Former Australian skipper Ian Chappell has heaped high praise on the Indian pace battery. The Indian fast bowlers have taken giant strides in the last couple of years and the results have been palpable. Indian pacers had scalped 26 wickets in the three-match series against South Africa even in unfavorable home conditions.
The Indian fast bowlers – Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav have been right on the money in the recent past. Thus, Ian Chappell believes that the quartet demand respect in all the conditions.
Mohammad Shami had scalped 13 wickets in the three-Test matches against South Africa whereas Umesh Yadav took 11 wickets in the two matches.
Chappell added that these fast bowlers can dominate in any condition. The Indian pacers have shown no mercy to the opposition and they are key to India’s recent success.
Indian pace battery has shown an upward swing in their graph.
“India has added a new dimension to their game with the fast bowlers — even minus Jasprit Bumrah — playing a huge part in a home victory. After years of planning and the advent of numerous academies, India has finally put together a group of fast bowlers who allow them to compete anywhere in the cricket world,” Chappell wrote in his column for ESPN Cricinfo.
Ian Chappell went on to add that amalgamation of India pace attack with reliable spinners gives a massive advantage to the team over other sides.
“Bumrah, when fit, the indefatigable Mohammed Shami, the vastly improved Ishant Sharma, and the pacy Umesh Yadav give India a quartet of fast bowlers that demand respect in all conditions. These pace spearheads, added to India’s always capable spinners, give the attack a potency that not too many other countries can match,” he added.
Meanwhile, India’s seam bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya is currently out of action after going through knee surgery. Chappell believes that with Pandya also fit in the side, India has the skills to tick the right boxes in all conditions.
“Slot a fit seam-bowling allrounder in Hardik Pandya into that group and India are more than adequately placed to cope with any conditions they encounter. A well-balanced bowling attack is the perfect antidote to any attempt to provide conditions that heavily favour the home side,” Chappell added.
India has done a fine job with their fast bowlers. Ergo, a lot of credit also goes to their bowling coach Bharat Arun. India will face Bangladesh in the three-match T20I series. The first T20I will take place at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on 3rd November.