Indian fast bowlers in 2018 -- Those who were selected for the test series in England and those who barely missed out

[rkt.india]

On 7/26/2018 at 9:01 AM, UnknownGenius said:

A rating for  effort but content is lacking. Clear bias here

 

You attack Shardul Thakur who is a proven match winner and most recently won a major title but praise someone like daini who hasn't done anything yet for country or ffranchise

 

 

Hmmmmmm 

proven match winner  stop smoking bad quality    

[rkt.india]

Our selection are so bad that a guy who just picked 15 wickets in 2 FC games against decent oppositions does not get picked for a test series played in the same country.  Look England, they immediately picked Jamie Porter after he bowler well against us .  Siraj who bowled well against Lions will have to again break dust in domestic cricket.

[speedster]

Last time in England Aaron bowled some genuinly quick stuff,  wish he had kicked from there,  another case of what could have been

[Suhaan]

1 hour ago, rkt.india said:

Our selection are so bad that a guy who just picked 15 wickets in 2 FC games against decent oppositions does not get picked for a test series played in the same country.  Look England, they immediately picked Jamie Porter after he bowler well against us .  Siraj who bowled well against Lions will have to again break dust in domestic cricket.

Most impotent bunch of jokers in the selection office,that clown msk has no ide a 

[express bowling]

3 hours ago, rkt.india said:

Our selection are so bad that a guy who just picked 15 wickets in 2 FC games against decent oppositions does not get picked for a test series played in the same country.  Look England, they immediately picked Jamie Porter after he bowler well against us .  Siraj who bowled well against Lions will have to again break dust in domestic cricket.

 

I think our Team management do not want any new guys in the team if possible.  Even when the selectors have included youngsters in the squad, they have not been backed  ( unless it is a specific requirement of the team like wrist spinners, in which area good and fit experienced guys are not available ).

 

It is possible that the management specifically asked for Shardul, as he has been in and around the Team India setup for 2 years now and needs less mentoring.

 

This team management is completely averse to mentoring new or inexperienced guys.  Whether this stems from lack of confidence to guide and mentor ... or unwillingness to do so ... we don't know. But has to be one or both.

Edited July 28, 2018 by express bowling

[express bowling]

2 hours ago, rkt.india said:

Our selection are so bad that a guy who just picked 15 wickets in 2 FC games against decent oppositions does not get picked for a test series played in the same country.  Look England, they immediately picked Jamie Porter after he bowler well against us .  Siraj who bowled well against Lions will have to again break dust in domestic cricket.

 

With key pacers missing or not a hundred percent, Siraj would have added a lot of value. 

 

He has his basics right, is in top form in England, knows what lengths to bowl there and would have been confident due to his form.

[sensible-indian]

1 hour ago, express bowling said:

 

I think our Team management do not want any new guys in the team if possible.  Even when the selectors have included youngsters in the squad, they have not been backed  ( unless it is a specific requirement of the team like wrist spinners, in which area good and fit experienced guys are not available ).

 

It is possible that the management specifically asked for Shardul, as he has been in and around the Team India setup for 2 years now and needs less mentoring.

 

This team management is completely averse to mentoring new or inexperienced guys.  Whether this stems from lack of confidence to guide and mentor ... or unwillingness to do so ... we don't know. But has to be one or both.

This is a fraud leadership group benefitting due to a talented team.

 

If we somehow win the world cup, you will see Shastri being proclaimed as a legendary coach. 

[Sooda]

This is why i come to ICF, to read genuinely insight ful and informative stuff- comes along all too rarely. @express bowling and @rkt.india always worth reading for their insights on pace bowling especially.

 

Express, what are your views on Gurbani and Khejroliya... I know they are bit below the ones you have listed in the pecking order

[express bowling]

On Wednesday, July 25, 2018 at 10:43 PM, prudent_kreeda said:

    From me too  - to one of the shining stars of ICF. 

   

 

On Friday, July 27, 2018 at 6:26 AM, Vilander said:

*ing epic post sir.

 

As always, class EB 

 

2 hours ago, Sooda said:

This is why i come to ICF, to read genuinely insight ful and informative stuff- comes along all too rarely. @express bowling and @rkt.india always worth reading for their insights on pace bowling especially.

 

 

Thanks a lot !    

