India pace bowler Mukesh Kumar might vividly remember October 30, 2015. On that day, he picked up the prized scalp of Virender Sehwag in a Ranji Trophy game in Rohtak. Granted that there was a good covering of grass for the Haryana-Bengal encounter, but to his credit, Mukesh extracted prodigious seam movement to leave Sehwag dumbfounded and rattle the timber. All that Sehwag could do was shoulder arms. Replays helped in decoding the sequence of events. The wrist position was very straight, and the ball went on to hit the seam. Subsequently, it nipped back a long way to castle Sehwag.
This very trait of keeping his wrist cocked and behind the ball has been the hallmark of Mukesh’s success in first-class cricket. And a majority of his 12 wickets in the just-concluded Australia A-India A unofficial Tests were due to Mukesh’s ability to invariably hit the seam. The method is simple but effective – if he doesn’t get enough movement in the air, then with a straight-seam grip, he is giving himself the best chance to find purchase off the deck.
He has another enviable attribute, and that is to quickly locate the right line and length, especially in conditions where the new cherry moves off the seam. In the first of the unofficial Tests against Australia A, it took him a mere three deliveries to gauge the conditions and force Sam Konstas to edge one behind. He did something similar while bowling to Beau Webster, who too could only edge it to the ‘keeper. On both occasions, from close to the stumps, he pitched it on a good length and found nifty movement.
Mukesh is also said to have bowled well during the India versus India A simulation matches. So, would his impressive performances in practice games tempt the think-tank to pick the pace bowler for the opening Test against Australia in Perth? The one factor that could act as a roadblock to Mukesh’s selection is that if India pick him, then the range of his skill set indicates that he should bowl with the new ball.
However, Jasprit Bumrah, the pace spearhead, is all set to take responsibility of making early incisions. And there is a decent chance that Mohammed Siraj could be his partner-in-crime as he has the experience of playing Test cricket in Australian conditions. It has to be noted, though, that Siraj is going through a bad patch at the moment. Mukesh’s bowling is also similar to that of Akash Deep, his Bengal teammate. More importantly, Akash is also deceptively quick.
In a five-match Test series, there is every chance that Mukesh could make it to the playing XI at some point of time. It’s just that the Indian camp would be inclined to trust the pacers who have been selected in the main squad rather than pick a bowler from the reserves for the first Test in Perth. But through the course of the series, if the Indian backroom staff are looking for a bowler who has the potential to cause some damage upfront, then Mukesh could be the right candidate. One former Indian opener might support that point of view.