More Bowling Experiments In Gautam Gambhir Era? India Coach Drops Massive Hint

Bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule indicated that India will continue to give bowling opportunities to their top-order batters as it can work as a “surprise element” to the opposition. Shubman Gill was given a chance to roll his arm against Sri Lanka in the first ODI, which ended in a tie here on Friday, and Bahutule said it will be the way forward even though the opener gave away 14 runs in his lone over. “I think our batters are good bowlers as well, to be honest. You know their primary skill is batting, so at times, they don't focus much on their bowling. But they have the skills,” said Bahutule in the post-match press meet.

In contrast, Lankan skipper and their premier batter Charith Asalanka bowled 8.5 overs and walked away with returns of three for 30, including the wickets of Shivam Dube and Arshdeep Singh in two successive balls, helping his side to snatch a tie.

Bahutule used the example of Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh bowling in the T20Is against Sri Lanka to validate his point.

“You might have seen in the T20Is…Rinku and Surya contributed with the ball. So, an opportunity was given to Shubman here. It's going to be an all-rounder's game in the coming days.

“So, if one or two (batsmen) from the top-order can bowl it will definitely help the team, of course, depending on pitch conditions and situations.

“Also, it will be a surprise element to the opposition, if a batter can bowl. So, moving ahead there will be ample opportunities for batters to bowl,” he explained.

Bahutule said the visitors could have tried to forge better partnerships after starting from the blocks in a blazing fashion.

“To have a tie in ODI is always exciting. Yeah, we should have got that one run and finished off the match. Nevertheless, I