3 youngsters who could become the next lead pacer for the Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team has traditionally been a spin bowling conveyor belt but the past few years have seen the balance tip towards the pacers. The likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma have become the cornerstone around which the Indian cricket team is built.
That said, cricket is a fast-moving sport, and it is crucial to have one eye on the future at all times. And on that note, we look at three bowlers who could lead the line for the Indian cricket team in the future.
3 youngsters who could lead the Indian cricket team's bowling attack
#1 Prasidh Krishna
24-year-old Prasidh Krishna made a real impression in the 2019/20 Vijay Hazare Trophy in September and October last year. Playing only eight matches in the tournament, he went on to pick up 17 wickets in the competition at an economy rate of under four an over.
Not much was being made of his performances at the domestic level all this while. However, the nation sat up and took notice when Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli chose to name drop the youngster when asked about more pacers being looked at it with the T20 World Cup in mind.
Prasidh Krishna seems to have impressed the skipper with his performances in the domestic circuit over the past few years. Having picked up 67 wickets in 41 List A appearances so far, an appearance for the Indian cricket team may not be a pipe dream anymore.
While the 2019 IPL season may not have been too kind to the Karnataka pacer, Krishna did pick up ten wickets in only seven matches in IPL 2018. In August 2018, he was also one of the ten best fast bowlers outside of the national team that were mentored by Paras Mhambrey and Rahul Dravid.
#2 Ishan Porel
21-year-old Ishan Porel has impressed in all three formats of the game at the domestic level over the last couple of years. Earlier this year, the pacer was instrumental in Bengal’s run to the final of the Ranji Trophy.
Porel was particularly impressive in the semi-final against Karnataka where his seven wickets helped make inroads in the opposition like-up. Bengal would end up winning the game comfortably by a mammoth 174 runs, setting up a final date with Saurashtra.
Ishan Porel would end up with 23 wickets in just six matches that season, as Bengal lost the final to Saurashtra. His record at the domestic level has made the country sit up and take notice.
One institution that did take notice of the Bengal pacer is IPL team Kings XI Punjab who snapped him up at a base price of INR 20 lakh at the auction held in late 2019. The opportunity to rub shoulders with the likes of Mohammed Shami and Sheldon Cottrell can only do wonders for the youngster, who can’t be too far from an Indian cricket team appearance.
#3 Karthik Tyagi
Our final choice comes from age-group cricket. A pacer who was particularly impressive with his swing bowling in the U19-World Cup held in South Africa, Karthik Tyagi picked up 11 wickets in just the six games.
The speedster was particularly impressive in the quarter-final against a strong Australian team. Running through middle-order a stint of swing bowling that seemed beyond his years, he would pick up four wickets as the Indian U19s beat their Australian counterparts by 74 runs, booking a place in the semi-final against Pakistan.
Karthik Tyagi would go on to pick up a couple more wickets in the semi-final, as the Indian colts bowled Pakistan out for just 172. The ‘boys in blue’ would chase the target down without losing a single wicket, thanks mainly to an unbeaten Yashasvi Jaiswal century.
The Uttar Pradesh speedster has not played too many games at the senior level in India, however. His only first-class match came in 2017, apart from five List A games in the 2018 season.
His exploits at the U19 World Cup has got the country talking, nonetheless. With Rajasthan Royals picking him up at the IPL 2020 auction, a stint with the Indian cricket team, and an opportunity to lead the line, can’t be too far away.