Venkatesh Prasad Heaps Praises on the Current Crop of Indian Fast Bowlers

Former India pacer, Venkatesh Prasad lavished praise on the current crop of fast bowlers in the country.

He stated the current group of fast bowlers are showing a lot of potentials. He rated Bhuvneshwar Kumar pretty highly. He has been quite brilliant in all three formats of the game in the recent past. Prasad who played 33 Tests and 161 ODI’s since his debut in 1996 was impressed with the way the young pacers have shaped up in the recent time.

Must be noted, Prasad was the bowling coach for the Kings XI Punjab in the recently concluded IPL. He was also the chief junior selector with the BCCI till March this year.

The former pacer was present in Chandigarh to announce the winner of the Reb Bull Speedster Challenge. It featured eight fast bowlers which included the likes of Akshdeep Nath. The former pacer was in all praise for the pacers. He felt these players have shown a lot of potentials to make an upward rise in their career.

“There is a lot of talent in fast bowling in India and youngsters are showing a lot of promise. When I was the chief junior selector, we picked up bowlers like Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti, who impressed all in the ICC U- World Cup in New Zealand. Their ability to try the variations and handle pressure situations was something which helped them.”

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“A fast bowler’s role in the team is all about understanding what the team requires apart from understanding the situation of the game. That’s how fast bowlers need to play the role, and it also depends on their awareness of the game. What is important for a fast bowler is their ability to adapt to different situations,” he said.

The former pacer is remembered fondly for his exceptional spell against Pakistan in the quarter-final of World Cup 1996.

After being smashed for a boundary, Amir Sohail made a gesture of sending the next ball to the same direction. However, Prasad made a brilliant comeback and castled him. Now, it was Prasad’s turn to show the dressing room to Sohail.

He also made a mark in a 1999 Test against Pakistan where he bagged five wickets for no runs. However, for Prasad, the potential of a player can be judged only by their performances in Tests.

“For me, to term, a player successful depends on his performance in the longer format of the game. I come from the old school of thought, and some may differ from my thoughts. It is not that I don’t like the shorter format, but the point is that there is a lot which is needed to excel in the longer format. 

Smartness, fitness apart from the tactical aspect of the game plays a part in success in Test matches, and I feel a player, who performs in the longer format, will be more suited to any form of the game,” said Prasad.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has impressed me, says Prasad

He was very impressed with the way Bhuvneshwar Kumar has handled himself in the last five years.

“Bhuvneshwar Kumar is one of the bowlers who has impressed me. He was part of the Uttar Pradesh team when I was the coach of the team six years ago, and he has been able to adapt to different conditions. He tries a lot of variations in his bowling, and that makes him impressive,” concluded the former lanky speedster.

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