Skip to main content

INDIAN TEST CRICKET AND FAST BOWLING

There was a time when Indian cricket craved for genuine pace bowlers truth be told it had its share of quick bowlers the likes of Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Ajit Agarkar. But the fixation of selectors and cricket fans with a bowler with raw pace was so overwhelming that each and every upcoming bowler was put through the magnifying glass. The diligence paid off and with the emergence of Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Shami and Varun Arun for the first time India boasted of fast bowlers clocking 145+ kmps on regular basis. There was a sense of euphoria in India with the understanding that batsmen world over will hop on deliveries bowled by Indian bowlers and they can  for the first time give back what their batsmen have been getting all along.
The bubble of expectation bursts after India’s 2-0 loss in the 2014-2015 tour of Australia. The loss was more hurting as the young Indian batsmen matched up against the Australian pace battery and succeeded in posting respectable scores consistently but it was the Indian fast bowlers who failed miserably to exercise any sort of control. There is a cricket idiom, dot balls help in building pressure and pressure leads to wickets. It felt that the fast bowlers were trying to outdo one another by bowling fast and forgetting their primary job which was taking wickets. The embarrassing losses opened the old adage, tigers in home condition and pups outside.
Although there were many incidents where Australian batters who are born and brought up on a healthy staple diet of fast bowling looked ill at ease negotiating the pace and bounce generated by the Indian bowlers. But what the fast bowlers failed to achieve was consistent spells of sustained pressure from both the ends and identifying the moments when to go all out and when to hold back. So whom did the fault lie with?
It’s very easy to point finger at the likes of Yadav, Varun and Shami; and say that they weren’t up to the task. The fact that, fast bowling is a difficult art just like batting but the similarities end there as up and coming batsmen have the likes of Virat, Rohit and Rahane to look up to whereas India’s fast bowling battery have none to turn for guidance. Who are the Indian rookie fast bowlers look up to for guidance? Zaheer Khan’s absence has been a big loss. The only other fast bowler which India has used consistency is Ishant Sharma who sadly has flattered to deceive despite being given numerous chances.

All is still not lost for Varun and Yadav as selectors have kept faith with them by picking them in the Indian-A team that will play two four day games against the touring Australia-A side commencing from 22nd July. It is up to them to perform in those games and stake their claim in the test side as a challenging summer awaits India cricket with a tour of Sri Lanka scheduled in August followed by a home series with the South African’s. Varun, Yadav and Shami who is still out injured since the world cup are the three of the fastest and the best among the current crop of fast bowlers who are plying their trade on the domestic scene. One thing is certain that these fast bowlers no doubt have talent but what they need is proper encouragement and assistance.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE DISPARITY BETWEEN THE DOMINANT BAT AND THE HUMBLE BALL

The International Cricket Council (ICC) must get its act-together otherwise, the game which we love and respect so much starts to lose credibility. One look at the truck loads of runs Virat Kohli and Steve Smith, are piling on, the admirer, the passionate supporter and the fan of cricket in me falls short of words for the praise their feat richly deserves. Virat Kohli’s five double hundreds in a calendar year the highest by any captain and the ease by which Steve Smith keep scoring big and important runs in the ongoing 2017, Ashes (incidentally, at the time of writing this article, the third test at Perth is in progress, and Smith is 200+ not out overnight) compels me think, about the level these two players have already reached, and my mind immediately starts to compare them with game’s best of all time like Sir Don Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar. I know that it is a folly to compare greats of different generations, as those times were different, so are the present times. My...
Post a Comment
Read more

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?

First things first, here is India’s 17 member squad for the three match Test series in South Africa with the first test beginning from the 5 th of January, 2018 at Cape Town . Virat Kohli (captain), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice captain), Rohit Sharma, Ravinder Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket keeper), Ravichanadran Ashwin, Parthiv Patel (reserve wicket keeper), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Sami and Umesh Yadav. When I failed to spot either of Kuldeep Yadav or Yuzvendra Chahal in the list of players selected while I scanned through the squad a second time, a question spurred in my mind, what were the selectors thinking? Or for that matter, what was Virat and the think tank’s reasoning behind this absurd decision. I understand selecting a team is solely the selector’s responsibility, but still, I am sure Virat would have been consulted prior to the finalizing of the squad. Why not t...
4 comments
Read more

VIRAT’S CONUNDRUM- CHOOSING THE ELEVEN

Virat Kohli led India to its first test series win in Sri Lanka after a gap of 22 years; kudos to him and the team. But a very difficult challenge awaits them in the form of the South African’s, who visit India for a 72 day tour that comprises of three twenty-20, five ODI’s and four tests. This series also takes historic significance as from here on in all future bilateral series between the two countries will be called Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela series. And Freedom Trophy is the name given to the 4 test match series being played between the two countries with the first test commencing from 5 th November at Mohali. Now comes to the tricky part; Virat’s playing eleven that takes the field for the first test? The biggest factor that contributed to India’s 2-1 series win in Sri Lanka was up to a number of players that owned up responsibility and made a statement. Actually circumstances and fate played its part in giving them opportunity but full marks to them for making that c...
3 comments
Read more