What India's bowling lineup will look like in the near future?
The annual extravaganza called the IPL has ended and now the focus will shift again to international circuit. India are due to play a resurgent Bangladesh side in a 1-Test, 3-ODI tour. After that a tour to Zimbabwe(3 ODIs, 2 T20Is) and Sri Lanka(3 Tests) will be followed by South Africa visiting India(4 Tests, 5 ODIs, 3 T20Is). With such a packed schedule, one can never be sure about the bowling line-up remaining the same despite the success our pace trio had in the World Cup. For some reason or the other, the bowling attack presents a new look every two or three years once and this is how we predict it to look like in the future:
1. Bhuvneshwar Kumar:
Before the World Cup, Bhuvi was expected to lead the line of Indian pace attack being the highest ranked Indian bowler(13th) then. But an unfortunate injury kept him away for the initial matches and he only played one match against minnows UAE. The success of the playing trio Shami, Yadav & Mohit kept him side-lined for the rest of the campaign. But, his brilliant show in IPL(18 wickets in 14 matches) for the Sunrisers Hyderabad proved that he is back to his usual best. He has been picked in both ODI and Test squad and he should make the cut for the playing XI in the ODIs at least. His ability to swing the ball both ways can be a lethal weapon upfront.
Test career: 29 wickets in 12 matches, average of 35.00 with 6/82 being his best figures
ODI career: 46 wickets in 45 matches, average of 36.76 with 4/8 being his best figures
1st class career: 178 wickets in 101 innings, economy of 2.83
2. Sandeep Sharma:
In a rather gloomy campaign for KXIP, the Punjab seamer was the sole silver lining. He came in to the limelight after finishing as the joint highest wicket-taker (12) for India in 2012 U-19 world cup including a 4-wicket haul in the final. The medium pacer finished with 13 wickets in 14 matches at an economy of 7.00 in IPL-8 and 2nd in the most dot balls bowled charts. He has a stellar record in domestic cricket as well and should get a nod for the Zimbabwe series.
1st class career: 111 wickets in 48 innings at an economy of 2.74.