Curious Case of Indian "Fast" Bowlers?

[ravishingravi]

If only our bowlers had harnessed their potential, we would have unquestionably been the best team in the world. This decade saw some great talents come up and gone down the drain. Some notoriously losing pace and some getting hampered by injuries. Irfan Pathan:- Imran Khan said that he was better than Wasim Akram was at that age. What a phenomenal talent? That ball to Gilchrist still gives me goosebumps. Loses his action, tries to become an all rounder under guru Greg and look what we are left with. I would say a season of county cricket like Zaheer to figure his game out. He is still only 25. Balaji:- One of the major factors for India winning in Pak. Had that late outswing at good enough pace. He had serious injury and remodel his action. Munaf Patel:- One can't express the feeling for an Indian fan to actually watch a fast bowlers run up and bowl fast i.e anything above 140 km/hr. We have seen our neighbours just pick folks off the street who bowl fast. Well this guy was fast and could reverse it big time. But somebody wanted his to bowl with greater control. Now he bowls 125 kms/hr and is a wannabe Mcgrath but far from it and canon fodder on good tracks. I also have serious question marks over his motivations and commitmetnt for India Sreesanth:- Very rarely have I seen an Indian bowler run through an opposition on bowling friendly conditions single handedly like this fellow did against SA. He has a very good outswing action and can bowl decent pace. But there is just one problem, he is an "idiot". Can't bowl two bowls from the same spot on the crease, keeps staring down and abusing the batsoman even after being smashed for 4 fours. Seems to focus on everything other than his bowling. He needs a psychiatrist more than a bowling coach or just few more slaps from Bhajji. But from recent comments, I gather he is trying to change RP Singh:- Again one of the key elements in India's series win away again England with his boomerang swing and decent pace. Another case of serious drop in pace and intensity. He doesn't seem motivated to play for India. Ashish Nehra:- Imo when on song, he can be unplayable. But that happens once in like 6 years out of which 3 years he is injured. He is again one of those frustrating characters who seems to be playing for India for reasons you don't understand. Just a cranky character, seems ambling bowling 125-126 and suddenly he has a convulsion or something he cranks it up to 140km/hr with swing. But not a reliable prospect. P.S. To me the greatest phase when I was truly proud our bowling was the WC 2003. Imo we were the best bowling side in the tournament apart from finals, but I was I was so awestruck with the lengths they bowled ( aka Pakistan at its peak, full and swinging) and the pace. I thought this will change things for Indian cricket. It hasn't yet. Watching our bowling can sometimes be very disappointing.

[Sachinism]

Its a shame Balaji had back problems, he was a superstar :D

[VRV Singh]

Most of them still have time to make a comeback of sorts...not like we're blessed with options at the moment. It's a shame that they've fallen away, though there is a tendency to overrate a few of them when they were in the national team, purely because of the lack of quality options right now. Controversial, but I would suggest the addition of VRV Singh to this list...epic potential

[Karan114]

Yeah, it really is a shame when you think about how much potential has been wasted. Irfan and Balaji in Pak in 2004, RP in England in 2007, Sree in SA and WI in 2006 (and briefly Lanka in 2009), Munaf against England and WI in 2006...all of these guys played their parts in important Test match and even series wins but didn't push on and in some cases have just regressed... Not to mention Ishant...the only thing you can say about him is he has remained fit...but 73 wickets at 37 after 26 Tests is hardly the record we were expecting after his at times magical bowling in 2008...:((

[VRV Singh]

Well, hopefully for us and Ishant he can rediscover his mojo against Punter and the rest next month - I agree that he hasn't yet done his talent justice, but it's easy to forget he's still only 21 given how long he's been in and around the side, and more than anyone has time ahead of him.

[The Dark Horse]

Its a shame Balaji had back problems' date=' he was a superstar :D[/quote'] he was even liked by our neighbours:((

[ravishingravi]

I missed the biggest disappointment Ishant Sharma:- Burst on to the scene in the Perth test and bowled a magic spell to the best batsman at the time to make him look like an amateur. gAEXuMnw3tI Backed it up with an equally compelling perfomance at home against the aussies. And then there was IPL. This tall, lanky fast bowler has been off the boil and now looks like he will be in this inafmous list of "what if" cricketers, unless something changes.

