The messy state of Indian bowling

Mohammed Shami

A former Delhi Ranji Trophy player, who is a friend of mine, once asked me the basis which ensures a winning performance for any cricket team. Leadership, training, coaching, infrastructure, opportunities and hard work – that’s what I replied. He agreed, but added that the other most important ingredient is the perfect combination of batting and bowling – as without a comprehensively balanced team, it is impossible to establish yourself in the competitive world of cricket.

So, after yesterday’s defeat for team India in the fourth ODI in New Zealand, many fans are wondering as to what will happen next? This is especially crucial in view of the fact that the Team India is being viewed as one of the strong contenders for the World Cup 2015.

Here comes the important role of the mighty BCCI. They have taken some good steps. Promoting cricket through a totally commercial event like IPL has been a good move. Also, it is an interesting and financially viable gala show. But, it also remains the prime responsibility of BCCI to ensure that the Indian bowling attack is developed. This is critical in order to avoid consecutive defeats for Team India. So why hasn’t the BCCI taken initiatives to improve the Indian bowling woes?

Earning profits and inviting foreign marquee players is fair enough, but where is an effective time bound programme for building a much needed bench strength of bowlers? Has the IPL been able to generate even a couple of impressive fast bowlers? The origin of fast bowlers like Mohammed Shami is more of personal endurance, rather than the result of any state run coaching camp or academy.

Moreover, there is a general tendency among the parents, coaches and even among the young players that every one wants to become a batsman! The reason is very simple. No bowler earns as much in comparison to a batsman! That is how the game is!  There is no dearth of batsmen in India. A lot of hard work and commitment is required to become a good bowler. For the pacers, even more inputs are needed. Despite this equation, bowlers get less fees, advertisements and endorsements.

It is comparatively easy to get established as a batsman, because once you are noticed, you pull along. Also, there is an advantage for the batsmen as they can score easily while playing on flat tracks in India.

Whereas for fast bowlers, no fast tracks are available for practice, except for the pitch of Mohali. Also, the bowlers are constantly required to perform in order to secure their place. They are even expected to contribute with the bat.  Many of the bowlers try hard to become all rounders, but in this attempt, their focus gets divided and this results in loosening their grip on the bowling.

A time bound, incentive based programme – with excellent coaching and foreigners’ guidance – needs to be initiated. This will help in identifying sub junior talent. BCCI should catch them young!