'Once You Find Your Aggression In Length, Then Don't Let That Go' : Shoaib Akhtar's Advice To Indian Pacers In England

Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar has offered a piece of advice to the Indian pacers ahead of the Test series against England. India and England will lock horns from the 4th of August in five Tests, starting with the first in Nottingham. Shoaib Akhtar has encouraged the tourists’ pace attack to stick to the aggressive length relentlessly.

India’s pace-bowling attack is one of the best currently as they are capable of taking wickets on any track. The likes of Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah are experienced and have different strengths bringing to the table. However, their pace unit struggled against Sam Curran, the all-rounder, in 2018. The tourists need to get their performance against the tailenders right to thrive on the English shores this time.

Shoaib Akhtar believes the aggression of the fast bowlers lie in their lengths and underlined that his own success was not due to bouncers, but hitting the right areas. Hence, the Rawalpindi Express feels the Indian bowlers must hit the deck aggressively and with speed. Akhar also stated they must vary their pace consistently.

“The aggression of the fast bowlers is in their length. People think that I was aggressive because of bowling bouncers, but no. I was aggressive because I was constantly hitting the right areas, and with the pace, with the variation in pace. So, whoever goes in from the Indian side, just remember to hit the deck with a lot of aggression and a lot of pace. And keep doing this variation throughout, which is the most important thing,” Akhtar said in his Youtube channel.

Make sure you have your match on within your brain, not with the batsmen: Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar further advised the Indian speedsters not to sacrifice the aggressive length once gained and believes the bowlers’ skill should outmatch the batsmen. The 45-year old said the players’ skill is their main enemy, impeding from displaying their best talent; hence, one has to go through the pain barrier to come out at the top.

“Once you find your aggression in length, then don’t let that go. Make sure you have your match on within your brain, not with the batsmen. It is my skill that is going to outsmart you out there. This is the mindset that you should have. It’s not about people who are holding the bad days or enemies of yours, no, it is your skill which is your best enemy, who is not letting you or allowing you to display that talent. In order to display that talent, you have to go through the pain barrier,” he added.

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