Over the years, Indian batters have shown a tendency to struggle against a certain type of bowler—the left-arm pacer.
Questions were most recently raised over the current team's ability to handle left-handed quick bowlers when, in March 2023, Australian Mitchell Starc ran through the lineup in an ODI in Vizag, accounting for four of India's top five; Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav and KL Rahul to bowl India out for 117.
EXCLUSIVE | Legendary pacer Wasim Akram dissects why Indian batters struggle against left-arm fast bowlers@BCCI https://t.co/t7pTO3lA0Z#INDvAUS #WasimAkram #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/5sJCoaJJun
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With the likes of Starc, Trent Boult, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mustafizur Rahman and Marco Jansen are likely to play at the World Cup starting in October, India need to find a way to tackle this particular weakness of theirs before it causes their downfall.
Very recently, on September 3, Shaheen Afridi jolted India's top-order when he castled Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in quick succession in the Asia Cup.
Why do Indian batsmen struggle against left-arm pacers?
In general, left-arm pacers are particularly dangerous against right-handed batters. Coming over the wicket, with the angle going away and the ball shaping inwards, these bowlers are consistently challenging both edges.
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Especially when the ball is new in the early stages, they become even more potent. In India in particular, the historical lack of left-arm pacers at lower levels of the game means that Indian batters are not very accustomed to playing against these bowlers.
How have Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli performed against left-arm pacers?
Since the end of the last World Cup in 2019, here is the record of India's top and middle order against left-arm pacers, with data from Cricmetric:
| Name | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | Dot Ball % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rohit Sharma | 19 | 228 | 29.2 | 93.1 | 62.7 |
| Virat Kohli | 15 | 157 | 34.3 | 96.9 | 46.3 |
| Shubman Gill | 9 | 135 | 67.5 | 110.7 | 57.4 |
| KL Rahul | 18 | 156 | 78.0 | 87.6 | 56.8 |
| Shreyas Iyer | 13 | 117 | 58.5 | 101.7 | 49.6 |
| Rishabh Pant | 9 | 111 | 111.0 | 137.0 | 38.3 |
Of interest here is how Rishabh Pant, the only left-hander on the list, has performed significantly better than the other against left-arm pacers. He has been particularly severe on these bowlers and is also the only one on this list whose dot ball percentage against left-arm pacers is lower than his career average.
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KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer also have good records, partly due to them batting in the middle overs, once the threat of the new ball has been reduced. It is at the top of the order where there could be an issue.
Shubman Gill has done well, although the sample size is quite small. But both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have records significantly worse than their career averages, against left-arm quicks.
Will India struggle against left-arm pace at the World Cup?
The top-order will have to be relatively guarded against left-armers, especially early on. If Gill is able to keep up his good record, perhaps he should look to take strike as much as possible to ensure run-scoring does not suffer.
All in all, this has the makings of a potential issue but as long as the batters are acutely aware of their strengths and weaknesses, India should be able to manage.