[express bowling]

2 hours ago, Sooda said:

 

Express, what are your views on Gurbani and Khejroliya... I know they are bit below the ones you have listed in the pecking order

 

Sooda ...  

 

I have watched Gurbani bowl only 3 or 4 spells. So, it is difficult to form a complete opinion.

 

But, from what I seen, his plus points are ...  he a genuine swing bowler, has a top quality inswinger and a knack of picking wickets in domestic 4-day or 5-day matches.

 

His negatives are that his pace is low even for a swing bowler.  Whether he has the tools to succeed,  if conventional swing is not available, remains to be seen. But I have not seen him hit the deck hard or get any bounce. 

 

If he improves his other qualities and pace, like Bhuvi has done ... he can be a good backup swing bowler for Bhuvi.

 

Khejroliya is a hit the deck left arm pacer, maybe around 6'1",  who gets good purchase and decent bounce off the deck. Often, it seems that his stock ball is the bouncer or the rising short ball, which he uses very frequently and sometimes effectively.

 

He is still inconsistent in terms of rhythm and pace.  Speeds vary between 127 k and 143 k.  In 4-day matches, he often loses steam and drops pace. 

 

His good length channel and stump directed deliveries are not that developed yet.  But he has a decent yorker and slower ball.

 

He is a much better white ball bowler than a red ball bowler.  But needs to hone his skills further. Definitely has potential.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 28, 2018 by express bowling

[prudent_kreeda]

5 hours ago, Suhaan said:

Most impotent bunch of jokers in the selection office,that clown msk has no ide a 

    I do not agree fully with it. 

   Look at the recent A team  selections , they are really encouraging talented youngsters barring may be 1 -2  average ones .

   That too because when someone scores heavily on Domestic  , they need to include even though he may not be a good international prospect or nearing 30s.or 30+. 

  I think if you ask most of  knowlwegeable ICFERS , they mostly concur with A team selection barring 1or 2 . 

  

 In Senior selections - looks like there are 2 aspects to it. 

 

   1. Selectors have given few younsters in 15 but team management never really gave them proper chances or the right place to blossom.   So here the blame should be on that  vicious  evil trio group  Koach-Rat-Old  white bearded Unkil  esp. in T20 & 50 overs .

     Selectors included -  Pant , KL, Iyer , Kuldeep, Siraj.  ( only recently Kuldeep made it in shorter format but still iffy iffy in Tests)

     Did they get a fair  trial ? - Atleast not in the case of KL & Iyer . Siraj - Wrong format.

     Were they ever promoted higher up ?  Were the usual friend circle of Rohit , Moochad , MSD   rested 

      even after series was won and these new guys included . In fact it seems some one seem to be trying to see some of these do

     not  achieve success . 

     Count how many times it happened .

     If you really see - if Pant is a success ,  WK position would be his on all 3 formats . Who will be the loser ?  MSD  ...

           So he most probably will get regular spot in team 11 only post WC 19. 

     If KL  is success as opener -  He will the opener in all 3 formats .   Who will be the losers ?  Moochad  & Rohit  ...

     If  Krunal Pandya a success -   No place for Axar, Jaddu, Raina in shorter format . 

 

     OK SD & Rohit  are doing decent job on shorter format but still why no rotation ? why not resting them for some series ? That never happens .       

    

    Once you see obvious talent it is the captain who should think how he can get the best out of such guys . If you listen to Saurav ,    you will know how he gave opening slot to Veeru , 1 down to MSD when he was a rookie. 

      How he promised that they will get 10-15 games , even if fail some time . 

      Insisted on inclusion of youngsters if he saw real talent .

 

   2.  Selectors do not have guts to drop some Old superstars & Team management insists on some Old hands with experience of failure within their favoured group over new talent . 

 I do not  think team management ever ask for new guys if that person competes with that of a favoured oldie . 

 

Make DADA BCCI president and some one with stature like Vengsarkar, Mohinder , Kumble - Chief Selector.

Most of these things will fall in line .

Bewda 1 mahine ke andhar ghar jaayega !

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

[vishalvirsingh]

On 7/24/2018 at 11:32 AM, express bowling said:

Indian fast bowler, Md. Shami, was on fire during the closing stages of the Johannesburg test match in January 2018. As quick yorkers and stump directed deliveries came spearing in one after another, the South Africans were losing wickets fast and crashing to a test defeat on their home turf. And we won rather quickly after this.

