Role Clarity A Concern As Anil Kumble, Du Plessis Debate On India’s Sixth Bowler

India kept their semi-final hopes alive with a commanding win over Zimbabwe in Chennai, but experts said the team was still searching for role clarity and a reliable sixth bowling option.

India stayed in the race for the semi-finals at the T20 World Cup with a strong victory over Zimbabwe in Chennai. However, former captains Faf du Plessis and Anil Kumble said the hosts are still looking for clear roles within the team and a dependable sixth bowling option.

South Africa had earlier recovered from 20 for 3 to post 187 for 7 against India, exposing some gaps. India will next face West Indies on Sunday. West Indies scored 254 for 6 against Zimbabwe and also bounced back from 83 for 7 to reach 176 for 8 against South Africa.

India’s five main bowlers — Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel — have led the attack. Shivam Dube has operated as the sixth option, with Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh chipping in occasionally. However, Dube’s numbers have not been impressive. In 9.2 overs, he has conceded 124 runs at an economy rate of 13.28, although he has picked up five wickets.

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Speaking on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut show, Kumble said: “They certainly did all the right things to get the batters to bowl a bit through the previous World Cup to now. If you look at the last 18 months, where India played T20 cricket where they’ve won every single game, that Tilak Varma got to bowl, Abhishek Sharma got to bowl, Dube got to bowl. Then even Rinku Singh bowled, even Suryakumar Yadav bowled.

“So in that sense, you have options and that’s great. But on a flat pitch, there will be challenges. India would ideally want the comfort of playing eight batters, rather than going in with seven batters and five specialist bowlers.”

Du Plessis agreed and said teams would target India’s sixth bowling option. He explained that opponents would try to manage the main threats like Bumrah and Varun and push the game towards overs they see as less dangerous, especially on batting-friendly pitches.

“100%. You look at it and ask: who are the danger bowlers? Most of the time, it’s Bumrah. On the day, you make that call – if you can get on top of someone else early, then the sixth bowling option is going to have to come in. If that happens, and he [Dube] is bowling wide yorkers or defensive lines, you can line him up.”