This squad has one bowling all-rounder too many

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The inclusion of Yusuf Pathan in the national team for the Asia Cup opens up some room for valid criticism.

If one hundred in the Vijay Hazare Trophy was good enough to warrant his recall then Karnataka’s Robin Uthappa and Tamil Nadu’s Dinesh Karthik have reason to feel aggrieved.

The duo had registered a brace of three-figure scores and more importantly they cover far more bases than Yusuf.

Uthappa and Karthik can open the innings and also have enough experience batting in the middle order, and would have also been the reserve wicket-keeper for the tour.

Karthik has been in good nick with the bat. A hundred in the Ranji Trophy final and the tall scores in the Vijay Hazare (South Zone) that followed were clear indicators of his coming back to form and at the right time too.

The squad has four bowling all-rounders. Yusuf was not required in this combination. Bet-ween Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin and Irfan Pathan the team has enough depth in the middle and lower order.

With the top six looking strong and the conditions in Dhaka expected to be more batsman-friendly than Australia, a big hitter like Yusuf might get wasted at No. 7.

Skipper MS Dhoni has anyway not shown much confidence in the bowling abilities of Pathan. The Baroda all-rounder has bowled less than five overs on an average per game in ODIs.

With Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma filling in adequately as part-time spinners, the squad would have been served better with a second ‘keeper with good batting credentials.