Where are you, Mr Know-It-All?

Vengsarkar is aware about his all-round agenda in the coming days as he told Sportsline recently. “The biggest challenge for us is to spot an all-rounder, someone who can be the fifth bowler and also help us to bat deep,” he said.

Just 14 months back, India seemed to be progressing towards solving that age-old problem. October 25, 2005 at Nagpur; Irfan Pathan’s 83 at No.3 and his early breakthrough with the new ball against Sri Lanka meant finally there was hope. What followed was India’s amazing winning streak and Pathan, despite his repeated denials, was seen as utility cricketer if not a genuine all-rounder. Today it’s Nagpur as India meet West Indies in the opening match of the series but it is tough to even find an utility players in the squad, forget an all-rounder. Pathan these days has modest dreams of helping Baroda make it to the Ranji final while Vengsarkar deals the depth of his bowling and batting in the playing XI.

Sourav Ganguly, who was the captain when Pathan made his debut and also has the distinction of leading India to the World Cup final four years back, knows the importance of an all-rounder in the squad. “An all-rounder is the perfect gift for a captain looking for subtleties in the side,” he says. Though Ganguly didn’t have the luxury of a ‘real’ all-rounder in 2003, it didn’t hinder India’s progress in South Africa as the batsmen were in-form while the pacers were in-the-zone. But for Dravid the scenario is different. A suspect batting line-up and an unsettled pace attack means the Indian captain can’t just bank on his specialists.

Former Lankan World Cup winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunga has his point to make when he talks on the topic of all-rounders. He had more than a couple of all-rounder in his ranks in ‘96, but Sanath Jayasuriya still remains his favourite. Jayasuriya, besides regularly giving Lanka a blazing start, bowled 51 overs in the tournament. “In ‘96, the way Jayasuriya played was a bonus to our combination. He took his batting simply to another level but significantly, he also brought that extra punch to our bowling. I would say that his kind of slow left-arm round the wicket was something that particularly helped us to succeed on the tracks that were there and he perfectly fit the bill,” says Ranatunga.

If ‘96 was the World Cup of spin-all rounder, it was the pace all-rounder for India in ‘83. A member of the ‘83 World Cup winning team Kirti Azad while fondly recalls the perfect balance of the team. “Kapil Dev and Mohinder Amarnath definitely made the difference. People might still say that our winning the final was just a matter of fluke but Jimmy bowling in the final, Kapil’s record shattering 175 against Zimbabwe, his catch of Viv Richards were telling points in our victory,” he says. A batsman coming with a match-winning effort with the ball and a bowler turning the tide with the bat are clear indicators that in ‘83 the Indian dressing room didn’t have a dearth of all-rounders. Kapil averaged more than 60 with the bat, scored 303 runs in the eight matches and took 12 wickets in the tournament while Amarnath’s contribution came at crucial points.

But post-83, India’s all-rounder department has always had a ‘Men Wanted’ sign. Two coaches of India’s unsuccessful World Cup campaigns speak of how they missed players of the ‘bits and pieces’ variety. Ajit Wadekar who coached India in 1996, relives the horror of the Kolkata semi-final that shattered his team’s dream. “Sachin was in great form and was opening the batting for us. But eventually we had to rely on him a lot to bowl us ten overs. Jadeja was still maturing in the middle-order but we definitely didn’t have that one man in the middle-order who could bat and the ball,” says Wadekar.

On the other hand former India coach Anshuman Gaekwad mentions the 77-run loss against Australia in the Super Six match at the Kennington Oval in ‘99. “We had to make do with the options we had and we definitely didn’t have a batsman who could bowl us ten overs. Maybe yes, in Robin Singh we had the choice but again, we’re talking of guys in the league of Kapil, Waugh and Imran who’ve been there,” he says.

Looking at the present Indian squad or even the 30 World Cup probables, it is tough spot even a Jadeja or a Robin Singh, forget unearthing another Kapil, Waugh or Imran. The likes of Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Ramesh Powar or Ajit Agarkar can be ad-hoc all-rounders, nothing more. So finally the focus returns to Pathan. Ganguly says that he has seen Pathan rise to the occasion when he was the captain and chances are it will all fall in place at the World Cup for him. “He is definitely a good option if he’s bowling well. Maybe there’s a temporary loss of form or lack of confidence, but generally on a big stage, it all comes back in time,” says the man who was know to trust his instincts.

In this desperate search for an all-rounder, scanning the domestic circuit scoresheets wouldn’t be a bad idea. It’s here that one gets to meet Joginder Sharma with 38 wickets and 294 runs from seven Ranji games. The all-rounder from Haryana happens to be in the squad for the West Indies series. So when Vengsarkar sits with his binoculars in the dressing room balcony, he knows where to focus and hopefully he can stand up and clap for another unexpected all-rounder hero of the day.