By IANS
New Delhi : India badly missed a genuine all-rounder in the mould of Kapil Dev, 'Vinoo' Mankad or Salim Durani during the recent World Cup who could have won them the title, feels national selector Sanjay Jagdale.
The Rahul Dravid-led Indian team lost two of the three group matches and unexpectedly crashed out in the first round itself.
"If someone of the kind of these three (Kapil, Mankad and Durani) was there in the present team, India would perhaps have won the World Cup," said Jagdale, team manager during the tournament in the West Indies, at a book launch here Thursday evening.
However, Jagdale, one of the most articulate cricket administrators and speakers, steered clear of any controversy.
It was a special occasion for Jagdale as the writer of "All-Rounders" Professor Surya Prakash Chaturvedi had taught him English literature at the Government Arts and Commerce College in Indore. The boo discusses 16 all-rounders of eminence since World War II
"Sir has picked the perfect 16, maybe except for Eddie Barlow and Mike Proctor of South Africa. But the two players did not play much international cricket (due to South Africa's apartheid policy)," said Jagdale, secretary of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association.
He has played 53 first-class matches for Madhya Pradesh between 1968-69 and 1982-83 but never featured in the national squad.
Justifying his choice of 16 all-rounders, Chaturvedi pointed out that players like Kapil, late Mankad and Durani, who formally released the book, made a telling difference to any team's fortunes.
"I have chosen these 16 since World War-II because the real definition of an all-rounder was given only in the post war era," he said.
Besides the three Indians, the other all-rounders mentioned in the book are Keith Miller, Richie Benaud, Alan Davidson (all Australia), Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff (England), Imran Khan (Pakistan), Gary Sobers (West Indies), Heath Streak (Zimbabwe), Richard Hadlee and Chris Cairns (New Zealand), Jacques Kallis, Shaun Pollock and Trevor Goddard (South Africa).
As the speakers got nostalgic, Jagdale, himself a decent all-rounder, also pointed out that the first ball he faced on his Ranji Trophy debut was from Durani.
The speakers, including Rajsingh Dungarpur, a former president of the Indian cricket board and the chief guest at the function, also lamented that the present generation of cricketers was woefully unaware of the game's history.
Jagdale recalled an incident last year when a current player inadvertently made public his ignorance about leg-spinning all-rounder Benaud, who excelled at television commentary after his playing days.
"I won't name the player, but he said Benaud speaks so fluently on television but was not sure if he had played cricket at all," he said, much to the amusement of the audience.