This test match win was rather unique ... India won it without playing a single spinner while playing 4 specialist fast bowlers and a seamer-allrounder ... for the first time in our history.  And what an elated feeling it was for the fast bowling fans of India !

Forty years back, the only way to differentiate between an Indian pacer and an Indian spinner was to look at the length of their run-ups. After that, we produced one good test quality pacer per decade ... Kapil in the 1980s starting 1978,  Srinath in the 1990s and Zaheer in the 2000s.

The 2010s decade saw a sea change. With much improved strength and endurance training, nutrition, world class facilities and fitness coaches at the NCA, rampant use of speed-guns in coaching facilities, good cricket infrastructure in many parts of India, bubbling confidence of Indians due to a fast growing economy,  rookie pacers interacting with world class coaches and players in the IPL, good U19 and A-team structure etc. ...  fast bowling culture finally arrived in India. And in 2018, we have so many good quality genuine fast bowlers right from the U16 stage to the senior team.

Now, the 5 test series in England is about to be played.  Let us take a look at the resources available to us.

 

Pacers selected in the squad to England for the first 3 tests --
 

 

Jasprit Bumrah
Age 24
Test Average  25.2  and  SR  48.1
Speed range in test matches -  135 k to 148 k
Bowling style - Right arm fast

Bumrah is a hit-the-deck genuine fast bowler who is around  6 feet tall. He has a high arm and unorthodox action. Gets good bounce , zip off the deck and seam movement wherever possible and is a very accurate bowler.  He started off as a pacer who bowled indippers most of the time ... but in the last 9 months he has also  developed the delivery that moves away slightly.  This has made him a very dangerous bowler.

He is a thinking bowler who adapts to situations fast and is a quick learner. This,  along with his ability to combine pace and bounce with skills,  has made him a genuine wicket taker. He bowled with great intensity and pace in his debut test series in South Africa and ended up with 14 wickets from 3 tests ... and his transition from white ball to red ball cricket was rather smooth.

His unfortunate thumb injury will make him miss the first test.  I hope he gets fit for the second game.  He has all the qualities to be the leader of our pace attack.


Md. Shami  

Age 28

Test average  28.9  and SR  51.2
Speed range in test matches - 135 k to 147 k
Bowling style - Right arm fast

He is a short, well built, genuine fast bowler who combines pace and bounce with good skills and has an excellent ball release and seam position. He is a master of reverse swing both ways and gets consistent seam movement too wherever available. Although not a classical swing bowler, he can bowl conventionally swinging balls when conditions are helpful ... and takes the ball away from the right-handeres.  He also has a vicious and skiddy bouncer which he uses liberally.

Shami in full flow is a sight to behold and this has made him a low average and low SR bowler.  But his career has been marred by knee injuries which has made him miss many a series. Adding to his injury woes has been some acute marital problems in the last 8 months, which has shaken him mentally.

I hope he is in the mental frame of mind to give his one hundred percent in the upcoming test series. If he is firing on all cylinders, our job will become much easier in England.


Umesh Yadav  
Age 30
Test average  34.9  and SR  58.0
Speed range in test matches - 135 k to 150 k   (  but has bowled 130 k to 145 k in the last few months  )
Bowling style - Right arm fast

He is a skiddy fast bowler, around 5'11" , who can combine pace with outswing. But his weaknesses are lack of consistency, accuracy and insufficient bounce for such a quick bowler. He has a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde syndrome.  We dont know which Umesh we are going to get, the magical wicket-taker or the club level bowler.

Another problem he has developed in the last few months is bowling slower than he can. This is not a good idea for anybody, but especially for someone whose USP is pace. He has done it perhaps in search of accuracy. That hasn't happened though as most pacers are most accurate when they are bowling in full rhythm and normal pace. Bowling slower or faster than usual, both affect accuracy adversely.

If he can combine outswing, pace and good lines ... he can be a handful in England.


Ishant Sharma   
Age 29
Test average  35.5  and SR  65.9
Speed range in test matches - 132 k to 145 k
Bowling style - Right arm fast-medium

He is a  6'5"  hit the deck pacer who has been around for more than 10 years.  A slow learner and sub-par performer, he is lucky to have survived this long.

But, in the last 4 years he has added value, in overseas test matches, as a workhorse pacer who can get in a lot of overs at a low economy rate while hitting the deck hard and maintaining lively pace.