[Karan114]

And here is Ishant's sublime ball to dismiss Ponting at Mohali in 2008...how I miss that Ishant :(( [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKWt_9cy_J0]YouTube- ISHANT SHARMA BOWLED RICKY PONTING[/ame]

[ravishingravi]

And here is Ishant's sublime ball to dismiss Ponting at Mohali in 2008...how I miss that Ishant :(( YouTube- ISHANT SHARMA BOWLED RICKY PONTING

I said it before. I say it again. It is the best test India has played considering the great batting condition. It was the test that made me believe that we could be the best team in the world. Ever since, things have changed.

[riwi999]

Of these, the ones who had no business fading away were Irfan, Balaji and Sreesanth. Munaf, RP and Nehra had their moments but I never quite saw them as Test bowlers running through a side. Irfan's decline is the saddest. Did Vengsarkar's treatment of him cause his decline or was it the effect? He was struggling even before being sent back from that South African tour but I cannot help feeling his confidence took a big dent at that time. I would very much like to see him back amongst the wickets in domestic cricket. And then get back into the side. Balaji was a pure injury case. I remember that 2004 series in Pakistan. High-quality bowling. After his return from injury, is not a shadow of the bowler he was. Not only has he lost pace but he also seems to completely lost his bag of tricks. I reckon his international career is over. Sreesanth is an enigma. He was such a talent even Sachin was beaten and dismissed in a domestic game. Got into the big league and did well, though he had an attitude problem. Got injured, sat out for a bit and came back, actually stronger. Mentally at least. I thought he was back and we could depend on a Zak/Sree/Ishant combo. But he got himself injured again. Never know which Sree will turn up at a match. Still, will always be fondly remembered for that first test in South Africa.

[Karan114]

Munaf' date=' RP and Nehra had their moments but I never quite saw them as Test bowlers running through a side.[/quote'] I have to admit I was surprised by the quality of RP Singh's bowling in England in 2007 - I hadn't seen him as a Test prospect before that. But Munaf? He looked every inch a Test bowler on debut at Mohali in 2006 with his pace, (not express as had been hyped but enough to hurry good batsmen) bounce and reverse swing. Unfortunately it only took a few months for him to reduce his speed and become a useless medium pacer.

[thongale]

Little bit of less money and proper rotation policy would have saved all of the above bowlers from crippling (career wise) injuries.

[riwi999]

That is the main thing with Indian "fast" bowlers. It looks like they put a lot of effort to get into the side. Once they are in, they don't waste too much time in becoming mediocre. That is why their best performances are often very early on in their career. Also, to be fair to them, injuries are "killing" some of these guys. I know they come back after a few months but is it really the same thing? Can you really expect them to go flat out, practise in the nets for hours and then play in the match with the same tempo? I think it is a bit too much to ask. Almost all these bowlers have had injury, surgeries. Says a lot about rotation policy of the BCCI. Players do not want to miss out on a game for fear of losing their place. So BCCI keeps playing them and they eventually burn down. I am worried about Ishant now. He is playing every itsy-bitsy game.

[vamos_rafa]

That is the main thing with Indian "fast" bowlers. It looks like they put a lot of effort to get into the side. Once they are in, they don't waste too much time in becoming mediocre. That is why their best performances are often very early on in their career. Also, to be fair to them, injuries are "killing" some of these guys. I know they come back after a few months but is it really the same thing? Can you really expect them to go flat out, practise in the nets for hours and then play in the match with the same tempo? I think it is a bit too much to ask. Almost all these bowlers have had injury, surgeries. Says a lot about rotation policy of the BCCI. Players do not want to miss out on a game for fear of losing their place. So BCCI keeps playing them and they eventually burn down. I am worried about Ishant now. He is playing every itsy-bitsy game.

