(Copied from my other blog where it was posted on 26-11-2011)
India is not known to produce quality express fast bowlers. Kapil Dev was medium fast. And he excelled at that. Madan Lal was gentle medium. And he did well. Chetan Sharma was haphazard. But he did not do bad at all except for that last ball six at Sharjah and being smacked for 23 runs in an over in his comeback match.
Then there was Javagal Srinath. Medium fast again. How he succeeded at International Level with his limited set of arsenals is still a wonder. We can forget about the swing when it comes to Srinath. Probably he never knew what 'swing' meant! He never had a slower ball until the last year or so of his career. And I would say his eagerness to use that slower ball excessively (may be since he learned it so late he wanted to get maximum mileage out of it) was also one of the reasons along with Zaheer's infamous first over that cost India the WC final in 2003. But Srinath was very good. From the time he burst into national seen with those 7 wickets against Maharashtra at Pune he was a marked man. He was India's torch bearer during those tough times when Azhar was the captain. Then he was the prime member of the core team that was responsible for India's resurgence under Ganguly. Srinath was not flamboyant, but did his job remarkably. Moreover he was very very professional in his conduct and approach to the game.
Lanky Venky, the master of slower ones. Venkatesh Prasad travelled all the way to New Zealand as a replacement and got a game only because he travelled that far! Again medium pace. But a master of deception. Top batsmen edging him to slip cordon was a treat to watch. Those slower ones and those outswingers were great to watch. Always will be in the hearts of Indian fans for knocking out Sohail's stumps in WC 1996 at Bangalore.
Then came Zaheer Khan. Sometimes played for Baroda and sometimes for Mumbai and now permanently plays for Mumbai. (Sachin has this bad habit of asking promising bowlers to leave their home team and play for Mumbai. Young bowlers find it hard to say 'no' to Sachin, considering his status. Munaf Patel played for Mumbai for couple of seasons at Sachin's behest. But he has understood his folly and has gone back to Gujarat.) Zaheer is fast and very good. He has lead India's campaign after the exit of Srinath. And has been doing very well. Has got the speed, the swing, the reverse and what not. A complete bowler. Only if he takes care of his body and fitness...
Ishant Sharma burst into seen with that remarkable bowling performance when India toured Australia last. Anil Kumble was the captain and he nurtured the young bowler remarkably. The way Ponting kept getting dismissed to Ishant was memorable. Ishant is back to prime form after being in the wilderness for a brief period of time. He needs to be handled with utmost care. He is only 23 and if handled carefully can serve India for another 8-10 years and that too remaining at the top of his game. He is an exceptionally talented and skilled bowler.
Now with India going to Australia, how Zaheer and Ishant perform will decide whether India at last will win a series in Australia. They came close last time. But devil Bucknor was in the Australian team. Australia too are going through changes in the side. Pin them down when they are down. (Batting will also play an important part. Mark my words, if Sachin goes to Australia still stuck on 99, then he will be a flop).
Zaheer and Ishant need a good backup. Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron seem to have impressed all. Australian batsmen play such bowlers regularly in their domestic circuit. Both Yadav and Aaron have one trait which the Aussie batsmen have always found it difficult to handle. The swing. But do they have the skill?
Our selectors rush youngsters into Indian team too fast. Ishant played about 35 first class matches before playing for India. But even that is less. But Ishant is a talented bowler and he developed the skills and survived. Umesh Yadav plays for lowly Vidarbha and Aaron for Jarkhand. Both the teams play in plate league. As it is they have played less number of matches and whatever wickets they have picked up in plate league should not matter. Deepak Chahar grabbed wickets a plenty last season in Plate league playing for Rajasthan. But he is finding it difficult to get wickets now in the Elite League. What matters is how a bowler performs in Ranji Elite league, Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy.
In the Irani trophy match held last month 3 fast bowlers represented Rest Of India team. Aaron was rubbish in that match. Yadav bowled very well. But the pick of the bowlers in terms of economy and wickets column was Vinay Kumar!
Skill and Experience counts. Pankaj Singh has performed creditably over the years for Rajasthan. Last year he was phenominal for Rajasthan. Along with Chahar he bagged a bountiful of wickets playing in plate league. This year in the Elite league Pankaj is still taking wickets but Chahar is not! That is the difference in skill and performance. Put in Yadav and Aaron in Chahar's place and they would also flounder.
Ajith Agarkar and Dhawal Kulkarni combined tally of wickets was 1 in the Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka at Wankhede in Mumbai held last week. Vinay Kumar troubled Mumbai batsmen on the same pitch and got 4! His victims included Wasim Jaffer and Ajinkya Rahane. Vinay Kumar lacks pace. But has got the temperament, skill, swing and attitude. But he is not in the scheme of things for Test matches.
In the emerging nations tournament held in Australia Vinay Kumar was the bowler who was consistent with performance, taking wickets and containig batsmen. Varun Aaron flopped there.
Pankaj Singh and Vinay Kumar would be my choices after Zaheer and Ishant for Australia.
Just a word about another bowler who hasn't bowled a single no ball in his career that includes even club matches and may have excelled for India if given chances. That is Ranadeb Bose. He went to England 4 years back with Indian team picked up 5 wickets in practice game but never got to wear the India cap. He was dropped after that tour. Varun Aaron goes to England in 2011, plays a practice match, goes wicketless and gets tonked all over the park, does not get to wear a India cap, BUT stays in the team after that tour! Double standards?
But our fascination towards pace puts Umesh Yadav (with less than 17 Ranji Trophy matches in plate league) and Varun Aaron (with less than 8 Ranji Trophy matches in plate league) in contention. They both possess something Pankaj and Vinay do not. PACE. Swing coupled with pace at 140+ speed can be deadly. But do they have the temparament and skill? We will know in Australia. My gut feeling says they will fail. Hope that is not the case for India's sake.
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