Former England opener Nick Compton believes former Indian head coach Duncan Fletcher deserves credit for shaping India’s fast bowlers. Indian pace battery has shown an upward swing in their improvement graph in the recent past.
In fact, the fast bowlers have outclassed the batsmen which have been a rarity in Indian cricket folklore. Excluding the Lord’s Test match, Indian bowling unit has been able to scalp all the twenty wickets in the last eight matches.
Indian Fast bowlers have impressed with their skills.
Meanwhile, Duncan Fletcher had also played his part in polishing the upcoming generation of India’s fast bowlers. Nick Compton said India’s former coach Duncan Fletcher was able to help the Indian pace battery in blossoming like a flower. Thus, Compton believes that Fletcher was a perfect Gardner who watered the Indian fast bowlers at the right time.
“India’s pace attack hasn’t come together all of a sudden. It has taken time and it has happened one by one, as all of these bowlers took their time coming of age. India didn’t have so many pacers at once earlier, but now they do. And all (most) of them, at some point have played under Fletcher, so it is a credit to him. This process (of building a pace attack) started long ago and it has come together for India now,” Compton said.
Nick Compton notes that the pace plays a key role in the success of the Indian fast bowlers. In fact, Indian pace battery is bowling at a higher speed than England’s bowler. The likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami all cross the 140kmph barrier.
“The difference from the past is that these bowlers do not compromise on pace. Like James Anderson and Stuart Broad, they retain the ability to move the ball at pace.
“Pace. That’s the keyword. You have to consider why the likes of Anderson and Stuart Broad have been so successful in their careers. They have a thousand wickets between them in Test cricket because they move the ball at pace. And it is no coincidence that both of them started their England careers under Duncan Fletcher,” Compton said.
On the other hand, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were able to get back into form following their knock of 72 and 81 runs respectively.
“Now that Pujara and Rahane have scored runs, things will get easier for them. India won in Nottingham and hit upon a good team balance. There is no further reason for a change. It will be interesting to see if Virat (Kohli) make any changes (for the fourth Test),” Compton said.
India has impressed with its recent crop of fast bowlers. The players have focussed more energy on their fitness and have borne fruits. India will like to keep impressing with their pacers.