Without slugging it out in the nets how can you expect them to bowl well in a match?? I somehow feel that apart from injuries some external factors are responsible for the degradation of these bowlers. One being their constant reductions in pace. When Irfan made his debut he used to bowl 140 and Srinath in one of his interviews said that he still has 5 yards up his sleeve. Rather we have seen his decrease by 10 yards. Same is with Ishant,RP. The only one to have sustained the pace to an extent is Sreesanth but he has other things to look at. I just don't understand the whole logic of reducing pace so as to improve your longevity. I mean it's ok to get a bit mean on pace like Lee did but what our bowlers do makes them completely paltry. And for this the national bowling coaches should be blamed. Ishant's coach blamed Venky publicaly and he cited the same issue. I think when these bowlers made their debuts they were playing under coaches who understood them at a personal level and hence brought out the best out of them. But on the international scene things changed for them. Sometimes too much of advice also ruined the cases for them. Next, I feel our bowlers tend to hit the gym more rather than actually bowling in the nets. I am just guessing but the perfect example for this would be Irfan(again!!). When he came in his body used to pivot completely and hence he got the swing. And his upper part used to support him for such an action.But now he can't bowl with that kind of an action because of his upper half of the body.

[saneindian]

IPL 4 auctions could be a serious awakening for many ofthese pacers (unless they are satisfied with what they have already earned). The exsiitng value of some of these bowlers is: Ishant - 950,000 USD Irfan - 925,000 USD RPS- 875,000 USD Sreesanth - 625,000 USD Munaf - 275,000 USD Don't see any of these guys fetching anything above 200K (except for Irfan who may touch 300K due to his batting abilities). Hopefully that will the kick they have been waiting for to shed their lazy attitude and get back to a serious work ethic.

[Sachinism]

That is the main thing with Indian "fast" bowlers. It looks like they put a lot of effort to get into the side. Once they are in, they don't waste too much time in becoming mediocre. That is why their best performances are often very early on in their career. Also, to be fair to them, injuries are "killing" some of these guys. I know they come back after a few months but is it really the same thing? Can you really expect them to go flat out, practise in the nets for hours and then play in the match with the same tempo? I think it is a bit too much to ask. Almost all these bowlers have had injury, surgeries. Says a lot about rotation policy of the BCCI. Players do not want to miss out on a game for fear of losing their place. So BCCI keeps playing them and they eventually burn down. I am worried about Ishant now. He is playing every itsy-bitsy game.

I think they would balance their workload so they're raring to go in the matches. They'd take it easier in nets

[CG]

What do expect when they play on F-1 Tracks ,Lack of confidence ,Media, bit by bit leads to this situation. Irfan-Even a stupid would make out has fallen out with dhoni so he is out Munaf-Bowls at 140 still today just check his spells in NZ ,Speed guns in India are faulty. Sreesanth will be back Rp singh will be back.

[vamos_rafa]

What do expect when they play on F-1 Tracks ,Lack of confidence ,Media, bit by bit leads to this situation. Irfan-Even a stupid would make out has fallen out with dhoni so he is out Munaf-Bowls at 140 still today just check his spells in NZ ,Speed guns in India are faulty. Sreesanth will be back Rp singh will be back.

I don't know the truth in this statement but I think that is the case. Dhoni just does not prefer him in the team :((

[riwi999]

Guys, conspiracy theory aside, Irfan has done nothing with the ball in the last couple of years to merit a recall. I agree that his batting is very valuable but what Dhoni needs in the side is a strike bowler, not somebody who can contribute with the bat and bowl a few overs. I am a big fan of Irfan and will be very happy to see him come back in the side. But on the strength of his bowling performances, not his batting. He just HAS to improve his bowling. That banana delivery is long gone, it has been replaced by a pie delivery. The other thing India could try is to have Irfan in ODIs in place of Dinesh Karthik. I am totally mystified why India persist with Karthik. He has had zillion chances and continues to scrap around.

[Lord]

IPL 4 auctions could be a serious awakening for many ofthese pacers (unless they are satisfied with what they have already earned). The exsiitng value of some of these bowlers is: Ishant - 950,000 USD Irfan - 925,000 USD RPS- 875,000 USD Sreesanth - 625,000 USD Munaf - 275,000 USD Don't see any of these guys fetching anything above 200K (except for Irfan who may touch 300K due to his batting abilities). Hopefully that will the kick they have been waiting for to shed their lazy attitude and get back to a serious work ethic.

Irfan will be retained by:kxip: I hope:pray: