Year of fast bowlers: Arun

Indian fast bowlers have been on a roll since this January, more often than not blasting out opposition teams twice in a Test. After playing a crucial role in the Adelaide victory, the pacers have brought India on the verge of a win here in the third Test after sharing 13 of the 18 Australian wickets. Bowling coach Bharat Arun hailed it as the “year of fast bowlers.”

“Definitely yes, and, I think, over a period of time -- right from the time we started from the tour of South Africa, England and right now here -- they have done exceptionally well. Recently, I was told that they have broken the record of West Indian trio and that speaks volumes about these fast bowlers."

The former India player credited team work behind building such a potent attack – right from coaches to trainers and physios. He also stressed on workload management of the attack.

“It’s a combination of a lot of work – identifying what it requires to be bowling fast over a period of time, the strength and conditioning coach (Shankar) Basu and the physio have played a major role in also making these fast bowlers,” Arun said when asked to elaborate on the work that has gone behind molding the attack.

“I think load-monitoring is extremely crucial if you want them to last over a period of time. And their (trainer and physio) inputs, thereby, become extremely important. I think it’s a team work, it’s all the coaches plus strength and conditioning expert and physio. We sit down and discuss the loads of the bowlers and that helps us to take really good calls,” he observed.

While Jasprit Bumrah made good impact in South Africa and England, he has been particularly impressive on this tour, sitting atop the wicket-takers’ list from either side. His 19 wickets have come at a miserly average of 15.42 and an excellent strike rate of 41.7

Bumrah’s action, Arun felt, makes him extremely unique and said he was never in doubt about his success. “I think what makes him so special is because he is so unique. Maybe the batsmen pick up his balls a little later than which they normally do from a clean action and that makes him so much more potent.”

“To be honest, we were extremely confident of Bumrah doing well even before he started playing Test matches because he was unique and most batsmen, who play him, not only us but even during the IPL, said that it was difficult to pick him. He was someone who did exceptionally well in the domestic championships as well. So, we thought we will give him a go,” he remarked.