In the first T20I of the series against New Zealand, Shivam Mavi bowled 2 overs and Umran Malik bowled only 1 over.
In the second T20I, Umran was replaced by Yuzvendra Chahal, who bowled 2 overs, and Shivam Mavi’s overs was cut down to just 1; Arshdeep Singh, who had bowled 4 overs in the first T20I, and conceded 27 runs in his last over then, today bowled only 2 overs in the second T20I.
While these are players with bowling as their premier suit, skipper and all-rounder Hardik Pandya bowled 3 overs in the first T20I and bowled a full quota of 4 overs in the second T20I. In 7 overs across the two matches, Pandya managed only 1 wickets, that too on the last ball of his spell and with Arshdeep Singh taking a good catch at the boundary that as easily could have been a sixer.
Hardik Pandya as the captain has been taking more responsibility than perhaps he should.
The pitches in the both the match, in Ranchi and Lucknow, have supported spin bowling heavily – the ball has turned, gripped, and bounced right from the start of the match. So it is no surprise that the seamers have not bowled their quota of overs, and even Deepak Hooda bowled 2 overs in Ranchi and 4 overs in Lucknow.
However, Yuzvendra Chahal bowling only 2 overs in Lucknow is still shocking, as Chahal had figures of 1/4 in 2 overs, of which one was a wicket-maiden.
Apart from the spin-friendly nature of the pitches, the other reason for the pacers not completing their quota of overs is that Hardik Pandya as the captain has been taking more responsibility than perhaps he should.
He’s opening the bowling instead of the likes of Arshdeep Singh and Shivam Mavi and regularly, in his own captaincy, bowling about 2 overs in the powerplay, whereas he should have bowled more in the middle-overs with his hard and short lengths.
Since his return to Team India last year, when he was added in the leadership group, Hardik has been batting in the anchor mode whereas in the past, in the same position, Pandya would have looked to take down the spinners from the onset of his innings.
Hardik Pandya willing to bowl more, and the spin-friendly surfaces meant that the overs of Mavi, Arshdeep, and Umran have been slashed in the two T20Is against New Zealand so far.
