MUMBAI, March 5 -- With captains and coaches seeing the benefit of batting deep by packing the team with all-rounders, it is becoming increasingly tougher for specialist bowlers to stay relevant in modern cricket. Despite his success as a leg-spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal most of the time found that he was sacrificed for the balance of the side. He was part of India's squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup but didn't figure in the playing XI as the Rohit Sharma-led side went on to lift the cup.

The only way for the one-dimensional players to stay relevant is through outstanding displays, becoming un-droppable. In the current side, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy didn't figure in India's first two games of the Champions Trophy, but when he got the...