Indian bowling in complete tatters

[Bumper]

Honestly though, I dont miss the injuries of Indian Paceman. In contrast I get pleasantly surprised by the replacements....

But the point is that after their first hiatus (forced by injury), very seldom do we see our pacers repeat their heroics. Pathan & Balaji flattered to deceive two years ago. Munaf had a breathtaking debut series vs England. Couple of injuries, a year later, he is among our 2nd tier bowlers. Sreesanth, had a great tour of SA. Nothing much after that. Ishant is a good prospect. But if we keep overusing him (he bowled 40 overs in this innings) he is gonna breakdown sooner or later. Its gonna be very difficult for him to get his rhythm back, when he comes back from an injury.

[MundaPakistani]

It is not coincidental that Sami does not get injured often. It is because of his action which is always moving. Pressure never builds up so injuries do not develop. He is also very flexible.

Yes you are probably right. People like M Sami,Bruce Reid and Watson are exceptions. If you have a sporting culture like AUS and to some extent the US(although for some reason obesity is a major issue here) then in general your athletes will be a lot fitter. In Pakistan this fitness issue has become such a problem that bowlers are starting to get unfit even before their debuts.

[Dhondy]

Interesting question. Let's look at the incumbents statistically for now, with recent match winning performances. Will write my impressions later. Zaheer Khan Age 29, 170 wickets @ 33.6, SR 61.2. Match winning performance Nottingham. Sreesanth Age almost 25, 46 wickets @ 28.23, SR 51.8. Match winning performance- Jo'burg RP Singh Age 22, 40 wickets @ 33.22, SR 50.2, Match winning performance Nottingham, Perth Irfan Pathan Age 23, 100 wickets @ 31.41, SR 57.5, Match Winning Performance Perth Ishant Sharma Age 19, 12 wickets @ 45.58, SR 76.5, Match Winning Performance none. Didn't consider Munaf Patel. Doesn't deserve to play any form of international cricket, IMO.

[MundaPakistani]

Interesting question. Let's look at the incumbents statistically for now, with recent match winning performances. Will write my impressions later. Zaheer Khan Age 29, 170 wickets @ 33.6, SR 61.2. Match winning performance Nottingham. Sreesanth Age almost 25, 46 wickets @ 28.23, SR 51.8. Match winning performance- Jo'burg RP Singh Age 22, 40 wickets @ 33.22, SR 50.2, Match winning performance Nottingham, Perth Irfan Pathan Age 23, 100 wickets @ 31.41, SR 57.5, Match Winning Performance Perth Ishant Sharma Age 19, 12 wickets @ 45.58, SR 76.5, Match Winning Performance none. Didn't consider Munaf Patel. Doesn't deserve to play any form of international cricket, IMO.

Pathan's bowling average is very misleading.

[The Outsider]

Munaf - Mohali Sreesanth - Kingston would also make match winning performances.

[MundaPakistani]

Munaf - Mohali Sreesanth - Kingston would also make match winning performances.

The Kingston crown belongs to Bhajji:D

[The Outsider]

The Kingston crown belongs to Bhajji:D

And we are still paying the price for that fluke 5 for he took.

[msb1991]

Priorities imo In India: RP Singh Ishant Sharma Zaheer Khan Sreesanth Irfan Pathan In England: Zaheer Khan RP Singh Irfan Pathan Ishant Sharma Sreesanth In Australia: RP Singh Ishant Sharma Irfan Pathan Zaheer Khan Sreesanth In South Africa: Sreesanth RP Singh Zaheer Khan Ishant Sharma Irfan Pathan In West Indies: Munaf Patel Zaheer Khan RP Singh Irfan Pathan Sreesanth Ishant Sharma In New Zealand: Zaheer Khan RP Singh Irfan Pathan Munaf Patel Sreesanth Ishant Sharma Just a rough guide in my opinion.

[Dhondy]

