‘Best in the world’: Former quick in awe of India’s current pace attack
Prasad, who along with Javagal Srinath, formed one of India’s most successful fast bowling pairs, feels unlike today, India’s fast bowling contingent did not have a camaraderie between the year 2000 and 2015.
Former India fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad likes what he sees of the current Indian pace attack, calling it the best in the world. However, Prasad, who along with Javagal Srinath, formed one of India’s most successful fast bowling pairs, feels unlike today, India’s fast bowling contingent did not have a camaraderie between the year 2000 and 2015.
“The present set of fast bowling is one of the best in the world. With (Jasprit) Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, and a couple of other guys as well. The current Indian bowling attack under Virat is amazing, talented, and best in the world,” Prasad told Times of India.
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“Zaheer Khan was the one guy who was extremely successful. But he didn’t have good partners. They came and went. Ashish Nehra was there for some time, Ajit Agarkar continued for a while, then there was RP Singh who came in, Praveen Kumar was there.”
However, unlike the early and 2000s, when there was a burst of left-arm seamers playing for India, the current attack does not have anyone potent. The likes of Khaleel Ahmed and Jaydev Unadkat have been tried in the last couple of years but neither could solidify his place in any of the formats. That said, Prasad warned against the temptation of bringing in a left-armer just to have that variation in the bowling attack.
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“Look, just because you want to have a variation in fast bowling doesn’t mean that you bring in some left-arm seamer. They have to be good in their skills and in executing their skills, like Zaheer Khan, RP Singh and Ashish Nehra,” he said.
“If you don’t have, means you don’t have. If you have got somebody, for example Khaleel Ahmed, because he’s a left-armer, you’ve got to encourage a youngster like him, of course; but just to have a variation in your bowling attack doesn’t mean that you bring in a left-arm pacer even if the skill is not up to the international standard. So those are the things one has to keep in mind.”
