4 Reasons why Uthappa shouldn’t have been ignored for Aussie tour: It is evident that national selectors have given chances to several youngsters and budding cricketers over the years. Some of them glued their place in the side, a few have been in and out owing to inconsistent performances, while many have faded awy. But such has not been the case for Robin Uthappa, one of the most consistent batsmen in the domestic circuit but the national selectors continuously choose to ignore him over the years
Robin is a much improved player, who has worked on his technique, temperament and shot-selection. A crucial question can be raised – How well has he done in the domestic arena, and if he was he good enough at the international level? Well a straight forward answer to this will; be he has not got enough opportunities at international level. The amount of chances Binny, Jadeja, Raina, Rohit got, Robin should consider himself unlucky.
Uthappa proved to be a team player once possessing selfless attitude. When he was called-up for the last two ODI games of the 5-match series against Sri Lanka in Nov 2014, in the game when Rohit scored 264, he only took singles and remained at the other end in order to put Rohit on strike. He could have also hit quick firing 50 against a shaky bowling that Rohit was punishing. But he played the role of ideal teammate. He stayed not out on 16 in that partnership of 128 with Rohit.
Uthappa was selected for the England tour but did not have any role to play there, and has been ignored for the home series against West Indies thereafter. ‘Ignored’ and ‘Benched’ are the two words that has been associated with him for long.
In the recently selected squad for the Australia limited overs series, many new faces are included and so the veterans like Yuvraj, Nehra, Bhajji have a chance now to revive their career, but still no signs of the selectors finding a way to accommodate Uthappa.
Even in the tour to Zimbabwe, Robin who is now a top order batsman was send at no.6 in the ODIs and even though he failed to make an impression he did make the right noises in the T20’s against the same opposition. The Karnataka batsman put up some creditable performances to lead India’s batting charge in the shortest format. However, the selectors choose to turn a blind eye and deaf ear to all his good performances which is baffling.
Here are the 4 reasons why Uthappa should have been called up for the Australia tour.
- Phenomenal Performance in Domestic circuit
In last two domestic seasons, the elegant right-hander has been an electrifying performer in the domestic circuit. From IPL to CLT20 to Ranji he has been among the top run scorers. He was the highest run-getter in Ranji Trophy 2014-15 with 912 runs in 11 matches at an average of 50.66 (2 centuries, 5 fifties). In Ranji Trophy 2015-16, he scored 759 runs in 8 matches, averaging 58.38 (3 centuries and 3 fifties). Robin Uthappa played an instrumental role in KKR winning the IPL title in 2014. He was the orange cap holder with 660 runs averaging 44 in that season. Being a top scorer in Ranji and smashing runs at an average of 50+ for two consecutive seasons is no joke which is backed by 600+ IPL runs in one season averaging 44 in T20s. In all first-class matches in 2015, he smashed 1410 runs in 18 matches.
Thus, it was proved, that he has been a consistent performer if he has been given a long run and a bit of responsibility, like KKR did.
- Back up Wicketkeeper-Batsman
Considering MS Dhoni’s age and current form, the selectors should have booked a ticket for a back-up wicketkeeper-batsman to Australia. Australia is not a neighbouring country and replacement will take time to reach the overseas country in case of any unfortunate injury.
The wicketkeeper-batsman that comes to mind after MS Dhoni with good record in limited-overs cricket has to be Robin Uthappa. Uthappa was the fourth wicketkeeper with most dismissals as KKR went on to clinch their second IPL title in 2014. In IPL 2015 he ended with third highest dismissals. In List-A cricket he was the third best wicketkeeper with the most dismissals.
- Stabilize batting order
The batting line-up for the ODIs in Australia seems to be a major concern. Dhawan’s form and Raina’s omission from the ODI squad is an element of worry for MS Dhoni and Co. The batting order looks quite vulnerable. Shikhar Dhawan’s on and off adventures with the bat seem to be doing no good for India, especially in the ODIs. In this case a back-up opener could have been included. The flexible Robin Uthappa who can also be pushed down to bat could have made the middle-order firm as experience clearly missing in the middle-order except MS Dhoni.
- Objective for the World T20
The selectors have called up veterans Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Nehra and Harbhajan Singh in the T20 squad with an objective for the upcoming ICC event, the World T20 2016. Everyone will have eyes on them and their performances will decide their fate for the upcoming competition. They now have a golden chance to revive. Stats suggest that Robin Uthappa was clearly better than them in IPL as well as in Ranji and First-Class cricket. Why selectors have shown back to Uthappa keeping Yuvraj, Nehra and Bhajji in their sight? Doesn’t he deserve a spot in the Indian squad? This will be a good question to raise.
It is high time for the selectors to trust the abilities of this talent, which has the potential to become successful at the international level.