India’s No. 8 obsession: Why Kuldeep Yadav is caught in the crossfire
The Indian cricket team management is facing criticism for its persistent focus on finding a batting all-rounder for the No. 8 position. Critics argue this obsession is negatively impacting specialist bowlers like Kuldeep Yadav and failing to improve team performance.
Why it matters
It highlights the ongoing strategic debate in professional cricket regarding team balance versus specialist roles.
Over the last 15 months, the No. 8 spot in the batting line-up has been a sensitive topic of discussion whenever the Indian team management has sat down to finalise the playing XI. It is a position that has consumed the most mind space and yielded the bare minimum returns.Whether it is picking Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shardul Thakur in Tests, or accommodating a spin-bowling all-rounder in Washington Sundar, or more recently Naman Dhir, in white-ball cricket, these resources have invariably been underused.For instance, Dhir was parachuted into the playing XI during West Indies’ ongoing white-ball tour of India. He has earned his stripes as a batter, but both Shubman Gill in ODIs and Shreyas Iyer in T20Is have primarily used him for his off-spinning abilities.
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