Indian Cricket and Fast Bowlers - Forever a hate story

Well, when was the last time you saw an Indian fast bowler troubling the opposition with sheer pace and movement? When was the last time an Indian fast bowler took a 10 wicket haul in a Test match or a 5 wicket haul in ODIs? I have answers for these, but they are quite depressing. Ishant Sharma‘s spell against Australia (or rather Ricky Ponting) was the last world-class performance by an Indian fast bowler in my memory.

Statisticans may provide the answers, but they can’t hide the bitter truth. The truth that India cannot produce quality fast bowlers. Even if you put together the whole cricketing period of India, barely 3-4 established fast bowlers are worth remembering. Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan are among the few. This shows the pitiful condition of the Indian fast bowling talent.

Well, one cannot take away the fact that the Australians, South Africans etc are naturally more stronger than their Indian counter-parts. But similar is the condition with Pakistan too. Then from where do they come up with such extraordinary bowling talents? Yes, not many remain in the International arena for long, thanks to their very poor fitness or disciplinary issues, still there is a pool of talent from where the selectors can just pick one, and they will perform! The best example in recent times is of Juniad Khan. His spell against India in the first ODI was of sheer swing movement. And now look at the Indian bowling. Seriously, one feels that the only reason fast bowlers are picked is to fill up the places in the fielding 11.

So now the problem is clearly visible. Pakistan have produced excellent pacers and spinners too. The likes of Saqlain Mushtaq and Abdul Qadir are talked of in the same breath as Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. This clearly shows how their domestic playing conditions are favourable to both spinners and pacers. And now look at the Indian pitches. I do not criticise Ranji trophy. But the quality of pitches used is not much favourable for efficient fast bowling. The focus seems to be in preparing a turning pitch or a flat pitch on which batsmen can make tons and tons of runs.

This is just one problem. Even the fast bowlers themselves have to be blamed. Ok, sometimes it happens that one has a dry patch, but it doesnt mean that one should get discouraged by it. Many fast bowlers in our nation have turned to spin bowling to get wickets on these pitches. One of the most recognisable example is of Anil Kumble, who was a medium pacer before becoming a leg spinner. In his case, I am not criticising his decision. He is a legend. But that clearly explains my argument.

And finally, it’ s we, the fans who are to be blamed. He has played a handful of matches, but Bhuvaneshwar Kumar is already being hailed as the next Kapil Dev. Well, it’s not wrong to praise someone for their performance. But such over-appreciation can only turn into a bane for the bowler himself. It would create tremendous pressure on the bowler to perform in each and every match. And he might not be successful always, and it just takes a string of bad performances to permanently end a career.

These are just few of the reasons. There are many more. Like how the physios help the fast bowlers maintain the fitness, their state of mind while bowling in Indian pitches and so on. But everything points in the same direction – Indian bowling has never had a Glenn McGrath or a Courtney Walsh. If no changes are made in how things are done regarding fast bowlers, Indian cricket will continue to suffer.