India brimming with pace riches

As improbable as it sounds, India have 17 pacers ready for rotation at this very moment.

Of course, not all of them are going to be fit at the same time. Some aren’t format-friendly and seven out of this overwhelming lot aren’t exactly shoo-ins. They could well be good on their day, but when you have 10 proven pacemen to go to, that's an embarrassment of riches?

Well, the Indian team likes to make up for lost time.

For years, India struggled to field a decent trio of medium-pacers (not even fast!). There have been instances of two quality pacers in the side but three was a rarity. Now, they have the option of playing four pacemen, one spinner and one all-rounder in Hardik Pandya, who by the way is also capable of bowling at over 135 kmph consistently and very well at that.

ALSO READ | Heart and discipline on song for Mohammed Siraj

The process began with Virat Kohli taking over as full-time skipper of the Test side as he understood the importance of pace to win on tours to SENA nations.

He issued the memo to Ravi Shastri, the head coach, and Bharat Arun, the bowling coach. They bought into the programme eagerly enough and thus began a process that has how yielded burgeoning rewards.

Workload was managed, diet was looked into, biomechanics was studied, training looked like lab work more than a body-building routine at the gym and practice was monitored with a keen focus on quality.

Seamers were being treated well and they were about to return the favour.

Jasprit Bumrah walked his way into becoming the head of the pack. Ishant Sharma found his mojo once again. Mohammad Shami was as brilliant as always but with Bumrah and Ishant doing more than their bit from the other end, he wasn’t under duress to bowl more or do more. He was allowed to bowl rumbling spells without having to hold back.

All this while Umesh Yadav learnt how to reverse a ball with far more accuracy. Elsewhere, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was recovering from an injury and a whole host of young talents were blooded for the future.

Shardul Thakur earned his shot in 2018 but has since played only two Tests. Still, he’s a promising option. Then there’s the trio of Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini and T Natarajan. All three of them made their debuts on the now-famous tour of Australia a few months ago. Although they don’t look as dangerous as the primary unit, they possess heart enough to grow into those big shoes.

ALSO READ | Kohli surprised at Shardul not getting Man of the Match

These are the obvious options in Tests and only get more and more diverse when we get into white-ball formats.

Save for Ishant, Umesh (because of workload management) and Siraj (because of efficiency with the red-ball), the others are all available to suit up in colours. And if Bhuvneshwar’s performances in the limited-overs series against England are anything to go by, he’s back.

Barring the aforementioned names, Prasidh Krishna is the talk of the town following his exploits against England in the ODI series. The Bengaluru lad uses his lanky frame to lever the ball at good speeds but his ergo-dynamic action allows him to be rapid without losing accuracy. While he has had minor niggles in his relatively young career as a paceman, there is a reason to hope for an extended future.

ALSO READ | Indian selection committee must consider Prasidh for Tests, says Gavaskar

Then there’s Deepak Chahar (three ODIs, 13 T20Is), Khaleel Ahmed (11 ODIs, 14 T20Is), Shivam Mavi (uncapped), Kamlesh Nagarkoti (uncapped), Kartik Tyagi (uncapped), Basil Thampi (uncapped) and Ishan Porel (uncapped).

Indian cricket has never had it this good. But just because we have the talent doesn't mean we necessarily come equipped with the knowledge to use it.

Kohli and the management have been good so far in rotating bowlers and bringing up the right name for the right conditions. With the bio-bubble throwing up an added parameter to be concerned about, more attention needs to be given to the handling of the pace pack.

Their success happens to be synonymous with the team's success, anywhere.