He has recently had a county stint and seems to have developed a better inswinger. His perennial problem has been bowling a bit shorter than ideal length and we will see whether this aspect has improved.

 

Shardul Thakur 
Age 26
Test average  -  Yet to debut
Speed range in FC matches - 130 k to 142 k
Bowling style - Right arm fast-medium

A short skiddy pacer, around 5'9" ... he seems to be the automatic backup seamer in all formats the moment someone is injured or rested.  But is definitely not the best choice available, with so much good quality fast bowling talent available in India now.

He is primarily an outswing bowler. If he can bowl a good line and length then he can be successful in England due to his ability to get outswing. He has a decent bouncer too.

We have to see whether he can sustain pace in test matches. He is such a short seamer bowling at standard pace, whether he can make an impact, if the dry English summer does not offer much swing, needs to be seen too.

Pacers who barely missed out due to injury or otherwise --


Bhuvneshwar Kumar ( injured )
Age 28
Test average 26.1 and SR 53.1
Speed range in test matches - 127 k to 142 k
Bowling style - Right arm fast-medium

India's best swing bowler who is capable of picking regular five-fors in helpful conditions or on greentops. His unavailability in swing-friendly England, atleast for the first 3 tests, is a big blow for us.

He has a good seam position and can swing the ball both ways if conditions favour conventional swing, get some seam movement on greentops and is an accurate and thinking bowler. He often looks innocuous on flat or slow tracks though.

After adding some pace and bounce, Bhuvi has become very competitive in test matches.  He will be missed.


Md. Siraj  
Age 24
Test average - Yet to debut
Speed range - Was Bowling 135 k to 150 k in T20s ...  Can he bowl 135 k to 145 k in tests  ?
Bowling style - Right arm fast-medium / fast

A wiry, skiddy fast bowler, around 6'1",  Siraj has progressed very fast after FC debut, with stellar FC, List A and A-team performances.  He can bowl with genuine pace but does not always do so. His speed has improved a lot in the last 4 months.

He started off as a bowler who bowled indippers mostly, but saw him bowling the away going delivery rather regularly on the just finished A-team tour to England.  Previosly, most of his wickets were via skiddy quick stump directed deliveries, which fetches him lots of bowled and LBWs.  He has been getting quite a few caught behinds in recent times.

He has been in red hot form in the just concluded  4 day A-team series. Has picked up 15 wickets in 2 matches.  Should have been picked in the test squad.


Ankit Rajpoot  
Age 24
Test average - Yet to debut
Speed range in FC matches - 130 k to 143 k
Bowling style - Right arm fast-medium


He is a very tall outswing bowler, around 6'3" maybe, who bowls at a lively pace.  Can hit the deck hard when needed, for bounce and seam movement. Bowls a beautiful line and length too. Could have been an ideal pick for England but got injured just before the test squad was announced.

He has been playing FC for a long time and has done well in both FC and on A-tours. His issues can be ... he is sometimes unable to maintain pace and intensity in 4-day matches.


Navdeep Saini  
Age 25
Test average - Yet to debut
Speed range in FC - 133 k to 145 k
Bowling style - Right arm fast

A skiddy fast bowler, around 6'0", he bowls a wonderful line targeting the top of off stump. He can seam the ball both ways.

He bowled at high pace and with good intensity in the knock-out matches of last year's Ranji Trophy and picked up lots of wickets including fifers.

He has been playing for India-A for 2 seasons now and was picked in our Test squad in the one off test versus Afghanistan.

Conclusion --  If we had our 3 low-average and low-strike-rate pacers available for this test series ... Bumrah, Shami and Bhuvneshwar ... then our pace attack would have posed a tough challenge for England. Unfortunately, Bhuvi is injured and Bumrah will miss the first test atleast.

This situation makes our pace attack hit or miss for the first test ... and it is time our 3 senior pacers, Shami, Ishant and Umesh, put their hands up and show some consistency and intensity. Things should improve if Bumrah is fit from the second test match onwards.

 

 

@sourab10forever

 

I saw that Test Match as if i was watching a T20 Match, Shammi, Ishant and Bumrah were on fire. 

when i mentioned "On fire" I mean they were not just taking wickets , they were hitting african batsman injuringing them , humiliating them and then forcing them to give away the wickets.

it was a dream DAY for a guy like me. india won the test and lost the series 2-1 but I knew that India will bounce back in odi and that happened, had their been more tests, we would have won the test series too.

