Jasprit Bumrah seems to be the ubiquitous one when it comes to India’s pace bowling options. He has been a high-impact player across formats. He seems to wear different hats according to different formats and frontiers. However, what about the rest of the pace attack that has been selected for the ICC T20 World Cup? Is it incisive enough to make dents in opposition line-ups? Here’s a brief look at India’s pace bowling stocks.
Mohammed Siraj
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s pace bowler is set to be one of the mainstays of the bowling arsenal. Unfortunately, the experienced paceman has been paddling through poor form. In the ongoing IPL, he has plucked six wickets at a costly average of 53.83 and an economy rate of 9.5. He showed glimpses of returning to form, taking 1 for 34 in RCB’s previous outing against Gujarat Titans. He also bowled well versus Sunrisers Hyderabad, ending up with tidy figures of 0 for 20.
So, what could have gone wrong for Siraj in some of the earlier games? Maybe he tried too hard? The T20 format has gone very defensive, which demands a bowler to have clarity of thought. Too much experimentation can go against a bowler. On a positive note, Siraj can bowl the hard length reasonably well and mix up his pace and yorkers. The Indian think-tank would hope to see more of the second version rather than the one who has looked bereft of confidence.
Arshdeep Singh
The left-arm pace bowler has been in relatively better form, having taken 12 scalps at 25.63 and at an economy rate of 9.63. He also seems to have the required temperament and bowling smarts to absorb the pressure in the slog overs. The way Arshdeep went about his business in the 2022 T20 World Cup game versus Pakistan illustrates the point. He also brings into the equation the left-arm angle and does have a sharp bumper in his armour.
Just to throw in a word of caution. He underperformed in the T20I rubbers against Australia and South Africa, although it has to be pointed out that some of the tracks in both those series were heavily loaded in favour of the batters.
Hardik Pandya
The pace-bowling all-rounder seems to be slowly getting back into his groove after a rather modest start in IPL 2024. In the just-concluded Lucknow Super Giants-Mumbai Indians game, Hardik bowled his full quota of overs and returned creditworthy figures of 2 for 26. It also felt as if he was bending his back a little more, which is an indicator that he is feeling in better rhythm. Hardik has had his share of injury woes. The Indian coaching staff might have to keep their fingers crossed for their premier all-rounder during the course of the tournament.
Shivam Dube
The Mumbai-born cricketer is the other seam-bowling all-rounder in the set-up. Dube is better known for his hitting prowess, especially while facing spin. Dube, though, looked in reasonably good touch with the ball during the Ranji Trophy 2023-24, where he ended up with 12 scalps at an average of 12.08.
There are a couple of short video clips of his six-wicket haul versus Bihar, where he was disciplined. Just that Mumbai were facing a rather modest opponent and it is difficult to predict how he would have gone about bowling in a different format. The Impact Player rule has meant that CSK have employed Dube for his power-packed batting. So, he hasn’t bowled yet in the tournament. He also sustained a side strain before the start of the tournament.
T Natarajan, Mayank Yadav and Sandeep Sharma were some of the bowlers who were in contention for places in the squad. Mayank has enough weapons in his heavy artillery – pace and steep bounce – to rattle opposition teams. On the downside, he has been grappling with a slew of injuries. Even in the IPL, he has been laid low by a couple of niggles. So, the selectors would have been wary of picking an injury-prone pacer.
Natarajan probably had a better chance of making it to the squad. The left-arm pacer is a trustworthy candidate to bowl across different periods of the game. He has the uncanny ability to rush the batter with his low full toss, alongside possessing the left-arm angle.
Sandeep too might feel hard done by. Here is one bowler who very rarely loses his composure in the slog overs, even when he is being smashed to all corners of the ground. He doesn’t experiment much and sticks to his strengths. For a better understanding of the point, if Sandeep believes it is about implementing slower, back-of-a-length deliveries away from the hitting zone of the batter, then you expect him to not waver from his plan.
In the final analysis, India have played safe by selecting pacers who have been regular members of the set-up. Just a peek through the squad, and it can also be observed that India have bet massively on their spinners finding their mojo in what could be relatively spin-friendly conditions in the West Indies. Only time will tell whether the gamble will pay off.
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