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Xtra Time Web Desk: India's preparations for the T20I series against Bangladesh have highlighted a remarkable shift under head coach Gautam Gambhir. With packed bowling nets in Delhi, banter between players like Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh about their international wickets reflects the growing depth of India's bowling options. Both took turns bowling in the nets, continuing the trend of India's top-order batters contributing with the ball, a practice largely abandoned in recent years.

In the first T20I match against Bangladesh in Gwalior, India deployed ten bowling options, with only wicketkeeper Sanju Samson not rolling his arm. This marks a sharp contrast to India's strategy over the past decade, where top-order batters rarely bowled. Former players like Sachin Tendulkar (154 ODI wickets), Sourav Ganguly (100), and Yuvraj Singh (111) frequently contributed with the ball, but this tradition faded in recent times.

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Former India fielding coach R Sridhar, in his book *Coaching Beyond*, attributed this decline to the rise of throwdown specialists, which led to batters focusing solely on their batting. However, under Gambhir, this trend has reversed. In his first series as coach in Sri Lanka, India used at least six bowling options per game, with Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh even bowling in the death overs.

Suryakumar, India's T20I captain, praised the flexibility brought by this new approach, describing it as a "good headache." He now has a range of options, including left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh, pacers like Mayank Yadav and Harshit Rana, and spinners such as mystery bowler Varun Chakravarthy, off-spinner Washington Sundar, and leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi. Additionally, all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Nitish Kumar Reddy add to the variety, along with part-timers like Tilak Varma and Riyan Parag.

Reflecting on the Sri Lanka series, Suryakumar noted that while he enjoys having extra bowling choices, he hopes not to face another situation like the one where he had to bowl the final overs himself. "Aisi naubat na aa ye toh acha hai (I hope that situation will not come again)," he joked, though acknowledging the confidence brought by having a well-rounded squad.

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