India have a busy season ahead of them, including home Test rubbers against Bangladesh and New Zealand and the eagerly anticipated tour Down Under. If you apply simple logic, India would look for a rotational policy, especially when it comes to fast bowling. The logic applied here is that they would want to test their pace-bowling stocks ahead of the Australian tour. Also, India would want to keep some of the established members of the side – Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj – fresh and raring to go for the Australian series.
In that backdrop, here is a list of India’s next batch of pace bowlers, who are all set to participate in the upcoming Duleep Trophy.
Harshit Rana – Duleep Trophy – Team A
Roughly a year ago, Rana was playing in a Duleep Trophy game between North Zone and North-East Zone. There was nothing much to write about a one-sided match, where North demolished their opponent. However, if you peel the outside layers, there was one spell by Rana, late in the afternoon, which caught the writer’s eye.
From round the wicket, Rana kept hitting the pitch hard to extract decent bounce out of a slow deck. The key to that spell was he pounded the deck hard time and again in his opening spell. He also found seam movement and bounce in the IPL final of 2024, while playing for Kolkata Knight Riders. Somewhere, it indicates that Rana has the right ingredients to bowl first change or is at least good enough to find a place in the squad for the series in Australia.
However, there is a caveat attached to Rana and that is he has only played seven first-class games. So, if India have to select him for any of the home Tests or the forthcoming Test rubber in Australia, it would be based more on Rana’s immense potential rather than consistent performances over a period of time in the Ranji Trophy.
Arshdeep Singh – Duleep Trophy – Team D
The head honchos of Indian cricket seem to have pencilled in Arshdeep as one of the prospects for Australia. One of the reasons for that could be the left-arm angle, which would bring some much-needed variety to the Indian pace attack. He has also made vital contributions for India in the shortest format of the game. Having said that, one has to throw in a word of caution.
For starters, his first-class record doesn’t make for a great reading – 49 scalps at an average of nearly 32. The essence of the point here is that in T20 cricket, a captain can strategically place a fielder in the deep and ‘buy’ wickets. Quinton de Kock getting caught at fine leg in the T20 World Cup final was a case in point. In the longest format, as a batter has lots of time on his hands, he can afford to milk someone’s bowling.
Although Arshdeep has a decent short ball in his armour, his main strength is swing bowling – be it with the new or old ball. Ideally, he needs to open the bowling in a place like Australia. But given the fact that India have Bumrah, Shami and Siraj in their ranks, it is hard to envisage the think-tank employing Arshdeep as a new-ball bowler.
Prasidh Krishna – Team A – Duleep Trophy
The tall, right-arm seamer is making a comeback from a left proximal quadriceps tendon injury. In fact, Prasidh has been posting enough videos on Instagram of him doing gym work and training. Earlier in the year, he had also made his Test debut in South Africa. Unfortunately for Prasidh, he struggled to find his groove and took a mere two wickets in two Tests. So, what went wrong for the Karnataka paceman? After all, he had the skill-set to succeed in South African conditions.
It perhaps came down to not having the fast-bowling mindset. Simply put, as soon as a batter targeted Prasidh, he seemed to wilt under pressure. In the second innings in Cape Town, there was something else to observe: Prasidh bowled a well-directed bumper at Lungi Ngidi. Even though Ngidi is a No.11 batter, it doesn’t take away the fact that it was a fine bouncer. Just that when he bowled to Aiden Markram, the opener, it felt as if he was just putting the ball out there.
Prasidh’s hit-the-deck skills are ideal for the conditions in South Africa and Australia. But after his no-show in South Africa, the selectors would be wary of selecting him again. He also has had his share of injuries.
Akash Deep – Team A
The right-arm seamer put on a noteworthy performance in his maiden Test in Ranchi. So, what are his strengths? Akash is mostly a skiddy, seam bowler. He regularly hits the seam, and the ball seems to hasten off the deck. He also bowls with a decent burst of pace. Akash also prefers to zoom the ball in at the stumps. He could turn out to be a very useful bowler in Indian conditions. But what about Akash playing in different climes like in Australia? Could he turn out to be a surprise package there too?
Being a seam bowler and someone who gets the ball to hasten off the surface, Akash has some fine qualities. On the flip side, if he is going to play in Australia, then instead of targeting the stumps, he would have to usher his deliveries into the one-square-foot window outside the off stump. Remember, if India pick Akash, he would likely bowl with a relatively old Kookaburra ball. And his task would be to do enough of channel bowling.
Anesh Khan’s traits are quite similar to that of Prasidh. He has also played around 30 internationals for India. He has been a part of India’s Test set-ups as well. Avesh would be hoping to impress the selectors in the Duleep Trophy and book a place in the Test squad.
Earlier in the year, Vidwath Kaverappa earned a BCCI fast-bowling contract. He is another of those tall pacers who extracts some bounce. The focal point of his bowling is still his control. He does have the ability to zoom the ball in on the right areas for a period of time. Kaverappa, though, lacks that extra burst of pace. He will play for Team A in the Duleep Trophy.
Vijaykumar Vyshak, who is a Karnataka teammate of both Prasidh and Kaverappa, is an honest trier. Here is a bowler who is ever ready to wade through a phase of ‘tough overs’. Basically, when nothing is happening, Karnataka have generally turned to the gritty Vyshak. He can generate swing with the old ball and is never afraid to try the short one.
Umran Malik, the express fast bowler, who is looking to bounce back from failures, the experienced Mukesh Kumar and Khaleel Ahmed complete the list of pace bowlers to watch out for in the Duleep Trophy.