Shammi was given less overs by Virat , kinda pushing him as a no 3 bowler behind Ishant and Bumrah, i think bhuvi also played that match. SHammi initially started under 140K but suddenly got into 140+ mode in his second spell.

Once Shammi is bowling 140+, it is just a matter of time when the Umpire will start raising his fingers , so as soon as he got a bit pacy , i knew africans will collapse. One of their openers had got Stuck and also got hit by Ishant( correct me if i am wrong) and they tried their best to declare the Pitch as dangerous and chicken out.

Suddenly Shammi packed the african team with a fifer though he was initially looking a bit rusty. That's the beauty of this DEMON SHAMMI..he will look sluggish and dull and all fans will start becoming Critics but trusted Fans like me will still trust him and he will suddenly start bowling one 140 to 147K and then the batsmen will collapse like a pack of cards....even a spell of 5 overs of hostile and accurate spell from SHAMMI can get three wickets and turn the match in INDIA's favour where as ISHANT will keep beating and scaring the batsman and will get one wicket after a lot of hard work but this guy will come and Polish the entire 4 to 5 wickets in one Spell, exactly that happened on that day and africa was fighting 3 or 4 down and suddenly collapsed and they were happy to collapse also as they did not want to fight our pacers on that Pitch.

 I will wanna play Shammi even if he is looking a little off colour also- because he has that uncanny LINE n LENGTH and if he gets his rhythm , he can turn the match which Shardul wont be able to do....Umesh and Ishant seem to be in form and if they don't Fire, we are doomed.

[vishalvirsingh]

Bumrah has been recovering and it would be tough for him to also come back immediately into the 137 to 150 K mode , the pace at which he was bowling in africa..I would want him to come back when he is fully fit and in full rhythm even if it means the third or fourth test.

 

After what i saw in that ODI, I would have Fired the COACH for playing him in the 11.

BHuvi Should not be picked for this england Series , he has BACK Issue and it can resurface again with a little bit of strain.

he should check his fitness in some domestic matches and then play in next series.

One has to be CLEAR in his Selection Process, cant play a unfit player or a player who is recovering.

 

Shardul is fine but SIRAJ was the best Choice for the test. Now Shammi not in the best form, Shardul has good chances to play, Siraj is probably at the peak of his prowess and bowling faster than Umesh Yadav as on today.

he was definitely an easy pick ahead of Shardul and it seems selectors picked Shardul because he did not get chances in test before and was in the pecking order ahead of Siraj. But One has to see the Current form and as on today Siraj is ahead of SAINI,SHARDUL,ANKIT,KHALEEL who are probably close by. 

I get a feeling that they will bring Siraj after the first three tests as they selected this team only for the first three tests and if shardul/shammi or even Umesh/ishant do not fire in the first three tests , they could be dumped.

[vishalvirsingh]

7 hours ago, speedster said:

Last time in England Aaron bowled some genuinly quick stuff,  wish he had kicked from there,  another case of what could have been

very good point..varun was in form of his life bowling 145k +

[vishalvirsingh]

46 minutes ago, prudent_kreeda said:

    I do not agree fully with it. 

   Look at the recent A team  selections , they are really encouraging talented youngsters barring may be 1 -2  average ones .

   That too because when someone scores heavily on Domestic  , they need to include even though he may not be a good international prospect or nearing 30s.or 30+. 

  I think if you ask most of  knowlwegeable ICFERS , they mostly concur with A team selection barring 1or 2 . 

  

 In Senior selections - looks like there are 2 aspects to it. 

 

   1. Selectors have given few younsters in 15 but team management never really gave them proper chances or the right place to blossom.   So here the blame should be on that  vicious  evil trio group  Koach-Rat-Old  white bearded Unkil  esp. in T20 & 50 overs .

     Selectors included -  Pant , KL, Iyer , Kuldeep, Siraj.  ( only recently Kuldeep made it in shorter format but still iffy iffy in Tests)

     Did they get a fair  trial ? - Atleast not in the case of KL & Iyer . Siraj - Wrong format.

     Were they ever promoted higher up ?  Were the usual friend circle of Rohit , Moochad , MSD   rested 

      even after series was won and these new guys included . In fact it seems some one seem to be trying to see some of these do

     not  achieve success . 

     Count how many times it happened .