What if all five were fit? Who would I select? This is a very tough question, and one that Indian selectors may have to countenance sooner than they think, probably against SA in March. Zaheer had us drooling in the first two Tests in England, with his superlative control and the ability to move the ball both ways off the seam. He is unrecognisable from the pretender in the first half of his career, and has learned several new tricks. Zaheer is an all surface man, with his ability to swing and reverse swing, or exploit pitch conditions. Unfortunately, there is a huge fitness cloud hanging over him. Tends to break down in the later part of the series, and at 29, he surely needs to give up ODIs and concentrate on Tests. Sreesanth- When I saw him at Jo'burg, he was unplayable, seaming the ball at speed away from the righthanders. He had a relatively mediocre series in England, but remains the man with the best bowling average in this lot. However, that might have changed, had he played in Australia. Sreesanth has the ability to get through a large workload, and his injury has nothing to do with his bowling. It was a fielding injury, picked up by diving on one of India's unforgiving outfields. RP Singh- He is a wonderful bowler, RP, and will be the first seamer on the team sheet if fully fit, with his ability to swing the ball a mile, and generate awkward angles from round the wicket to right handed batsmen. Unfortunately, this is the second time he has broken down in a short career, a happenstance that doesn't bode well for the future. The first time, it was an intercostal strain, now it's the hamstring. He needs to work on his fitness, and the selectors should spare him the ODIs. He is our most valuable Test bowler, for his ability to make the ball talk even in the most unhelpful conditions. Irfan Pathan- Whichever way you look at it, Pathan will give you a hundred percent and more. He is a captain's dream. He's lost much of the prodigious swing that he started off with, but has become a more versatile bowler, capable of reverse swinging at speed, with an useful slower delivery. The ball that he bowled Hussey with was a jaffa, and shows that he never gives up. Pathan is a more than useful lower order bat, when not misused by the team management as an opener, and a commited fielder. Ishant Sharma- Indians are getting excited about the lanky youngster, but so are the Aussies. When he started out against BD and Pakistan, he was just a hit-the-deck customer. Something has happened since then though. Tracks in Australia are not particularly bowler friendly, but somehow, within the space of two months, Sharma has learnt to seam the ball viciously into the right hander, mix it up with the one that seams away just a touch, a skill that gets him most of his wickets, and has added a couple of yards of speed to boot, bowling consistently in the high 130s and early 140s, with the occasional one breaching 144-145 kph. What's even more impressive is his appetite for bowling. He can keep going for literally hours on end, and what's more, never seems to flag. He looks supremely fit, and I hope he is not mis-advised to bulk up by those in the know, as this will increase his risk of injury. That's not all though. Those watching him bat will not have missed his intensity while batting, his straight bat and correct footwork, trying to get behind the ball at all times. Right here, India have a potential allrounder, who has the ability to grow with the bat as his bowling matures. He's also an useful fielder and a safe catcher. He comes across to me as somebody who has a huge appetite for the game, and an insatiable hunger for learning. He is desperate to excel, and doesn't look incongruous in a team of superstars he must have grown up idolising. So who would I choose out of the three if they were all fit? A fully fit RP Singh would be my first choice seamer. After what I have seen of Ishant Sharma in this series, it would be criminal to leave him out. He is potentially a superstar in the making, according to Kerry O'Keefe and Damien Fleming, and these guys know what they are talking about. You have to ask yourself- if he can improve so much in so little a time, what can he achieve if he keeps trying? India's future has a place in India's present. Sreesanth, for his ability to be a match winner, completes my trio of quicks. If this chap remains fit, he'll average around 25 with the ball, a luxury India haven't had for years. Zaheer, with his recurring injuries will unfortunately fade away, but can be very useful if one of the youngsters fail. Pathan I really feel for, the magnificent trier that he is. This man, at 23, is a grizzled veteran, has been through more ups and downs, earned more money and won and lost more fame than people do in a lifetime. He's made his comeback against the best team in the world, and you really can't ask for more. Yet, sadly, he'll never win matches against good sides, as RP, Sreesanth or eventually Sharma will. Hence he must be our go-to man when the others are incapacitated, an occurence that will be increasingly frequent, given the frenetic schedule that cricketers have to live with these days. Pathan though, given his superb fitness, will be my first choice for ODIs. I'd rotate the others, and maybe bring in some lesser bowlers for the ODIs, which India should play less of, and IMO , will be increasingly crowded out by 20-20 cricket. That day can't come too soon for most of us.

[Bumper]

Great post Dhondy. Ishant has been a pleasent surprise for me. The quality i admire in him the most is his ability to bowl marathon spells at sustained pace & venom. But he still needs to work on his accuracy to keep his bowling average down. I also feel that he needs a good support bowler (who can keep it tight at the other end) to be effective (otherwise his probing spells could simply be seen off, without much damage). Zaheer, RPS & Sreesanth would make my test lineup. If one of them is out of form or injured, Ishant can come in. But realistically two of the four would be injured/half fit at any given point in time, so we need a pool of atleast 5 bowers. Am sure we can find a seamer better than Pathan as our 5th option. I still cannot get over the fact that Munaf has already been confined to the bins. I would give it one last shot & make him work with a bowling coach to bring him back. He has the height, pace & accuracy thats needed of a fast bowler. With a bit more energy, he could be a handy bowler. In ODIs, Pathan picks himself as our first seamer cum allrounder. I'll juggle between Zaheer, RPS, Sree & other youngsters so they are rotated enough. Ishant may leak too much in ODIs, so I'll keep him just for tests.

[Dhondy]

Zaheer - injured Sreesanth - injured RP Singh - injured Munaf - injured Kumble - injured Enough is enough. BCCI's and selectors priorities must change. We keep on unearthing decent bowlers as replacement for front liners and one by one they keep on adding to the injury list. Look at the Australian quicks - went through the entire summer without so much as a niggle. Given that their bench strength is at best as good as India's they would have been seriously exposed as a team if their front liners had got injured. Whatever regimen these guys follow, whatever it takes to make our bowlers fitter just do it. If it's not done soon enough, Pathan and Ishant will be making the above list sooner than later and we will be down to the might of Agarkar.

Guess what Shwetabh? We still managed to draw the final Test. We lost our two leading pace bowlers before or very early in the series, and lost a third one 4 overs into Australia's first innings in the final Test. Yet, we came away with the respect of all punters. I have some news for you, ladies & genntlemen. According to chief selector Vengsarkar, our "cupboard is bare". Imagine if it were full? Just goes to show that you don't need AAG, PANI, etc to excel. You just need two or three bowlers with very big hearts, willing to fill the breach left by their more illustrious colleagues.

