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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Crossing river, trekking hill voters reach polling booths to cast vote in Surguja LS constituency
Balrampur/Chhattisgarh (PTI): Enthusiastic voters reached polling booths trekking steep hilly paths, crossing a river and even on a horse to cast their votes in remote areas of the tribal-dominated Balrampur district in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, officials said.
Balrampur district falls under the Surguja Lok Sabha constituency which was among seven seats where polling was held in third and last phase of Lok Sabha elections in the state. The Surguja Lok Sabha recorded 74.59 per cent voting, as per the Turnout application.
Voters, belonging to Pahadi Korva, a particularly vulnerable tribal group, including Rajesh, Madan, Sukhu, Gopal and Nandlal, crossed a river to exercise their franchise at a polling booth in village panchayat Amera under the Samri assembly constituency, a government official said.
Similarly, electors, including Lakhan Nagesia, Sahu, Phulsai and Kalesh of Bachwar village under the Ramanujganj assembly constituency walked through hilly terrain for about two hours covering 8 kms to reach a polling booth and cast their vote, he said. A voter, Parimal Dey, reached a polling booth in Sagarpur village under the Ramanujganj assembly seat on a horse, the official said. Dey is a cattle rearer who owns 150 goats.
Two hyper sensitive polling booths -- Chunchuna and Pundag -- located in a Naxal-affected area of the district which shares border with Jharkhand, also recorded significant turnout, he said. The two booths are located in the Samri assembly constituency.
"Special security arrangements were put in place in this area to ensure peaceful voting. Voters of Chunchuna and Pudang ensured their participation in the great festival of democracy braving Naxalite threat," he said. The Chunchuna polling booth has 767 voters and it recorded 84.35 per cent turnout, while Pundag has 595 electors and it registered a turnout of 72.44 per cent till 5 pm, the official added.
