Nasser Hussain believes that India needs an all-rounder to succeed in tests in the mold of Ben Stokes and Cameron Green

Former England captain Nasser Hussain believes that India’s absence of a seam bowler who can also bat is the key component missing from the team’s abroad assignments. He adds that someone like Ben Stokes or Cameron Green might be the winning recipe for the squad on international trips.

Hussain remarked that Rishabh Pant was badly missed by India after they just lost their second straight World Test Championship (WTC) final to Australia. He expressed the hope that Pant will rejoin to the team as soon as possible since he is “a massive miss at the moment.”

Hussain said in the ICC Review on Wednesday, “They (India) are brilliant at home… and the balance of their side at home is just wonderful.”

“It’s away from home, and if they (India) can acquire a seam bowling all-rounder, the balance of the team. If Hardik (Pandya) had maintained his physical fitness and kept up with this procedure, he would have been ideal, added Hussain.

Hussain also said that India will benefit greatly in all three forms of the game if bowler Jasprit Bumrah could return healthy and powerful. Bumrah will captain India in a three-match T20I series against Ireland starting on August 18, returning to play after being out for more than a year with a back ailment.

At a time when India is preparing for the Asia Cup and the ODI World Cup at home, the trip will be closely watched to monitor Bumrah’s recuperation and match-fitness.

When healthy, Jasprit (Bumrah) is one of the greatest multi-format bowlers currently available, if not the best.

The three all-rounders — Axar (Patel), Ravindra (Jadeja), and Ravichandran (Ashwin) — are real all-rounders in India, thus they have both older players and young players. That is a pretty balanced team in my opinion because you have a No. 7 (in Test cricket),” Hussain said.

Yashasvi Jaiswal’s magnificent century helped India overcome the West Indies 1-0 in the two-Test series, and Hussain stated the rookie is in a good position to improve on the strong start to his Test career.

“From what I’ve seen, Jaiswal has had a great start. When you ask people who have watched him play in the IPL—again, I’ve been working with Ricky (Ponting) and Dinesh (Karthik)—about him, they all agree that he is a talented player.

“He seems to have the skill and the right attitude. The majority of them enter the game and find success right away, much like most young Indian players and hitters in particular. And the fact that first-class cricket is being created outside of the IPL is encouraging.