Nowadays Youngsters Want To Be Like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami - Lakshmipathy Balaji Speaks About India's Pace Bowling Evolution
By Ishaan Kumar
Updated - 24 May 2021, 08:18 PM
Former India pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji marvels over the pace bowling attack the Indian team has at its disposal. The depth of quality fast bowlers is unprecedented in the country’s cricketing history which has resulted in two historic Test series triumphs in Australia, and are set to rule the world furthermore.
Lakshmipathy Balaji says that earlier the focus of youngsters used to be only on the batters, and they wanted to become a batsman. However, he believes, now the trend has changed, as the kids wish to follow the footsteps of the bowlers as well. Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, and Mohammed Shami, the trio which helped India win the 2018/19 Test series in Australia is a major reason for this change.
“Earlier, nine out of 10 youngsters wanted to become a Virat Kohli or a Sachin Tendulkar or an MS Dhoni. Nowadays, they want to be like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd Shami or Zaheer Khan. The importance of fast bowling is defined with Bumrah’s pace, Shami’s modern-day skill sets, Ishant Sharma’s huge experience,” Lakshmipathy Balaji told Cricket Next.
The evolution of fast bowlers is why India is able to take 20 wickets in Tests consistently: Lakshmipathy Balaji
Lakshmipathy Balaji then points out that other than the three premier pacers, it was indeed the backups – Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Umesh Yadav, and T Natarajan – who were significant in the last series win Down Under.
The 39-year old former speedster said because of this evolution of pace bowling in India – the availability of high-quality back-ups when the first-choice ones are injured – the team wins Test matches as they are able to take 20 wickets.
“At present, Shami and Bumrah are the most skilled pacers we have and we could play one at a time. Even Ishant could be rotated. There are other fast bowlers like Bhuvi, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Siraj among others.“In the bargain, you end up widening the talent pool; they perform with the same intensity. You need to manage the fast bowlers to be fresh and sustain them over a long period of time. You need to find a formula that makes them sustainable.“T Natarajan, in recent times, has gone from a remote place in Tamil Nadu to playing international cricket, filling in the void of a left-arm seamer. All these are a result of the evolution of fast bowlers and which is why India is able to take 20 wickets in Tests consistently,” the CSK bowling coach further beieves.
Tagged:
Indian National Cricket Team Ishant Sharma Jasprit Bumrah Lakshmipathy Balaji Mohammed Siraj T Natarajan
