Twenty20 affecting Harbhajan and Ishant

Suresh Menon writes on Dreamcricket that the pressure of bowling dot balls in Twenty20s has reduced the effectiveness of two of India's premier bowlers, Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma. He argues that both of them should be excluded from the game's shortest format to ensure success in ODIs and Tests.

With television sanctifying the dot ball in the bowler’s analysis, it has assumed a disproportionate importance ... When that same tactic is brought into the one-day international, the team suffers because now wicket-taking is important. Nothing slows down the run rate like a wicket or two. The spinner’s role is a more attacking one, especially in the middle overs when batsmen tend to focus on keeping their wickets.

... Part of Ishant Sharma’s recent problem has been a confusion over the approach to the various forms. The answer is clear – he must be kept out of Twenty20 if he is to be a long-term prospect for Tests and one-dayers.