     If you really see - if Pant is a success ,  WK position would be his on all 3 formats . Who will be the loser ?  MSD  ...

           So he most probably will get regular spot in team 11 only post WC 19. 

     If KL  is success as opener -  He will the opener in all 3 formats .   Who will be the losers ?  Moochad  & Rohit  ...

     If  Krunal Pandya a success -   No place for Axar, Jaddu, Raina in shorter format . 

 

     OK SD & Rohit  are doing decent job on shorter format but still why no rotation ? why not resting them for some series ? That never happens .       

    

    Once you see obvious talent it is the captain who should think how he can get the best out of such guys . If you listen to Saurav ,    you will know how he gave opening slot to Veeru , 1 down to MSD when he was a rookie. 

      How he promised that they will get 10-15 games , even if fail some time . 

      Insisted on inclusion of youngsters if he saw real talent .

 

   2.  Selectors do not have guts to drop some Old superstars & Team management insists on some Old hands with experience of failure within their favoured group over new talent . 

 I do not  think team management ever ask for new guys if that person competes with that of a favoured oldie . 

 

Make DADA BCCI president and some one with stature like Vengsarkar, Mohinder , Kumble - Chief Selector.

Most of these things will fall in line .

Bewda 1 mahine ke andhar ghar jaayega !

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Ganguly should become the Chief Selector as his selection is quite good.

[Switchblade]

31 minutes ago, vishalvirsingh said:

I saw that Test Match as if i was watching a T20 Match, Shammi, Ishant and Bumrah were on fire. 

when i mentioned "On fire" I mean they were not just taking wickets , they were hitting african batsman injuringing them , humiliating them and then forcing them to give away the wickets.

it was a dream DAY for a guy like me. india won the test and lost the series 2-1 but I knew that India will bounce back in odi and that happened, had their been more tests, we would have won the test series too.

Shammi was given less overs by Virat , kinda pushing him as a no 3 bowler behind Ishant and Bumrah, i think bhuvi also played that match. SHammi initially started under 140K but suddenly got into 140+ mode in his second spell.

Once Shammi is bowling 140+, it is just a matter of time when the Umpire will start raising his fingers , so as soon as he got a bit pacy , i knew africans will collapse. One of their openers had got Stuck and also got hit by Ishant( correct me if i am wrong) and they tried their best to declare the Pitch as dangerous and chicken out.

Suddenly Shammi packed the african team with a fifer though he was initially looking a bit rusty. That's the beauty of this DEMON SHAMMI..he will look sluggish and dull and all fans will start becoming Critics but trusted Fans like me will still trust him and he will suddenly start bowling one 140 to 147K and then the batsmen will collapse like a pack of cards....even a spell of 5 overs of hostile and accurate spell from SHAMMI can get three wickets and turn the match in INDIA's favour where as ISHANT will keep beating and scaring the batsman and will get one wicket after a lot of hard work but this guy will come and Polish the entire 4 to 5 wickets in one Spell, exactly that happened on that day and africa was fighting 3 or 4 down and suddenly collapsed and they were happy to collapse also as they did not want to fight our pacers on that Pitch.

 I will wanna play Shammi even if he is looking a little off colour also- because he has that uncanny LINE n LENGTH and if he gets his rhythm , he can turn the match which Shardul wont be able to do....Umesh and Ishant seem to be in form and if they don't Fire, we are doomed.

[prudent_kreeda]

20 minutes ago, vishalvirsingh said:

Ganguly should become the Chief Selector as his selection is quite good.

  Why i said DADA as BCCI  President , 

  because he is aspiring for it and will become one day. 

 Secondly all is controlled at the top .. 

 Your Selectors , Coach , support staff ...  All selections will have  some impact of people at the helm .

 You know how Mohinder  the chief selector was made to put in papers when he dared to drop MSD .. 

 who do you think made that happen ? 

 

[Sooda]

16 hours ago, express bowling said:

 

Sooda ...  

 

I have watched Gurbani bowl only 3 or 4 spells. So, it is difficult to form a complete opinion.

 

But, from what I seen, his plus points are ...  he a genuine swing bowler, has a top quality inswinger and a knack of picking wickets in domestic 4-day or 5-day matches.

 

His negatives are that his pace is low even for a swing bowler.  Whether he has the tools to succeed,  if conventional swing is not available, remains to be seen. But I have not seen him hit the deck hard or get any bounce. 

