Is Varun Aaron the answer?

[keyboardist]

Folks...the whole fixation on bowling fast is a bit absurd. Tearaway pace is useful only under certain conditions. A Brett Lee or a Morne Morkel is not half as effective in the sub-continent as outside of it. And let's face it, it will be a long long time till the groundwork in India changes sufficiently for world class fast bowlers to emerge. An Aaron here and an Ishant there are not the answer to the question. Where the Indians lost the plot, methinks is, not being accurate with their medium pace. You can bowl a military medium and contain if not frighten the batsmen out of their lives. But the Indian seamers strayed in that quite regally. The strategy with this kind of a line-up is to choke one end with the seamers and attack from the other end with a spinner. That has been the game plan since a long time, with the seamers being expected only to provide early breakthrough. In this stratagem, the effectiveness of the spinner is crucial. Can the spinner hit paydirt under unfavorable circumstances; can the captain allow him a long leash for sure returns? Harbhajan is definitely not the perfect fit in this jigsaw. He is so very dependent on the pitch for his tweaks that in the unresponsive pitches of Aus, ENG and SA, he is nothing but a liability. Time has come for the Indian thinktank to plug this gaping hole. Since Anil Kumble, no spinner has shown the ability to attack a batting lineup with viciousness. Even Kumble, discovered the key to success in foreign lands in the twilight of his career. Perhaps Ashwin, with his attitude and brain can be the fillip. Perhaps someone else from the Ranji ranks. But dreaming of an attack that can match Morkel, Lee, Akhtar, Finn & Co for pace is mighty wishful. Read a more detailed piece here http://www.thecricketist.com/2011/08/time-to-reflect.html

[youngindia]

Folks...the whole fixation on bowling fast is a bit absurd. Tearaway pace is useful only under certain conditions.]

your views are totally absurd and you are talking as if this is indian cricket of the 80's. are you talking about days when kapil bowled the new ball and spinners like shival and arshad toiled the whole day? those were indian cricket of the 80's and in indian conditions. don't confuse it for cricket in general. you are too conditioned by that rubbish which was due to lack of talent in those days. today india is among the top tier and better quality of talent. those days are long over, A penetrative attack is a must. you cannot have medium pacers bowling unpenetrative nonsense, in the 92 tour, the SA commentators(who ahve not seen international cricket for 20 years) were horrified by the inaccuracy of indian medium pacers.they were asking, if you are medium pace, is n't it essential to be accurate? but that's not the standard followed in india,. In any case, a penetrative international attack is a must for tests. where the hell are you going to get 20 wickets.

The strategy with this kind of a line-up is to choke one end with the seamers and attack from the other end with a spinnerly to provide early breakthrough. In this stratagem, the effectiveness of the spinner is crucial.

don't you know rhe importance of pitches breaking up on the 4th and 5th day in india? how much have kumble and harbhajan have relied on it! they were effective before the 4th day MOSTLY on doctored surfaces. they have been only moderately effective to liability in most other conditions. you think others are stupid enough to give us those conditions? it didn't even work when bedi and co were there! the odd test can see a kumble or chandrasekhar doing well but even during the hey days of indian spin(bedi,prasanna), it was evident and concluded spin does not conquer many conditions. you are beating a dead horse. exceptional all time greats like warne can do relatively better than others. kumble was rarely vicious overseas and he was not in the same league as warne. exceptional bowlers whether fast or spinner will be an asset, its true indian fast bowling standards are well below australia or SA . but its an evolution. certainly aaron and ishant are far better than the days of the 80's when chetan sharma was the prospect! i am confident that ishant can have a successful career and aaron also looks lke he has some serious potential. and this tour is one loss in a long time even in non asian conditions. lack of pace is a great reason for this.

[sarcastic]

Looks like Indian Cricket has probably found the answer in this guy finally!!!! :yay: