What’s wrong with Indian bowling?
After every match that India plays, this is the one big question that always crops up. It seems that the batsmen have all the aggression in the world, (don’t believe me, just watch a clip of Kohli after a century, it is surprising that the censor board hasn’t blocked the telecasts as yet. Now here’s a guy who is humble enough to not only acknowledge his elders after his feat, but also mindful of others’ mothers and sisters).
But it is the Indian bowlers who are found wanting for aggression. I am not going to talk about the obvious reasons which the whole of India knows i.e. dusted wickets which look more like the Sahara desert than an actual wicket, or the lightening fast outfields or the advent of bats thicker than a trunk of a tree.
Indian bowlers lack aggression
What I would rather point here is the defeatist mentality that has actually crept in the Indian bowlers. The focus has changed from taking wickets to containing runs. I will put my neck on the line and go ahead and say they lack “heart” to bowl.
It was very disappointing for me to see Ishant Sharma retaliating, after being charged down and getting hit for a six, with a slower delivery. When Mitchell Johnson bowled against the Indians, he would relentlessly try to bowl faster even though the conditions were not in favour, he put in all the effort he had got. The Indian bowlers on the other hand have been more than happy to win the battle and lose the war.
That is why I believe the fast bowlers when they burst onto the scene perform so well because they still have the fire, the heart to go back and try their best again no matter what the conditions are. However, it is when they have cemented a place in the team is when you see them under performing and giving up the chase.
It takes a huge toll on the body: fast bowling especially when you know the pitch is as unpromising as Tushar kapoor’s new movie, and the brain warns you not to do it. It’s only the fast bowlers who are a little stupid and have a massive ego that have been able to perform well in India.
It is said that to be a fast bowler you have to be slightly off (read cuckoo!!). I mean, who would want to be a fast bowler and toil all day in the field when you can be standing with a bat in hand and have things delivered to you.
You might ask what about the skill element of it, aren’t the Aussies physically better and properly trained from younger ages. But let me tell you the Indians are more than capable of beating them when they have really tried. Who can forget a young Ishant making Pointing hop like a kangaroo in his own backyard, or Irfan Pathan swinging it a mile or Zaheer khan teaching the so-called masters the art of fast bowling.
So at the core of it, fast bowling is all about having a big heart and not giving up. Andrew Flintoff epitomized this, hit him for a six and rest assured the next ball would be a yard faster even if it was the fifth spell.
It’s always the guy who is willing to die who’ll win the match when it comes to fast bowling.