Former India captain Kris Srikkanth has questioned India’s options to replace Hardik Pandya as a pace-bowling all-rounder ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup, dismissing Shivam Dube and Harshit Rana as genuine alternatives.
With Hardik continuing to deal with fitness issues, India have been looking at several players who can contribute with both bat and ball. Nitish Kumar Reddy, Dube and Rana — who is used more like a third pacer with batting ability to offer at No. 8 — are among the names being considered as potential back-up options. However, Srikkanth believes only Nitish can currently be considered a ‘half all-rounder’.
“Players like Dube and Harshit Rana can’t be called all-rounders. Then I can call myself a great all-rounder if these two are
called that. Hardik Pandya is the only genuine all-rounder. Nitish Kumar Reddy is a half all-rounder, who can bat at No.7 and bowl a few overs,” Srikkanth said on Star Sports.
Dube featured as India’s primary seam-bowling all-rounder during the recent ODI series against England, with Hardik, Harshit and Nitish unavailable due to injuries. He picked up two wickets in two matches at an economy rate of under five, but was dismissed for a golden duck in his only innings with the bat.
The knock-on effect of just Dube being available meant that Kuldeep Yadav couldn’t find a place in the 11 either. Head coach Gautam Gambhir has shown a penchant for all-rounder-heavy teams and, without pace options who could bat, the management compromised on wicket-taking ability with Axar Patel as the only spinner.
Where’s Ravindra Jadeja?
Srikkanth also believes India should keep Ravindra Jadeja in their plans for the 2027 World Cup. The veteran all-rounder has missed India’s last two ODI series against Afghanistan and England after being left out of the squad, and Harsh Dubey’s call-up for the latter suggested that he’s not in their plans.
“I am not sure why Ravindra Jadeja has been totally let go. He only did brilliantly in the 2023 World Cup. He is a silent killer. It’s not like he has announced retirement in ODIs. Yet, he doesn’t play ODIs at all and rarely plays in Tests despite producing match-winning performances when he does. I still believe Jadeja should be in the scheme of things and in the squad if he performs well,” he said.
