"This is India's best Test bowling line-up ever" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra has opined that India's current bowling line-up is their best ever in the longest format of the game.
Team India have an embarrassment of riches in the fast-bowling department. They also have a couple of world-class spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra replied in the affirmative when asked if India currently possess their best bowling line-up in Test history. He said:
"This is India's best Test bowling line-up ever. There is no doubt about that. It is because when Bhajji and Kumble were together, two great spinners, we did not have four or five fast bowlers."
The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that India had two or three good pace bowlers playing in tandem earlier but have a plethora of options now. Aakash Chopra elaborated:
"Along with Zaheer Khan, there was Ajit Agarkar sometimes, and Ashish Nehra or RP Singh on other occasions. But four or five of this level together - that along with Bumrah you get Shami, Ishant, Siraj, Shardul and there are still fast bowlers sitting out. This is insane, the depth we are seeing."
While India fielded four seamers - Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Siraj - in the Lord's Test, they have excellent backups in Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav waiting in the wings.
"The fast bowlers are making up for the lack of wickets or experience" - Aakash Chopra
While acknowledging that Ashwin and Jadeja might be slightly behind Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh in terms of the number of wickets and experience, Aakash Chopra pointed out that the seam bowlers give the current bowling attack the edge. He observed:
"The two spinners we are talking about, Ravichandran Ashwin is standing shoulder to shoulder with Harbhajan Singh, Jaddu is far behind Anil Kumble but the fast bowlers are making up for the lack of wickets or experience."
Aakash Chopra signed off by reiterating that India currently has its most potent bowling attack in Test history.
"I don't think India has had a better bowling line-up than this in their cricket history. Yes, this is the best ever."
The BCCI providing seamer-friendly tracks in domestic cricket has played a huge role in the emergence of fast bowlers. Virat Kohli has also shown the inclination to rely more on his seamers than other skippers in the past.