10 Indian Fast Bowlers Who Shone Initially But Faded With Time

The Indian National Cricket Team has seen some deadly fast bowlers in its history over the years. Although Team India boasts of deadly pacers in the present scenario that include Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

And, there have been some bowlers who might have started poorly during the inception of their international careers, but gradually rose to fame.

On the other hand, there have also been a few bowlers who have shown immense potential initially, but they gradually faded away.

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10 Indian Pacers Who Shone Initially But Faded With Time

Irfan Pathan:

When Irfan Pathan first came, he was known for his great swing bowling. For the first 2-3 years, he created a stir in world cricket with his superb swing bowling. He also took a hat-trick in the over before his superb swing bowling against Pakistan in Karachi.

However, over time, Irfan Pathan lost both swing and pace and he was dropped from the Indian team due to poor performance.

Now his situation is so bad, that even the IPL franchises are not buying him.

Due to his poor performance, the Baroda team also dumped him. As a result, he moved to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K last domestic season and is now playing domestic cricket from there.

Munaf Patel

Initially known for swinging the ball in both directions, Indian cricketer Munaf Patel faded away after the 2011 World Cup. With increasing age, he also had a lot of fitness problems. He was injured many times and was in and out of the team.

Munaf played a total of 13 Test matches, 70 ODIs and three T20 matches in his career. He played his last international match in 2011.

Munaf, who made his Test debut against England in Mohali in 2006, took seven wickets for 97 runs in this match, but he could not keep his achievements in ODI cricket for many years.

Praveen Kumar

There used to be a time in the Indian cricket when batsmen used to fear Praveen Kumar. Whether Australia, England or Sri Lanka, all the teams feared to face him.

Praveen Kumar’s brilliant fast bowling and swing used to trouble the best batsmen. Even famous batsmen like Ricky Ponting, Mahela Jayawardene and Kevin Pietersen could not hit Praveen Kumar’s balls.

Praveen Kumar started his international cricket career in the year 2007 against Pakistan. He played a total of 6 Tests, 68 ODIs and 10 T20 matches and could not continue his initial success for a very long time.

RP Singh

Fast bowler RP Singh, who played a key role in India’s victory in the 2007 T20 Cricket World Cup, announced his retirement in the year 2018 itself.

The left-arm fast bowler wore the jersey of the Indian team for the first time 14 years ago, on September 4, 2005.

In his early days, the Indian team had won many matches with his superb bowling, but later his performance started deteriorating and he started looting runs. After which he was dropped from the Indian team.

Atul Wasan

Atul Wasan was a long fast bowler. He has taken 10 wickets in four Tests and 11 wickets in 9 ODIs for the Indian team.

In his first ODI against New Zealand, he took a total of three wickets for just 45 runs in 10 overs.

His talent was seen in the first ODI that he played but he was not able to impress much in his further matches and was dumped from the Indian team.

Atul Wasan, who started his ODI cricket career in 1990, was able to play for the Indian team only till 1991 and his international cricket career ended.

Debashish Mohanty

Former Indian cricketer Debashish Mohanty played two Test matches and 45 ODIs for the Indian team. He took 4 wickets in 2 Tests. At the same time, he took a total of 57 wickets in 45 ODIs.

He was known for his superb swing bowling. In his early days, the veteran used to say that he will play for the Indian team for a long time, but this could not be done. He flopped later and was dropped from the team.

Mohanty, who made his ODI debut in 1997, was able to play cricket for the Indian team for 4 years. He played his last match against Sri Lanka on 22 July 2001.

Laxmipathi Balaji

If India was able to win the ODI and Test series in Pakistan in 2004, huge credit for it goes to Laxmipathi Balaji. He had Pakistan’s batsmen in awe with his superb bowling.

In his early days, it was very difficult for any team to play him, but later he was not able to bowl in his bowling and batsmen used to score runs on their balls.

S Sreesanth

In his early days, S Sreesanth had become a star player of the Indian team, but as time passed, his bowling became very bad. Due to which he was later dropped from the Indian team.

Sreesanth has 87 wickets in the 27 Test matches that he has played for India. He has also picked 75 wickets in 53 ODIs for the Men in Blue. He has played for India in 10 T20I games, picking seven wickets in the process.

Varun Aaron

Jharkhand fast bowler Varun Aaron was once considered the fastest bowler in India, due to which he was given a place in the Indian team, although Varun Aaron failed to make much impact in international cricket.

He has pace and at this pace in his initial days, he troubled the opposition batsmen, but later he had the speed, but his line-length had deteriorated considerably.

Consequently, he was dropped from the Indian team. He currently plays for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) franchise in the IPL.

Mohit Sharma

Mohit Sharma of Haryana, who was once named as the most trusted bowler for former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was considered as the bowler of the future, but gradually he lost his lustre.

He made his T20 debut under the captaincy of Dhoni. He had performed brilliantly in the 2015 World Cup, but after that, his bowling went away.

Mohit Sharma has not been able to make a place for the Indian team since October 2015. Mohit, who made his debut in 2013, has 31 wickets in 26 ODIs.

Also Read: Five Most Courageous Decisions By Indian Captains In Cricketing History