[Ram]

Great post previously Doc, agree with most of what you have said on our bowlers.

[DravidDaBest]

What if all five were fit? Who would I select? This is a very tough question, and one that Indian selectors may have to countenance sooner than they think, probably against SA in March. Zaheer had us drooling in the first two Tests in England, with his superlative control and the ability to move the ball both ways off the seam. He is unrecognisable from the pretender in the first half of his career, and has learned several new tricks. Zaheer is an all surface man, with his ability to swing and reverse swing, or exploit pitch conditions. Unfortunately, there is a huge fitness cloud hanging over him. Tends to break down in the later part of the series, and at 29, he surely needs to give up ODIs and concentrate on Tests. Sreesanth- When I saw him at Jo'burg, he was unplayable, seaming the ball at speed away from the righthanders. He had a relatively mediocre series in England, but remains the man with the best bowling average in this lot. However, that might have changed, had he played in Australia. Sreesanth has the ability to get through a large workload, and his injury has nothing to do with his bowling. It was a fielding injury, picked up by diving on one of India's unforgiving outfields. RP Singh- He is a wonderful bowler, RP, and will be the first seamer on the team sheet if fully fit, with his ability to swing the ball a mile, and generate awkward angles from round the wicket to right handed batsmen. Unfortunately, this is the second time he has broken down in a short career, a happenstance that doesn't bode well for the future. The first time, it was an intercostal strain, now it's the hamstring. He needs to work on his fitness, and the selectors should spare him the ODIs. He is our most valuable Test bowler, for his ability to make the ball talk even in the most unhelpful conditions. Irfan Pathan- Whichever way you look at it, Pathan will give you a hundred percent and more. He is a captain's dream. He's lost much of the prodigious swing that he started off with, but has become a more versatile bowler, capable of reverse swinging at speed, with an useful slower delivery. The ball that he bowled Hussey with was a jaffa, and shows that he never gives up. Pathan is a more than useful lower order bat, when not misused by the team management as an opener, and a commited fielder. Ishant Sharma- Indians are getting excited about the lanky youngster, but so are the Aussies. When he started out against BD and Pakistan, he was just a hit-the-deck customer. Something has happened since then though. Tracks in Australia are not particularly bowler friendly, but somehow, within the space of two months, Sharma has learnt to seam the ball viciously into the right hander, mix it up with the one that seams away just a touch, a skill that gets him most of his wickets, and has added a couple of yards of speed to boot, bowling consistently in the high 130s and early 140s, with the occasional one breaching 144-145 kph. What's even more impressive is his appetite for bowling. He can keep going for literally hours on end, and what's more, never seems to flag. He looks supremely fit, and I hope he is not mis-advised to bulk up by those in the know, as this will increase his risk of injury. That's not all though. Those watching him bat will not have missed his intensity while batting, his straight bat and correct footwork, trying to get behind the ball at all times. Right here, India have a potential allrounder, who has the ability to grow with the bat as his bowling matures. He's also an useful fielder and a safe catcher. He comes across to me as somebody who has a huge appetite for the game, and an insatiable hunger for learning. He is desperate to excel, and doesn't look incongruous in a team of superstars he must have grown up idolising. So who would I choose out of the three if they were all fit? A fully fit RP Singh would be my first choice seamer. After what I have seen of Ishant Sharma in this series, it would be criminal to leave him out. He is potentially a superstar in the making, according to Kerry O'Keefe and Damien Fleming, and these guys know what they are talking about. You have to ask yourself- if he can improve so much in so little a time, what can he achieve if he keeps trying? India's future has a place in India's present. Sreesanth, for his ability to be a match winner, completes my trio of quicks. If this chap remains fit, he'll average around 25 with the ball, a luxury India haven't had for years. Zaheer, with his recurring injuries will unfortunately fade away, but can be very useful if one of the youngsters fail. Pathan I really feel for, the magnificent trier that he is. This man, at 23, is a grizzled veteran, has been through more ups and downs, earned more money and won and lost more fame than people do in a lifetime. He's made his comeback against the best team in the world, and you really can't ask for more. Yet, sadly, he'll never win matches against good sides, as RP, Sreesanth or eventually Sharma will. Hence he must be our go-to man when the others are incapacitated, an occurence that will be increasingly frequent, given the frenetic schedule that cricketers have to live with these days. Pathan though, given his superb fitness, will be my first choice for ODIs. I'd rotate the others, and maybe bring in some lesser bowlers for the ODIs, which India should play less of, and IMO , will be increasingly crowded out by 20-20 cricket. That day can't come too soon for most of us.

Good Post. Sri, Ishant, RP/Zaheer (Depending on form), Pathan & Kumble should be the bowlers for batsman friendly pitches. Dravid/Laxman should open when we play five bowlers. In pitches like Perth, Pathan should be dropped for a middle order batsman. For sub-continent turning tracks, 2 spinners should play and bhajji is not one of them