Long list of Indian fast bowlers who have been badly handled and dumped far too soon

By Nishad Pai Vaidya

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During the rain interruption in the match between Kochi Tuskers Kerala and the Chennai Super Kings, the panelists mentioned that quite a few fast bowlers had come and gone at the international level for India during the last ten years. This statement got me thinking and I could come up with a number of names who played in a few Tests or One-Day Internationals but weren’t able to retain their places. Amit Bhandari, Thiru Kumaran, Tinu Yohannan, Avishkar Salvi, Irfan Pathan, Rudra Pratap Singh, VRV Singh, Manpreet Gony and the list goes on.

While fast bowling has never been India’s strength, it has nevertheless managed to produce some fantastic pacers over the years. India’s first pace attack in Tests comprised of Mohammed Nissar and Lala Amar Singh. Nissar, who took India’s first Test wicket, was known for his pace and Amar Singh was regarded by Len Hutton as the best fast bowler going around. Then there was Kapil Dev who is considered to be the greatest fast bowler ever to have played for India. He was succeeded by Javagal Srinath, who in turn has passed the baton on to Zaheer Khan.

Since Sourav Ganguly took over as India captain, quite a few fast bowlers have been tried. Some of them just fizzled out and then there were a few who showed great promise early on but never quite lived up to the expectations. Apart from Zaheer, no other fast bowler has been able to cement his place in the side. Munaf Patel, Shantakumaran Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma have been there for a while. But, unlike Zaheer, they have not been able to cement their places.

The biggest problem with Indian fast bowlers is that they lose their pace once they make it into the naional team. Players like Ishant, Munaf and VRV Singh impressed one and all with their pace when they burst on to the scene, but got slower with passage of time.

Munaf generated great pace in his first Test against England at Mohali. I distinctly remember Rahul Dravid saying at the post-match presentation after India won that match, “We have faced quite a few tearaways over the years, but it’s good to have on our side for a change.”

Ishant was a revelation on the tour to Australia in 2007-08. He hit the 150 kmph mark during the tri-series. He slowed down considerably since then. Happily, he has been able to regain his lost pace in the ongoing IPL.

It is really bizarre how these bowlers lose pace in such a short span of time. Is it the rigors of international cricket that affects them or there are other reasons like coaches asking them to drop pace to concentrate on line and length?

Another major problem with Indian fast bowlers has been injuries. Irfan Pathan has recovered from a bad back injury which nullified his chances to make a comeback before the 2011 World Cup. VRV Singh was denied a debut when he was first selected for India against Sri Lanka in 2005 due to an ankle injury and had to wait for six more months. RP Singh was having a fantastic summer down under in 2007, but an injury kept him out of the ODI tri series and since then he has struggled to cement his place in the team. Sreesanth injured himself after IPL 2008 and didn’t get back in India colours till late 2009.

Some of these bowlers have not lived up to the promise they showed early on. They seem to lose sting and penetration over a period of time. Irfan is the best example of a fast bowler who lost his way. When he first emerged, one felt he was India’s next pace sensation. He did well for a few years, but during the West Indies tour 2006 he had a tough time. That was the start of his struggle. There were a few sparks after that, like his three-wicket haul in the World T20 2007 final and the all-round performance in the historic Test match win at Perth, but he hasn’t been seen at his best. He was discarded after the 2009 World T20 and has not made comeback into the Indian team since then.

Ishant showed fantastic promise in Australia in 2007-08. His spell to Ricky Ponting at Perth is something Indian fans wouldn’t forget. He showed consistency in 2008, but since then he hasn’t lived up to the expectations and has been in and out of the Indian side. Had somebody told me in the year 2008, that Ishant wouldn’t be a part of the 2011 World Cup squad, I would have laughed.

In my opinion, a bigger problem than injuries and form has been the way the team management has handled some of the pacers. The best example would be the tour to South Africa in the year 2006. Irfan was sent back to play domestic cricket even as Munaf was struggling with an injury. VRV Singh played in the first two Test matches and did appreciably well. Prior to the third Test, Munaf was declared fit and he immediately replaced VRV. Munaf looked nowhere close to being fully fit in that Test and couldn’t perform well. The biggest casualty of that move has been VRV Singh as he has played just one Test match since then. This hasn’t been the only case of poor handling. There have been bowlers who have had one or two bad matches followed by injuries and haven’t been given a chance to regain their spots. Does anybody remember Avishkar Salvi?

Form and injuries are a part and parcel of the game, but the damage they cause can be minimized by handling the players better. The young and promising fast bowlers need to be given more attention if they get injured or are out of form so that they do not lose their way. The genuine quicks need to be encouraged to bowl as fast as they can. As Indian cricket fans, we want to see more bowlers like Zaheer play for India. We want bowlers like Ishant and Munaf to bowl fast. There is no dearth of fast bowling talent in India, they just need to be shown the way and guided better.

(Nishad Pai Vaidya, a 20-year-old law student, is a club and college-level cricketer. His teachers always complain, “He knows the stats and facts of cricket more than the subjects we teach him.”)

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