Five Players Who Have Opened Batting And Bowling For India In The Same ODI

Team India has always had the problem of finding a genuine all-rounder. In current scenario too, they lack an all-rounder when Hardik Pandya is away from the team. An all-rounder brings in quite a lot of balance in any team.

The Australian cricket team has tasted success on multiple occasions because of the presence of a large number of people who could both bat and bowl. The West Indies is another such team which has a considerably huge amount of all-rounders present in the team.

The Men in Blue have also had all-rounders who have had a significant contribution to the team’s victory.

Interestingly, the team has had all-rounders who have opened the bowling and batting for India in the same game.

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Here are the five players who have opened the batting and the bowling for India in the same ODI:

1. Roger Binny

Former Indian cricketer Roger Binny is known for his magnificent bowling for the Men in Blue in 1983 World Cup. He has played a key role in India’s win in its maiden 50-over World Cup triumph.

Binny was a decent batsman and a good fielder too. What set him apart was his bowling technique.

He has played 72 ODIs and in two of them, he has played as an opening batsman and started the proceedings with the ball in the same match.

India lost both the matches which were played against Australia in Benson & Hedges World Series Cup at Sydney.

In the first match, he scored 31 runs off 53 balls and in the second he struck 21 runs off 66 deliveries. But he was not able to take a single wicket in both matches.

However, the Men in Blue went on to lose that match.

After that, he was not given the chance to play as an opening batsman neither to start bowling for the subcontinent side in a single game.

2. Manoj Prabhakar

Manoj Prabhakar was a right-arm medium-pace bowler who has played 39 Tests and 130 ODIs for the Men in Blue. He generally played as a lower-order batsman but has also played as an opener. He has used slower deliveries quite well apart from outswingers.

In 130 ODIs, Prabhakar has smashed 11 half-centuries and 157 fours with the highest score of 106.

The legendary cricketer Prabhakar has consistently opened for India apart from sending down the first over for his team. He has done this job in 45 ODIs and 20 Test.

Thus, it stands as most by any player in these formats.

But he has faced a rough time as he was alleged for match-fixing charges.

3. Irfan Pathan

Irfan Pathan was one of team India’s greatest all-rounder. He preferred bowling more than batting in international cricket for India. He instantly caught everyone’s eye and people started comparing him with Pakistan cricketer Wasim Akram.

In 2003, he made his Test debut against Australia. His remarkable performance soon gave him a place in final XI. Soon he evolved as a productive batsman and become all-rounder for the Indian team.

In a match against South Africa in 2005, he played for the first time as an opening batsman apart from opening the bowling for the same match. But this experiment miserably failed as India end up losing the match by 10 wickets.

4. Virender Sehwag

The former vice-captain of India had scored 8,273 in ODI and 8,586 in Tests. He can not be called an ultimate all-rounder but he has given the satisfactory performance as a slow bowler, too.

In the ODI series against Australia, India bowled first and Sehwag was asked to open the bowling against Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden.

Sehwag was not able to get rid of the opening batsmen and this trial had eventually failed that time around. Even Sehwag also failed as an opening batsman for that match as he returned to the pavilion without scoring. And India lost the game by 77 runs.

Also, this was the first and last chance which was given to Sehwag as an opening batsman and bowler.

5. Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev, one of the greatest Indian captains who made India lift the World Cup Trophy for the first time, is also on this impressive list. He is remembered for his sheer dedication for the game. Dev is one of the eminent allrounders which India has availed in the yesteryears.

Dev had produced spectacular performances as a bowler apart from being a brilliant lower middle-order batsman. The ‘Haryana Hurricane’ has mostly played at No. 7 in ODIs.

In a match against Zimbabwe, he was sent as an opening batsman but he eventually failed to score big.

Kapil’s impressive bowling stopped Zimbabwe for reaching the target. He gave away just six runs in his four overs.

India won the rain-curtailed game by 55 runs. This was the only time when he did open for India apart from bowling first in the same match.

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