“It’s really good,” ten Doeschate said on the eve of the third ODI. “I would still say the majority of those guys are bowling allrounders. When Hardik’s fit, he obviously brings a different element because he’s such a strong batter, such a strong finisher. That sort of role… it is difficult to find a finisher who can give you overs as well. So those guys are all tracking really nicely. Like I said with Nitish, for the last 18 months, he’s shown glimpses of how important he can be to this team, particularly in this format. I feel his body’s getting stronger and stronger and I sort of feel he is the natural successor or back-up to Hardik.
“But certainly to see these other guys chipping in and working on their games, even someone like Gurnoor [Brar] and Harshit again, they’re bowling allrounders. But the fact that we feel we’ve got guys who can hold the bat at No. 9, and looking forward for the next 14-15 months, that is going to be very important, especially in South Africa when you want to play three proper out-and-out seamers. Those guys are going to need to bat. So yeah, a lot of good signs on the allrounder front and also on the fast bowler front. It’s refreshing this week to see Prince [Yadav], Gurnoor and [Auqib] Nabi.”
‘No real concerns around Kuldeep’s form’
“Look, the wickets aren’t always there and I thought he bowled really well the other night,” ten Doeschate said. “As someone who hasn’t played a continuous string of games for a while … even in Test matches, he hasn’t always played. No real concerns about him. We always like to play a wristspinner or a mystery spinner, as the case may be. But certainly, the way the game is evolving and the way guys go after the spin now, the onus is back on the spinner to almost reinvent himself from time to time.
Ten Doeschate added that the new line of spinners are competing with Kuldeep for a place in the XI and that the team management is also working towards extracting a bigger output from their main wristspinner.
“I think the same as everyone else. You have to fight for your spot in the team and the team will always be picked on balance and role specificity,” ten Doeschate said. “So Kuldeep’s got that spot covered in terms of wristspin. We know where he bats in the team and sometimes you do want to go with an all-round spinner.
“It’s no slight on Kuldeep. There are a lot of guys chasing his heels on that front and I’ve got no doubt in his abilities. I’d say he’s more than a guy who has waited in the wings, in terms of quality performance and has got a lot of matches under his belt. It’s our job to push him to make sure that he keeps getting better and keeps that kind of pace.”
