Arun happy with pacers' consistency

Spinners are like maturing wine and pacers are like horse races, said bowling coach Bharat Arun while underlining the importance of being both sensible and sensitive to their concerns and demands.

He was, on Wednesday, asked about Virat Kohli’s gesture to vacate his business-class seats, along with his wife Anushka Sharma, to ensure his pacers’ comfort. And the former India player had this to offer. “Fast bowlers are a precious commodity and they need to be taken care of, like what you do with a racehorse and that's exactly what's happening,” said Arun before talking about his wards’ progress.

The Indian pacers have done exceptionally well, and a lot of credit should go to the man from Chennai. As a bowling coach he has strived hard to build a group of quality pacers that have provided a real edge to Indian bowling.

“It's a great feeling from the Indian perspective that the fast bowlers are doing a great job,” Arun said. “It's not just one or two, there's a bunch of bowlers who are doing well. It's not about doing well - it's the effort and consistency with which we are able to perform over a period of time. That's very encouraging,” he pointed out.

Since the series against South Africa in January this year, Indian bowlers have managed to take 20 wickets in a Test on most occasions and pacers have had a great contribution in that. Even in Adelaide they accounted for 14 of the 20 Aussie wickets and it’s this consistency that has made a big difference.

“Consistency was a bit of an issue (on previous tours) and that's something we've addressed with the bowlers,” he noted. “It's something we've really worked hard on. There are one per centers which we insist on even during practice and the bowlers have responded exceptionally well. That's showing dividends right now.”

Arun also felt this was one of the best bowling line ups ever to visit Australia. “I can say that not only now for what they did in Adelaide but what they've done over a period of time in South Africa, in England and now in Australia. This is probably one of the best group of fast bowlers India has ever had.”

Ashwin had also credited Arun for the kind of work he had done with him in Australia in 2014, and the bowling coach said Ashwin has matured like wine.

“Spinners mature a lot with age, maybe they're like wine,” he began. “Ashwin has been really good and the last match he helped us to control - he gave us the control, bowling close to 90 overs for 147 runs and six wickets. You can't ask anything better. He allowed the fast bowlers to take turns and he could control from one end. That's the job he was entrusted with. I think he did that exceptionally well.

“Ashwin has been extremely confident - he's aware of what he's doing and most of the conversations linger around... I think it's important that a spinner discovers the things he can do. For that to happen, a coach can give the necessary feedback because most often what the bowler's think they're doing and what they're actually doing can be two different things. If you can bridge that gap, that's when the bowlers can grow,” he offered.