5 Fast Bowlers Who Can Be Good Backup Options For India In Test Cricket

5 Fast Bowlers Who Can Be Good Backups For India In Test Cricket; Of late, the Indian National Cricket Team is being praised for their scintillating effort with the ball in all formats of the game. The likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma and the other pool of fast bowlers have grown from strength to strength — to make things fall in place for the team whenever the difficulty raised.

However, injuries to key bowlers at tough phases haunted India like no other in the recent past.

To eradicate that in future, the selection panel is in thoughts of having good backup options for a longer version of the game as well. Regarding the same, we picked five bowlers who can serve as reinforcements for the current fast bowling attack of India in Test Cricket.

5 backup fast bowlers for India in Test Cricket:

5. Jaydev Unadkat:

Left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat is having a phenomenal Ranji Trophy season and recently broke a 21-year-old Ranji Trophy record by becoming the pacer with most wickets in a single season of the premier domestic tournament in India.

The Porbandar-born pacer is having the run of his life. Unadkat currently has 65 wickets in his bag and is just four wickets away from breaking the all-round record of maximum wickets in a Ranji season. Well, Bihar-based spinner Ashutosh Aman took 68 wickets in the last season.

With Indian team management still looking for the left-handed fast bowlers, it will just be a matter of time for Unadkat — to break into the team sooner than later.

4. Ishan Porel:

An upcoming pacer from Bengal, Ishan Porel grabbed headlines with figures of 4/17 against Pakistan in the ICC U19 World Cup semifinal at Christchurch.

Since then, Ishan Porel has made some rapid strides and seems ready for the big leap in his career. He is already making waves in the domestic circuit and looks likely to don the Indian Jersey sooner rather than the later.

Fresh from India A’s tour to New Zealand, Porel was the wrecker-in-chief with his 5/39 in Ranji Trophy back and also got the likes of KL Rahul and Hanuma Vihari during his heroics in the ongoing tournament.

Porel has already got the best players in the tournament and looks all set to make way into the Indian team. So far, he picked 60 wickets in 21 first-class matches.

3. Deepak Chahar:

The right-arm fast bowler had already proved his worth as the bowler in the limited-overs format of the game and looks all set to make his way into the red-ball format as well. He picked 125 wickets in 45 first-class matches so far, which shows his brilliance at the domestic level.

He already got international experience of playing in the limited-overs format, which would certainly help him in being considered for the red ball.

Deepak Chahar got the ability to swing both ways and also developed a good bouncer to trouble the batsman in the longer version of the game.

2. Mohammed Siraj:

The flamboyant cricketer from Hyderabad has been the major headliner in the domestic cricket in the last couple of years. He has been delivering goods regularly for his side in the first-class matches to put pressure on selectors to name him in almost every single Test series.

However, he often missed by a whisker to don the Indian Jersey.

Though Mohammad Siraj failed to use his opportunity in the white-ball format, his biggest strength has always been the red ball, as he can swing the ball in and out at a good pace. He further learnt the art of reverse swinging the ball to trouble the best batsman in India.

So far, he appeared in 36 first-class games and picked 147 wickets.

1. Navdeep Saini:

Navdeep Saini, who has lingered in the periphery for nearly three years now, didn’t quite move up the waitlist of probable players though he did make the Test team against Afghanistan as a replacement for Mohammed Shami.

That he wasn’t even serving drinks suggests that the thinktank didn’t want him playing Tests before blooding him in the white-ball formats. He also travelled to South Africa but didn’t get a look-in.

It was his performance against the West Indies A team that brought Saini into the limelight and got him his India cap.

A five-wicket haul in the opening ODI and the selectors nudged him into the T20 team. And he made it count with some real pace in both the matches.

His impressive show finally pushed management to have him in the squad for the tour of New Zealand.

However, he once again failed to break into the playing XI but sooner, he will be receiving his maiden cap, as he is the best backup bowler available in the Indian market at the moment.