Agarkar is good for the one day game, not Test cricket

Whatever is the matter with Ajit Agarkar? The manner in which he performed initially marked him out as among the most exciting young cricketers in the land. Great things were predicted for him, especially after he set the world record for the quickest to take 50 wickets in one day internationals, surpassing a mark set by none other than Dennis Lillee. His 50th wicket came in his 23rd game as compared to 24 for the great Australian.

Indian cricket was praying for an all rounder in the Kapil Dev mould ever since the great cricketer retired in 1994. And while Agarkar was certainly not a Kapil Dev, he seemed to have the necessary qualities needed to serve Indian cricket well - and for an extended period. Coming up through the India A ranks, the Shivaji Park product from Mumbai suddenly burst upon the scene in the late 90s as an extremely talented young all rounder with the right, aggressive attitude. A nippy medium pacer, capable of moving the ball both ways and a more than useful late order attacking batsman, Agarkar was hailed as the best thing to happen to Indian cricket for a long time.

Breaking into the ODI squad in 1997-98, Agarkar was an instant success, especially with the ball. Praise came from all sides, the home team as well as the opposition. The most telling comment was Anshuman Gaekwad's. The Indian coach said "He is an intelligent and committed cricketer. Give him some more time. He can develop into a top class all rounder."

Going by such expectations - and the initial results - there is little doubt that Agarkar's career has been a grave disappointment. In the one day game, he is still pretty useful both with bat and ball. Why, only in December last year, he surpassed another record, held by another great cricketer. In reaching a half century against Zimbabwe at Rajkot off only 21 balls, Agarkar put aside Kapil Dev's feat of getting fifty off 22 balls in 1983, proving to be a match winner in the process. But not every player can make the transition successfully from instant cricket to the longer game - and vice versa - and it is evident that Agarkar is one of them.

Agarkar has displayed a never say die attitude and a willingness to learn. After a poor World Cup tournament in 1999, Agarkar on his return to India, went straight to the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai to seek advice from Dennis Lillee. Nothing seemed to help however and after a nightmarish tour of Australia in 1999-2000, his place in the national side came under severe scrutiny.

Agarkar played his first Test in Zimbabwe in 1998, the elevation coming about following a series of fine performances in limited overs cricket. With scores of 4 and 5 and with match figures of two for 100 off 34 overs, it was certainly not a dream debut. In Australia, he did reasonably well with the ball, but the infamous five ducks in a row seemed to have spelt `finis' to his fledgling Test career.

However, the selectors for some obscure reason, continued to have faith in Agarkar. If only they show such faith in more deserving candidates! They kept picking Agarkar for Tests though by this time it was obvious that his talent and ability was plainly restricted to ODIs where he continued to perform well. Figures don't always convey the true picture but they do in Agarkar's case. In 73 ODIs, Agarkar has scored 464 runs at an average of 15.46 with one half century and has taken 112 wickets at an average of 29.99 with best bowling figures of four for 25 and a strike rate of 34.6. He has taken four wickets in an innings four times.

What a difference Agarkar's Test figures make? In ten matches, he has scored only 124 runs at an average of 8.26 with a highest score of 41 not out. He has captured 24 wickets at an average of 38.83 with best bowling figures of three for 43. His strike rate is 82 balls per wicket. True, the nip is still there in his bowling and he is probably the fastest bowler in the land. But there is also this tendency to spray the ball about. As regards his batting, just one simple statistic would suffice to illustrate that he is a failure as a batsman. No, I am not talking about the five ducks in a row or his eight ducks in 16 innings. It's just that his batting average is lower than Bishen Bedi's!

The case for and against Agarkar is thus clear and unambiguous. He has been given enough opportunities - far too many the cynics might say - and has failed time and again. To metaphrase Gaekwad, he has been given a lot of time but has not developed into a top class all rounder. He has not developed into an all rounder, period. The bottom line then is that he is a good utility player in the one day game but lacks the skill and temperament for Test cricket.