Indian T20 team needs more batters who can bowl: Kumble
New Delhi (PTI): Power hitting will rule T20 cricket going forward and the Indian team needs to play a brand of cricket where big-hitting batters contribute with the ball for the balance of the side, former India coach Anil Kumble has suggested.
The Indian team was blown away by England's power hitters Alex Hales and Jos Buttler in the T20 World Cup semifinal in Adelaide on Thursday.
India's timid batting approach invited criticism from all quarters as it led to a heavy defeat that spelt the ouster of the side from the premier ICC event.
"...what I see as something that certainly needs to be done is, how we keep talking about bowlers need to bat. But I think in Indian cricket, you need batters to bowl too for the balance of the team," Kumble was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.com.
"That's exactly what England have. They had too many choices. They used Liam Livingstone. Moeen Ali has hardly bowled in this tournament. So those are the choices that you need."
Kumble found fault with the selection of Indian teams, saying the current trend needs to change.
"Unfortunately even in the India A team that gets picked, it's mostly batters who don't bowl. It's important to create that brand of cricket and say that this is how the Indian team is going to do it and it should follow right through the system.
"I think the more and more you play T20s, it's going to be like this, where you just come and show your power. So that's exactly how I think T20 is going to go forward," he said.
Kumble is of the view that every player should understand the specific role assigned to him and once that's finalised the team should stick to that.
He went to the extent of saying that that role should not be restricted just to the national team and the players must go back to domestic cricket with the same mindset.
"One is of course having that brand of cricket and then choosing the players to do that but I think it's also important that these players play their specific roles wherever they play.
"Because it's not about just playing that role for India and then going back to your domestic cricket and franchise cricket and then changing the way you're going to go about it. For example, Pant today (Thursday) batted for India at No. 6, he walked in in the 19th over. He never does that in domestic cricket," he said.
"So you need some kind of role definition as well there and that's something I think is very critical if you're going to build a potent team where you need a back-up for those roles and not necessarily your six best players whatever role they can. It's very difficult to do that in a World Cup."
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7 women farm labourers die as tractor-trolley plunges into well in Nanded; 3 rescued
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Apr 4 (PTI): Seven women farm labourers, two of them aged 18, died and three others were rescued after a tractor-trolley ferrying them to an agriculture field plunged into a well in Nanded district of Maharashtra on Friday morning, an official said.
The accident occurred at around 7.30 am in Asegaon village which lies under jurisdiction of Limbgaon police station when the vehicle veered off the road and fell into the well filled to the brim with water, said District Information Officer (DIO) Pravin Take said.
Police and local administration officials immediately launched a rescue operation and pumped out a large amount of water from the well, he said.
At the end of the operation, bodies of seven women were fished out of the well, while three others were rescued, said the DIO.
"The woman were on their way to harvest turmeric at a farm. All those who died hailed from Gunj village under Vasmat tehsil in Hingoli district," the official said.
The deceased were identified as Tarabai Satwaji Jadhav (35), Dhrupata Satwaji Jadhav (18), Saraswati Lakhan Burad (25), Simran Santosh Kamble (18), Chaitrabai Madhav Pardhe (45), Jyoti Irabaji Saraode (35), Sapna Tukaram Raut (25), he said.
Three other women farm labourers - Parvatibai Burad (35), Purbhabai Kamble (40), Satwaji Jadhav (55) -- were rescued from the water body.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives in the accident and announced ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PM's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) to the next of kin of each deceased.
The injured will be given Rs 50,000 each, he said.
"Saddened by the loss of lives in an accident in Nanded, Maharashtra. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon. The local administration is assisting those affected," the Prime Minister said.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed grief over the death of farm labourers and separately announced a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the family of each deceased.
"Some women died in an accident in Asegaon, Nanded district, this morning when a tractor trolley carrying 11 women labourers fell into a well. I pay my heartfelt tributes to them. These women were from Gunjgaon, Hingoli district, and were going for agricultural work," he posted on X.
"The families of the deceased will be given a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund," he declared.
"Three women were rescued safely. We are in touch with both Hingoli and Nanded administrations," the CM said.
Later, talking to reporters, Fadnavis said an inquiry has been ordered into the accident and steps will be taken to ensure such incidents do not recur.
नांदेडमध्ये भीषण अपघात; शेतमजूरांचा ट्रॅक्टर विहिरीत कोसळला, नऊ जण दगावले#Nanded #accident pic.twitter.com/FgOvNSlKEe
— Lokmat (@lokmat) April 4, 2025
