Are Indian rookie bowlers underbowled?

It has been some time since I wrote.. Here is one again on Cricket, a thought I wanted to record long before.. so before I forget..

It is the final day of a test match. India needs just 3 more wickets to seal the test match with a lot of runs to defend themselves and an entire three sessions. Whom do you think will open the day's bowling? You can expect the 'leading' pace bowler (currently Zaheer Khan for example) and the 'first' spinner (currently Harbhajan Singh). I would not say it is a bad decision. Obviously, you would want to seal the win as quickly as possible without letting things out of your control. But in the process what happens is you tend to 'overbowl' your main bowlers and 'underbowl' your sideline bowlers.

 

One can argue that it is fair enough as the last wickets are mostly easy scalps and your main bowlers deserve them for all their hardwork through out their career. Their confidence can also go up with two to three wickets added to their names and of course their stats page. But at what cost? One, you tend to 'overwork' your bowlers. It is perhaps the ideal situation to give your bowlers some much needed rest (that too in such a packed calendar now a days). Two, best chance to give your sideline bowlers some work to complete. Those two to three wickets will be a huge confidence boost to the young chaps who would want to cement their place in the teams. I think the twin benefits of the latter are much more than the possible benefits you get from the former. In case your main bowlers are out of form then it can be argued differently.

I guess teams like Australia consider this factor (though I know I have to prove this with stats or examples), if my memory serves me right. They trust their young bowlers to finish their job for the team.

No stats here. Just my plain opinion. If I find some time later I would back up my opinion with stats. It will be an interesting task in itself.