Team back on track: Dravid

[King]

The Indian captain said the team emerged triumphant despite being in a lose-lose situation. More...

[Ram]

Why is there such a sullen mood about th Indian team now ?? there hardly is any celebration over the BD victory.. looks like the team is doing a 9-5 job...

[King]

They have lost their soul after the world cup debacle. If you look back again that was one tourney they would want to forget in a jiff. Unfortunately they cannot simply for the reason it comes once in 4 years. I can see Dhoni, Karthik and a couple others enjoying their cricket. The rest are just going through the motions. It doesn't help the very first series they played after the world cup debacle was against Bangladesh. Not enough motivation I suppose.

[jf1gp_1]

well one thing for sure RP is going to england.

[King]

Good for RP. He isn't that bad a bowler really.

[kumble_rocks]

RP is a cra.p bowler in my opinion. Play him two consecutive series and his speed with drop atleast 10 mph.

[King]

Who's bowling quicker these days KR? Munaf bowls at 120s. Sreesanth is the only serious sharp bowler India has. Zaheer is getting there though. BTW do you prefer Ishant or VRV over RP?

[kumble_rocks]

Who's bowling quicker these days KR? Munaf bowls at 120s. Sreesanth is the only serious sharp bowler India has. Zaheer is getting there though. BTW do you prefer Ishant or VRV over RP?

I would prefer VRV because he is capable of bowling in the high 140's . Even Akram was of the opinion that he could bowl fast if need be. Keep in mind , he was bowling fast during the Windies tour in 2006.

[King]

I have never seen VRV threaten any batsman. High 140s? I've never seen him bowl at 148 (if that is what you mean by high). He is a cannon fodder to most batsmen. If he were bowling over 150s and line and length is a problem that's still fine. If he is going to bowl at 140 and all over the place, he is a batsman's delight. I don't think VRV is Bret Lee or Malinga.

[kumble_rocks]

I have never seen VRV threaten any batsman. High 140s? I've never seen him bowl at 148 (if that is what you mean by high). He is a cannon fodder to most batsmen. If he were bowling over 150s and line and length is a problem that's still fine. If he is going to bowl at 140 and all over the place' date=' he is a batsman's delight. I don't think VRV is Bret Lee or Malinga.[/quote'] I have seen bowl at low 140's during the windies tour. Just few deliveries. But , I feel he can bowl fast he if bends his back. This was the opinion of both Shaz and Waz. Even VRV feels he can bowl faster. Even , I am surprised at his lack of pace nowadays. Disturbing trend among Indian bowlers. Their speed actually taper off within the first couple of years.

[Ram]

Excellent Article.. striking questions... News Don't compromise on speed, veteran pacers tell youngsters PTI NEW DELHI, May 25: Former Test fast bowlers Javagal Srinath and TA Sekhar on Friday rubbished the trend of young seamers cutting down on their pace in order to focus on line and length and sustain their international career. "Line and length is more a One-Day International stuff. It is important but at the same time you cannot compromise too much on pace," Srinath, now an ICC Match Referee, said. "There has to be a balance. If you want to have line and length, you must bring it with speed," said Srinath, in the city on a promotional visit. Srinath's response came to a question on bowlers like Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel and VRV Singh, who bowl at 140 kmph when they burst on the scene, steadily losing their pace after a couple of seasons. Sekhar, who played for India in two Tests in the early 80s, has guided Pathan and Patel as the head coach at MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai. The former Tamil Nadu player, who shared the dais with Srinath, said the youngsters could be discarding their extra pace at the behest of the Indian team management but said, "it is not acceptable to me." He took a dig at the modern jargon, "bowling in the right areas." "What is right areas? Sachin Tendulkar will hit you if you bowl line and length but will struggle against a short pitched stuff. Matthew Hayden destroyed Chaminda Vaas in the World Cup final," Sekhar said. Srinath too emphasised that the team's gameplan notwithstanding, each player was in the squad for the individual skill he brought to the team. "At the end of the day, how much individuality you exhibit is important," said the 37-year-old who took 236 wickets from 67 Tests. "You have got to show what you can do. That is how you build your personality." Srinath saw no reason why a bowler should compromise on his speed. "Till the age of 28, your pace has to be on the upswing. After that your body stops taking the load but by that time you are mature enough," he said. Sekhar was critical of the argument that cutting down on pace would stretch a bowler's career. "Do you mean to say Brett Lee is not going to last longer because he is bowling at 140 kmph? Or does he want to play into the 22nd century," he asked. "If they are stressing on line and length, they must make the bowlers bowl at 140 kmph with right line and length. For the simple reason that, no batsman is comfortable facing a bowler operating at 140 kmph and above. "If you want to bowl at 120 kmph and extend your career, then you must be able to make the ball talk. Otherwise there is any number of bowlers." Patel came in for criticism after he was found to be not fully fit in the deciding Test against South Africa last season. But Sekhar did not believe that the player could be lacking in attitude. "Patel comes from a village. He grew up bowling in tough conditions and had the hunger. Why should his attitude change suddenly after playing a couple of series?"

[King]

"There has to be a balance. If you want to have line and length, you must bring it with speed," said Srinath, in the city on a promotional visit. "If they are stressing on line and length, they must make the bowlers bowl at 140 kmph with right line and length. For the simple reason that, no batsman is comfortable facing a bowler operating at 140 kmph and above.

Yup that's right.

[yoda]

would prefer RPS over VRV and VRV over Ishant. VRV may bowler faster than RPS but RPS gets nice cutting angles to induce edges.

[Gaurav]

Nothing beats EXPRESS pace! I mean well directed express pace.

[Gaurav]

would prefer RPS over VRV and VRV over Ishant. VRV may bowler faster than RPS but RPS gets nice cutting angles to induce edges.

I agree with you. All three are nothing special though.

[Predator_05]

Nothing beats EXPRESS pace! I mean well directed express pace.

Dude, you can only have one or the other. Bowling at express pace will force one to compromise on accuracy, and batsmen will find it easier to take you to the cleaners. Why do you think MOhammad Sammy keeps getting doggystyled by all and sundry even though he can crank it above 95 mph every ball ? The ones who can get it right, ie; the Shoaibs and the Bonds tend to breakdown more often. I could care less about pace, tbh. Irfan Pathan was snaring one batsman after another during the '06 season when India were on their winning streak, even while bowling at 125-130 kmph. He decapitated Sri Lanka, South Africa and Pakistan - three very explosive batting lineup's top orders. Good, accurate bowling is always hard to hit no matter what speed you bowl at. All i want to see from Indian bowlers is a nice tidy length in that "corridor" outside offstump. If a bowler can just hit that offstump area 5 times out of 6 in an over during the course of a spell, he is guaranteed to pick up wickets. The problem with all the Indian bowlers is their propensity to spray it all over the place once they get hit. Pace isn't the end all and be all of bowling, it's just another option in a bowler's repartoire - nothing more. People should stop overrating it.