Consider other bowlers, allrounders too

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">MUMBAI: Consistency and accuracy are the two virtues that will be needed for our bowlers to make an impact in Pakistan. <br /><br />With the likes of Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh doubtful starters the net must be cast wide for such bowlers. For a long time Sharandeeep Singh was considered a successor to Harbhajan Singh.<br /><br />But the most confident offspinner on the circuit has been Ramesh Powar. Ever since he got the prize wicket of Rahul Dravid in the Irani Cup game Powar has bowled with great heart. And he has bowled tidily for India A in the one-dayers. <br /><br />He did well with bat and ball in the series against Sri Lanka. At No 7 or 8 he would be a good addition to the India side. A year ago star India spinner Erapalli Prasanna had said Powar would be more effective with a fuller follow through. <br /><br />Mumbai fitness trainer Vijay Alva had Powar shed a few kilos and that meant an improved follow through in the new season. Powar''s advance has meant front-rank spinner Nilesh Kulkarni being in and out of the Mumbai side. <br /><br />And ironically it a bowler like Kulkarni that India should be looking for to bottle up the Pakistani batsmen. Kulkarni, it may be remembered, played in the Chennai Test that India won and had the vital wicket of Mathew Hayden. <br /><br /><formid=367815><br /><br /></formid=367815></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><br />He isn''t a big turner of the ball but can wheel over after over of accurate, probing spin. Kartik, it is learnt, didn''t bowl a consistent one side line as asked by the team management Down Under and it is doubtful if he will get another chance given the punitive attitude of the Pakistani batsmen. <br /><br />Last year Kulkarni with 16 wickets was the chief wickettaker for the winning Elite C team in the Duleep trophy. He has done well this season for Mumbai and West Zone, whose bowling mainstay he has been. <br /><br />An Indian attack of Irfan Pathan, Balaji, Ashish Nehra supported by Sanjay Bangar and Saurav Ganguly, with spinners like Kulkarni and Powar with part-time spin of Sachin Tendulkar, Sehwag and Ganguly cannot be bad at all. As for the batting, India has to decide whether to merely blunt the edge of pacemen Shoaib Akhtar and Sami or unleash a counterattack as in the World Cup. <br /><br />If occupation of the crease if the tactic then there isn''t a better pair than Akash Chopra and Sanjay Bangar. For mixed attack-defence nap Chopra and Sehwag as happened Down Under. And have Bangar down at No 7 for the second new ball. There is talk of fitting Yuvraj Singh somehow in the Test line-up. <br /><br />His display in the last Test he played, against New Zealand, didn''t do him any good. S Ramesh needs better consideration given his performance against the Pakistanis when they were here. He had more time the others to play Shoaib and Co. <br /><br /><formid=367815><br /><br /></formid=367815></div> </div><div class="section3"><div class="Normal"><br />If the selectors were gamblers one would expect them to pitchfork Delhi allrounder Rajat Bhatia into the tour side. He did well in the recent one-day tournament with two hundreds. Bhatia, a Manoj Prabhakar-type allrounder, played in the India under-19 side as Yuvraj, Kaif and Reetinder Singh Sodhi against Sri Lanka some five years ago. <br /><br />He was then lost out as Tamil Nadu and then Delhi kept him in the reserves. But Delhi have given him the chance this season and he has grabbed it. <br /><br />At a time when we are lamenting the lack of genuine allrounders, Rajat Bhatia must not be lost sight of nor Ramesh Powar. With the one-dayers preceding the Test series it might not be a bad idea to have Bhatia in the squad for Pakistan.<br /><br /><formid=367815></formid=367815></div> </div>