The proof is in the forearms.

[MCGGG]

Indian batsmen have twigs for forearms, Australian batsmen have tree trunks, and it's always been the case. Is it genetics? No, it's time in the gym coupled with diet, and IMO it's the main reason why India are not fulfilling their potential. Fineness will only get you so far in cricket, it obviously works on Indian roads but it won't work anywhere else.

[Number]

Sachin, Gavaskar, Dravid hardly had forearms. Will take them over any undertaker anyday for batting. If your timing is good enough then you don't need much power.

[Magneto]

Jayasuriya had those giant forearms. :blink:

[MCGGG]

Jayasuriya had those giant forearms. :blink:

He also had a belly to match.

[G_B_]

MSD has huge forearms and Kirat too has good forearms.

[maatugaara]

indian roads?? man...some people just don't learn..

[Cricket_Hacker]

apart from Rahane,Indian batsmen are powerful enough

[Marut]

The forearm muscles, like the calves are built for endurance since we use them for all kinds of every day work. So the forearms are mainly made of red muscle fibers or slow twitch fibers. They are stubborn muscle groups to develop without the right genetics and may need heavy stimulation for hypertrophy. On the other hand, muscle groups like the biceps and triceps normally have more fast twitch fibers and quickly respond to workouts, even in people without great genetics.

[vvvslaxman]

Generally i identify people from certain countries by forearms. Especially hairy , thin forearms are mostly from India. Few jews too. But we are slightly taller. Yes. Forearm unfortunately is used mostly for "special" purposes by our guys hehe.

[HippoSucks]

From http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/player/32540.html: "his fitness is more about what is required for batting for long periods as opposed to bulging biceps with tattoos on them." I doubt forearm strength matters too much. We have skinny people, muscle-less people playing in tournaments here who are playing a hundred times better than 24/7 gym addicts.

[PBN]

For which cricketing shots do you need BIG forearms?

[vvvslaxman]

For which cricketing shots do you need BIG forearms?

Kohli's shots :) He just flicks the wrists to transmit power through forearms to his frontfoot on drives. Tendulkar used to do that for his leg side shots. . Jaya's pick up shots , Tony's helicopter shot all involve lot of forearm power.

[vvvslaxman]

From http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/player/32540.html: "his fitness is more about what is required for batting for long periods as opposed to bulging biceps with tattoos on them." I doubt forearm strength matters too much. We have skinny people, muscle-less people playing in tournaments here who are playing a hundred times better than 24/7 gym addicts.

For fast bowling you need to have reasonably strong forearm. Since i don't have much material for cricket i am using baseball example http://www.fullwindup.com/2013/07/forearm-strength-for-baseball/

[Zestian]

[vvvslaxman]

None of the guys from India are fast bowlers. I am talking about fast bowling. Viru, Ashwin don't have great forearms either. Even Bhuvaneswar with bat is better .

[Sooda]

I think its an accusation from a bygone era that Indian cricketers are not fit enough. They may not be muscular and built like their western counterparts- and that probably is genetics- however for the most part they are as lean and agile as players from any other nation. Even the pacemen, the fact that they seemingly struggle with long spells in tests is mroe down to mental stamina rather than physical

[vvvslaxman]

I think its an accusation from a bygone era that Indian cricketers are not fit enough. They may not be muscular and built like their western counterparts- and that probably is genetics- however for the most part they are as lean and agile as players from any other nation. Even the pacemen' date=' the fact that they seemingly struggle with long spells in tests is mroe down to mental stamina rather than physical[/quote'] To sustain pace you need physical stamina. To produce breath taking spells like steyn late in the evening you need to have lot of strength, stamina, endurance. Yes it is genetic. But in cricket those can be offset by skills. Kapil dev had skills. Ofcourse he was more athletic than some of our bowlers these days. Lot of slow medium pacers had skills. Bruce Reid was one of them. He would look like breaking into pieces just by touching. But he had great skill of extracting bounce, accuracy. Ambrose was not exactly blessed with great forearms either. Infact Walsh did not have strong arms so much so he would throw the ball in bowling action while fielding. But they had other things going for them. Ishant is another guy. But if you are talking about raw pace you need to have overall strength in your body in addition to flexibility and stamina

[MCGGG]

For which cricketing shots do you need BIG forearms?

Sometimes raw power is required to clear the rope.

[Crookbond]

Lance Klusener had really strong forearms too.

[Desi Cartman]

Keep it on topic else I'll lock this thread and warn/ban if needed.