Time travelling to the late 20th century unveils the genesis of India’s fast-bowling revolution, spearheaded by Kapil Dev. As the years unfolded, a fresh generation of talent emerged. From the towering presence of Javagal Srinath to the magic of Zaheer Khan, each era witnessed the rise of luminaries who pushed boundaries and defied stereotypes. Ishant Sharma, who has a tally of 311 Test wickets, and Umesh Yadav also burst onto the scene before Zaheer was done. Then came Bhuvneshwar Kumar with his controlled swing bowling.
Fast forward to the present, and India’s fast bowling landscape boasts an imposing line-up of modern-day maestros. Jasprit Bumrah has redefined the artistry of pace bowling. Mohammed Shami has been consistency in presenting a straight seam personified. Mohammed Siraj has shown sparks few are capable of.
The concern is the future, when Bumrah and Shami are done. Even Siraj will turn 30 next month. There is no dearth of talent in India. Whether they have what it takes to dominate the world stage only time will tell. At the moment, there seems to be a big gap, in terms of quality. The three who came through the India A system in recent past — Mukesh Kumar, Prasidh Krishna and Avesh Khan — have not quite lit up the stage.
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Prasidh has played just two Tests. Not much can said of him. Mukesh failed to make an impression against England after decent outings in the West Indies and South Africa. While Bumrah tirelessly curbed the run flow from one end, Mukesh’s inconsistency allowed the England batters breathing room to get away. It will be interesting to see if he can quickly put the second Test behind him and make more of an impact in the coming days.
Like they did in case of Mukesh and Prasidh, who is out injured at the moment, the selectors will be keeping a close eye on the boys representing India A. The squad that beat England Lions 2-0 in the recent three-match series has already had three players — KS Bharat, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan — in the India squad for the Test series against England.
Looking at the fast bowlers who did India A duty against England Lions, Tushar Deshpande, Arshdeep Singh, Akash Deep, Yash Dayal and Navdeep Saini got opportunities. Most of them had fairly average outings, barring Akash to an extent. The pacer from Bengal grabbed four-wicket hauls in the first innings of the second and third matches won by India A.
Akash’s first-class record of 103 wickets from 29 games is impressive. He has taken wickets in different conditions and shown an ability to bowl in the 140 kmph range. He has also been a handy lower-order hitter for Bengal. However, while Akash emerges as a contender for a spot in the India squad, concerns linger regarding the overall performance of the fast-bowling unit. Ordinary displays against the Lions raise questions whether the next generation possesses the mettle to uphold the illustrious legacy set by the predecessors.
Deshpande, who played only one of those unofficial Tests, had little to cheer managing only a wicket at an economy rate of 5.00, conceding over 100 runs in a single innings. With a decent first-class record and having been brought up in Mumbai, more is expected of him. Saini also featured in a solitary match and secured two wickets. His bowling hardly posed any challenge to the Lions. Saini, who has been around for a while now, would want to start churning out more consistent performances.
Arshdeep is already a regular for India in limited-over versions, especially T20Is. The question is whether he can replicate that impact in the longer format. He is young, has the potential and the weapons. The responsibility will lie with the management to groom the left-arm pacer. The team has been looking for a left-armer for a while now.
Another left-arm seamer who could give Arshdeep competition is Dayal. He might have been smashed for five sixes on the trot in the last season of IPL by Rinku Singh, but the restart post that nightmare has been commendable. Dayal did not have standout hauls, but chipped in with returns of 2/14 and 1/37 in the second game and 3/32 and 1/45 in the third.
A part of the initial India squad for the first two Tests against England, Avesh would be waiting for an opportunity to prove himself. His first-class stats — 155 wickets in 40 matches — are remarkable. Avesh has evolved over the years and played 28 white-ball matches for India. He would be hoping to become a regular in the Test side one day.
It would perhaps be fair to say that the future of Indian fast bowling has talent. However, taking wickets regularly at the international level will require a lot more than talent. Consistency will be the key for the next crop if they wish to leave the kind of impact made by Bumrah and Shami. In other words, they have to make sure that their performances are not average but extraordinary.
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