ship.