Former India pacer Zaheer Khan opined on the current Indian team pace attack and said that he has been impressed by all of the fast bowlers that have played for India in the past 2-3 years or so. Be it the experienced Mohammad Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, or Jasprit Bumrah; or the newbies like Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, and Navdeep Saini.
Every fast bowler that has come into the Indian team has left a mark with their performances and has helped India become the team to beat, not only at home but in away matches as well, as evident from their second consecutive Test series win in Australia and currently leading 2-1 in five-Test series in England.
Since 2017 (in the last five years), Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami have claimed 235 and 199 wickets respectively, across all formats (Tests, ODIs, and T20Is). The two pacers have been maintaining their position in the top 10 rankings. In the Pataudi Trophy (India’s tour of England), in the four Tests played, Bumrah claimed 18 wickets in 4 Tests and Siraj bagged 14, while Shami took 11.
“Everyone has impressed me. Whether you talk about Shami who has a prominent seam position. He has done consistently well. He has a good track record providing some crucial breakthroughs at crucial times. He has been the bowling mainstay for the team. He has been leading the pace attack in Tests for a while now. You have Bumrah who has that X factor. He has the talent to get rid of the best batsmen in the world,” Zaheer Khan told Times of India.
Mohammed Siraj Is Another Emerging Talent We Have; Shardul Thakur Is Contributing With Both Bat And Ball: Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan also pinpointed out which of the fresh talents have caught his eye and two of them are Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur.
Siraj was instrumental in India’s second successive win on Australian soil. He was the highest wicket-taker for India with 13 scalps in 3 Tests. While Shardul Thakur was important for India in England Test series where he scored twin half-centuries in the Oval Test match and also picked up crucial wickets.
“The team has got a lot of variety. You have Shardul. He has been contributing with both bat and ball. You have Umesh. He is also amazing. You have Ishant Sharma who is tall and has been wonderful with his bowling and got major breakthroughs. He has been around for over 100 Tests now. He provides valuable experience in the team. Siraj is another emerging talent we have. This is a wonderful bowling attack that the Indian team has,” the 2011 World Cup winner said.
Indian team is currently battling South Africa in a series of three Tests, having won the first match in Centurion, they lead the series 1-0.