 

If he improves his other qualities and pace, like Bhuvi has done ... he can be a good backup swing bowler for Bhuvi.

 

Khejroliya is a hit the deck left arm pacer, maybe around 6'1",  who gets good purchase and decent bounce off the deck. Often, it seems that his stock ball is the bouncer or the rising short ball, which he uses very frequently and sometimes effectively.

 

He is still inconsistent in terms of rhythm and pace.  Speeds vary between 127 k and 143 k.  In 4-day matches, he often loses steam and drops pace. 

 

His good length channel and stump directed deliveries are not that developed yet.  But he has a decent yorker and slower ball.

 

He is a much better white ball bowler than a red ball bowler.  But needs to hone his skills further. Definitely has potential.

 

 

 

 

Interesting stuff, thanks for that

[vishalvirsingh]

18 hours ago, express bowling said:

 

Sooda ...  

 

I have watched Gurbani bowl only 3 or 4 spells. So, it is difficult to form a complete opinion.

 

But, from what I seen, his plus points are ...  he a genuine swing bowler, has a top quality inswinger and a knack of picking wickets in domestic 4-day or 5-day matches.

 

His negatives are that his pace is low even for a swing bowler.  Whether he has the tools to succeed,  if conventional swing is not available, remains to be seen. But I have not seen him hit the deck hard or get any bounce. 

 

If he improves his other qualities and pace, like Bhuvi has done ... he can be a good backup swing bowler for Bhuvi.

 

Khejroliya is a hit the deck left arm pacer, maybe around 6'1",  who gets good purchase and decent bounce off the deck. Often, it seems that his stock ball is the bouncer or the rising short ball, which he uses very frequently and sometimes effectively.

 

He is still inconsistent in terms of rhythm and pace.  Speeds vary between 127 k and 143 k.  In 4-day matches, he often loses steam and drops pace. 

 

His good length channel and stump directed deliveries are not that developed yet.  But he has a decent yorker and slower ball.

 

He is a much better white ball bowler than a red ball bowler.  But needs to hone his skills further. Definitely has potential.

 

 

 

 

Gurbani- has some talent to bowl genuine Swing.

But not an international bowling material as of today as he is a 122 to 132k bowler. Not Some one who can PASS my Speedtest( average Pace of 137K or 138K over a 2 over Spell with a brand New Ball nor his swing is consistent with the old ball).

Having Said that I am not saying that he cannot Improve, i was the biggest critic of BHuvi but bhuvi improved so even gurbani can improve. if he improves his pace and swing he can replace bhuvi later but as of today he is no where close to bhuvi.

 

Khejroliya- i have just seen 3 or 4 overs from him on TV and few video's so cant be sure what I can write about him. 

I have seen some Jaffa's bowled by him which looked genuinely fast specially Bouncers hitting the batsman but most of the time he is Average kinda trundling so he is no way among the first 10 INDIAN Pacers as of today.

Siraj Should have been ahead of Shardul as he is ready for Test cricket today and he is as good as Umesh Yadav today.

 

AVESH Khan and KHALeel are the real futuristic Talent along with MAVI and Nagarkoti but none of the 4 are ready as of today. Avesh was always faster than khaleel and i feel he is still faster but khaleel being a left arm quick is equally dangerous.i have not seen much of nagarkoti but some one who is faster than Mavi has to be extra special as Shivam Mavi is like chetan Sharma - Short and fast.

 

if avesh and Ankit rajpoot improve they can straight replace IShant Sharma as Hit the deck fast bowler as Ishant may play for 1 oe 2 more years only and then Avesh and ankit rajpoot have chances to replace him.

 

Nathu and sran are also very good but i feel they are not fit enough to play international cricket so I feel they are History already.

 

Basil thampi can also improve, Shardul and Saini are just OK but not some one who are as good as Umesh Yadav so they are below the TEST 11 standard as of today.

Shammi in form ,rhythm and full fitness is even better than Bumrah but is he in form or is he fit enough.

 

Overall Umesh yadav ,Siraj and bumrah are our best test pace bowlers today as BHUVI is kinda history now he will take 4 months to be back and whether he will be able to come back to his best is a question mark. We should look to play these three pacers in the starting 11.

 

[Brian Dusplara]

Good article. 

 

Wow Ishant's stats are bad. Should never have played 10 tests. Quite glaringly bad really