OPINION
Follow UsBut before we get to those 62, a bit about a few notable players in the excluded 45. Shahrukh Khan has listed himself as an all-rounder though he has not bowled since 2020. But, it will not matter as his batting strike rate of 156.88 is among the highest of all the players in this category. Though his IPL numbers are not awe-inducing, partly due to an inconsistent run with Punjab, his exploits in the latest Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), which included a last-ball six to win the title for Tamil Nadu, are sure to make him a hot property in the auction. Not to mention that with the dearth of proven Indian finishers in the pool, Shahrukh will, without doubt, induce a bidding war.
Others on this list of 45 include Kedar Jadhav, Murali Vijay, and Sarfaraz Khan. Jadhav has a strike rate of under 100 in the last two IPL seasons and has never bowled in the league. Vijay has just played three T20s since 2020. It would be a “fall from your chair” surprise if they garner bids in this mega auction. Though Sarfaraz’s numbers (strike rate of 119.35 in T20s since 2020) are not inspiring, his IPL experience may make a franchise take him as a backup batting option.
Coming to the real deal. Let us see how the 62 who actually deserve to make it to the “all-rounder” category (though a few are still questionable) stack up.
What we have depicted here is all the 62 names based on how many balls they face on average versus how many they bowl. This helps us identify the batting all-rounders (those above the 45-degree black line), the bowling all-rounders (the ones below it), and the genuine all-rounders (on or close to the 45-degree black line)
Genuine All-Rounders
All all-rounders are gems. But a few are more precious since they are rare. These are those who can make it to a side based on either batting or bowling. For the ease of analysis and since there is a paucity of such genuine all-rounders in India, we have counted every player whose difference between the balls bowled and balls faced is six or below in this category.
This is how the 18 genuine all-rounders stack up based on the two important aspects of the game: batting strike rate and bowling economy.
The two black lines running through the chart denote the median value of strike rate and economy of all the 62 all-rounders we have analyzed. Hence, the players that we see in the first quadrant: Abhishek Sharma and Rishi Dhawan (almost on the median line for strike rate) are the ones who have dominated on both fronts. Of these, Abhishek is a spinner (slow left-arm) while Dhawan is a seamer.
Playing for Sunrisers, Abhishek was decent with the bat, striking around 130 but was better with the ball in the last season (economy of 6.4) than in 2020 (economy 9.1). This might be a factor in him playing in more spin-friendly wickets in 2021. He has been among the top-three run-getters for Punjab in the last two editions of SMAT and their second-highest wicket-taker in the last edition. He will be on the radar of a lot of teams.
Dhawan’s recent claim to fame was leading a rather obscure Himachal to the title win in the domestic fifty-over competition: the Vijay Hazare Trophy. But, his record in SMAT in the past two years has been good especially with the ball. With the bat, he is more of a strike-rotator. Ramandeep Singh also features here on numbers but only five innings with bat and ball since 2020 does not count for a lot.
Other known names in this bucket include Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, and Shivam Dube. But as is visible from the chart, they are more useful with the bat. Dube in particular has been expensive even in recent SMATs. Deepak Hooda now has an India cap to go with a T20 strike rate of above 150 in the last two years. But, he has just two T20 wickets in this period. Something similar is true for Suyash Prabhudesai who was part of RCB last year. While he has a high strike rate, he has just one wicket to his name despite bowling around two overs a match. Both he and Hooda though have an economy of under eight.
A low strike rate for Vijay Shankar even in domestic competitions will hurt his stock value. Utkarsh Singh and Baba Aparajith have been part of franchises before without playing a game. The latter might get a gig as a backup off-spin option.
Batting All-Rounders
We have classified every player with a difference between balls faced and balls bowled of more than six as a batting all-rounder. There are eight names who qualify in the category:
Of these Nitish Rana is the most valuable pick on every aspect, including experience and being a left-hander. Teams will pounce on him. A surprise entity here is Vidarbha’s Atharva Taide. A slow left-arm bowler, who gave runs at a rate of 2.7 in the recent SMAT on wickets where he scored at a strike rate of 137.05 himself.
Mahipal Lomror had a couple of noticeable outings with Rajasthan Royals last season and will entice bids. Gurkeerat Singh (ex-RCB) has a strike rate of under 120 but his off-spin has been miserly in the last two SMATs.
Bowling All-Rounders
This now leaves us with 36 bowling all-rounders. A few of the more unknown ones in here have inflated numbers due to them playing less than five T20s since 2020. A few others like Ravichandran Ashwin and Harshal Patel are so good in one facet that we have analyzed them separately in their respective categories.
Let us talk about a few notable ones here with a decent sample size of T20 matches played. The most impressive player here after factoring all conditions is Lalit Yadav. A strike rate of 159.34 to go with an economy of 6.92 puts him in the league of his own. Especially given his experience after being a part of the Delhi Capitals. The other Yadav, Jayant, will also be on the radar. So shall be Krishnappa Gowtham. To wrap up the off-spinners, Washington Sundar’s strike rate of 100.62 might raise a few eyebrows but his potential is unquestionable. Pervez Rasool has bowled at an economy of under six in both the last two SMATs. He can be a backup option in a 10-team league. Bengal’s Writtick Chatterjee has had decent seasons too.
Onto the left-arm spinners now. A little more push on strike rate and economy and Krunal Pandya would have been in the top echelon of this list. The experience of winning trophies is sure to help him garner bids. Harpreet Brar and Shahbaz Ahamad are proven options. Anukul Roy was under-used by Mumbai but will be a handy pick. It is not for anything else, for his fielding.
Among the pacers, Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti have played multiple IPL seasons. But perhaps for their own harm, they found themselves among the big boys far too early. Hence neither has impressive numbers. However, both had a decent run in the last SMAT. A surprise pick in this list can be Darshan Nalkande. He has spent time in the Punjab dugout and has proven to be a wicket-taker while maintaining a decent economy in domestic T20s.
