India’s options in the bowling department are more limited than they have been in a decade.
India are going through a transition in Tests, and the focus has been on batters. Amidst all that, the biggest issue has hardly been noticed – bowling resources. At the moment, India’s options in the bowling department are more limited than they have been in a decade.
There was a reason why Jasprit Bumrah had to break his back on the Australia tour. He hardly had any support, and performances from other bowlers came in patches. That has constantly been the case lately, even if India churned out a spirited effort with Bumrah in their most recent Test outing.
The bigger issue, though, is the talent pipeline, which is thinner than ever. In the ongoing fixture against Australia A, India A conceded 532/6 before the opponent declared. Four of the five bowlers conceded over five runs per over, while the remaining one went for 4.60.
A few pacers in the India A squad are supposed to be next in line to join the Indian team. Prasidh Krishna has already been with the side and played Tests on overseas tours. Khaleel is touted to be the second-best left-arm pacer in India.
However, his improvements have come recently. He still needs to develop his inswinger to RHBs and show more control. Given his overall FC career, it’s hard to trust him based on recent developments, and selectors must not rush him.
The other two pacers in the squad, Gurnoor Brar and Yash Thakur, are still raw and nowhere near the national setup. Those absent from the A squad but were on the England tour include Shardul Thakur, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj, and Arshdeep Singh. Thakur is simply unreliable, and even after all these years, he remains inconsistent and can’t be more than a fourth pacer.
Deep is still vulnerable away from home, where the pitches are not subcontinental and easily gets under pressure with intent batting. Ben Duckett showed a way to disrupt his lengths, and his true value only comes on low-bounce wickets. His overseas numbers, barring a one-off Edgbaston Test, don’t inspire any confidence.
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Even at his best, Akash can’t be a wicket-taking bowler away from home. For some reason, the team management still doesn’t trust Arshdeep Singh. They had a chance to employ him at various stages in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, but gave chances to other bowlers, even though they were inexperienced.
Then, his First Class average of 30.68 surely demands improvement. Harshit Rana and Anshul Kamboj are clearly not Test-match ready. That team fast-tracked Rana in India’s Test setup perfectly shows the lack of pace-bowling options.
Mukesh Kumar is a similar bowler to Akash, with a lower speed, who has fallen off the radar quickly. The same goes for Yash Dayal, who was once part of the Indian team. In short, bowlers show potential initially before regressing sharply, with most failing to make it to the national side.
The immediate names that come to mind in the spin department are Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Sai Kishore, and Harsh Dubey. Kotian is a quality batter, but his bowling can often be one-dimensional, again proved in the ongoing India A game. He needs to read batters more and show better bowling smarts to take his game to the next level.
Suthar brings the traditional bowling style, someone who gives flight and puts ample revolutions on his deliveries. His height allows him to generate additional bounce. So, he can be one of the options.
Then, there’s Harsh Dubey, who has seen a magnificent rise as a spinner. He is a genuine wicket-taker who mostly bowls on the slower side, which can be an issue. While he has shown the ability to bowl quicker and vary his pace, his natural attributes can make him vulnerable at the highest level.
That said, Dubey is still among the best options in the domestic arena. Then there’s Sai Kishore, who is not part of the India A squad. Kishore might be the closest in terms of quality to play for India.
He has immense control over his lengths and varies his pace adeptly. Kishore has also been among the most consistent spinners in the domestic arena. However, barring him and Dubey, others will need to improve drastically to make a case for the national side.
India will soon need an alternate for Ravindra Jadeja and would want more options to develop. But, like in the pace department, options are plenty, but quality demands more. Still, spin stocks are better than pace.
In short, India’s bowling resources are at an all-time low, even if it remains unnoticed. With the likes of Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, and Mohammed Shami not around, immediate replacements haven’t come despite such a vast pool. In the spin department, Washington Sundar has settled in nicely to succeed Ravichandran Ashwin, but they would want more Test match-ready spinners, apart from Axar Patel, as Jadeja ages.
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