India's Pace Bowling - Any hope?

[Statsman]

India has tried and tested a number of medium/fast bowlers in the past years but they have had a similar story which we all know. Irfan's inswinging yorkers, Ishant's spell to Ponting, RP's 5 wicket haul at Lords, Sreesanth's spells in South Africa, Praveen's Windies and England tour; almost all have shown some talent at the start of their careers, only to end up in the lanes of mediocrity.
Do you see any hope looking at this crop of bowlers. Which bowler/s do you feel good about and believe can have a turnaround or have a good future (in case of newbies) from the following names:

1) Irfan Pathan
2) Praveen Kumar
3) Munaf Patel
4) L Balaji
5) Vinay Kumar
6) Abhimanyu Mithun
7) R P Singh
8) Ashish Nehra
9) Ajit Agarkar
10) Ashok Dinda
11) S Sreesanth
12) Varun Aaron
13) Ishant Sharma
14) Umesh Yadav

Left out Zaheer for obvious reasons.

[wrongun]

Varun Aron

Umesh Yadav

Praveen Kumar

Assuming Zaheer is not counted, here is your pace trio. Sack the rest they are bloody awful.

Irfan Pathan for swing bowling allrounder if you want to change the team balance.

[velu]

Originally Posted by Statsman 1) Irfan Pathan 2) Praveen Kumar 3) Munaf Patel 4) L Balaji 5) Vinay Kumar 6) Abhimanyu Mithun 7) R P Singh 8) Ashish Nehra 9) Ajit Agarkar 10) Ashok Dinda 11) S Sreesanth 12) Varun Aaron 13) Ishant Sharma 14) Umesh Yadav

Red - no hope .

Most of our pace bowlers are decent first-change bowlers , its their badluck that they are asked to open the bowling

[velu]

@ statsman

You missed abu nechim , he consistently bowled over 140 kmph in the last IPL

[freelance_cricketer]

I'd still take Balaji over Vinay Kumar and Ashok Dinda.

[Gattuso]

Aaron
Yadav

are the brightest prospects.

Also keeping close tabs on Shami Ahmed (KKR).

[shades]

Originally Posted by Statsman 1) Irfan Pathan 2) Praveen Kumar 3) Munaf Patel 4) L Balaji 5) Vinay Kumar 6) Abhimanyu Mithun 7) R P Singh 8) Ashish Nehra 9) Ajit Agarkar 10) Ashok Dinda 11) S Sreesanth 12) Varun Aaron 13) Ishant Sharma 14) Umesh Yadav Left out Zaheer for obvious reasons.

Troll Alert: You missed out Nadeem from Delhi Daredevils Team. He is the new Indian "MUSCLES" after the legendary Venkatapathy Raju :-) Loving him!!

Frankly only hope is Umesh Yadav develops as a strike bowler and he gets support from likes of Dinda, Aaron or Ishant.

[jeetu]

Still hoping since 1980's.

[MVP26]

Vinay Kumar.

[cricketjoshila]

Veer Pratap singh is also a good prospect.hoping to see Rahul Shukla of MI playing this year.

[Random Aussie]

Yadav has everything needed to be part of the attack for ten years and a quality bowler.

Ishant is beyond hope, he is rubbish.

Havent seen the rest of the youngsters in action.

[Centurion]

Umesh Yadav (strike bowler)
Ishant Sharma
Ashok Dinda
Irfan Pathan (bowling allrounder)
Varun Aaron
But for these bowlers to be successful, Indian curators must prepare pitches conducive to fast bowling instead of the usual patta tracks.

[Cricfan4eva]

Pankaj Singh, Dinda and Yadav have looked excellent so far and Irfan seems to be getting his swing back, but still not back to his best.

Guys like Balaji, Nehra are done, they are not the future. Munaf needs to prove his fitness, he is Indian version of Ryan Harris, gets injured after every 2nd game. Not seen much of Aaron.

[Bashira_taeli]

Yadav looks like a decent bolwer. Dinda, Ishanat etc are a complete joke.

[IAJ]

Haven't seen much of Aron but have heard he is quick.

Yadav is a good strike bowler and though many don't rate Ishant I still think he can do well if he can sort out his line and lenght problems, the pace is still there.

[Statsman]

Mixed opinions barring Umesh.

What about Sreesanth? No hopes from him?

[Statsman]

Originally Posted by velu @ statsman You missed abu nechim , he consistently bowled over 140 kmph in the last IPL

I purposely didnt have him on the list. The list consists of only those players who've had a shot.

[wrongun]

Originally Posted by IAJ Haven't seen much of Aron but have heard he is quick. Yadav is a good strike bowler and though many don't rate Ishant I still think he can do well if he can sort out his line and lenght problems, the pace is still there.

Ishant needs to pitch it 1-1.5 yards fuller. Bowls way too short.

[Pete Rose]

some of the bowlers that i glimpsed in Aus were very good. Actually, I was even impressed with Ishant Sharma's pace staying in the 140's despite a long day in the field.

Perhaps the posters who follow indian domestic cricket closely can comment. A lot the Pakistani fast bowlers spend seasons playing league cricket (obviously for money) and aspire for county cricket - so they are used to bowling (a) long spells (b) and the right length (except mohammad sami)...
the question is do the Indian fast bowlers get enough time to play 2 or 3 day games to improve stamina and skils?

[Canistani Hero]

Both Praveen Kumar and Vinay Kumar are ridiculously overrated. Getting that out the way, Ashok Dinda doesn't look like a bowler who can sustain himself against the rigorous routine this level of cricket provides. Irfan Pathan is actually a decent bowler with the new ball not so much towards the end of the innings, that's because he hasn't developed a good yorker/slower ball or effective bouncer. Out of the list you have mentioned, Varun Aaron is probably the most talented closely followed by Munaf Patel, who's actually more experienced so he should be a definite starter in the team, unfortunately for him, I think Dhoni and Srikanth have misguided faith in the Kumar duo. Another problem here is, you've only mentioned the tried and tested failures, I can easily see guys like Shami Ahmed and Siddharth Trivedi make it big for India.


Also, where's that Atul Sharma fella, India were 'manufacturing' to be the fastest bowler ever seen

[liaqat]

Originally Posted by Canistani Hero Both Praveen Kumar and Vinay Kumar are ridiculously overrated. Getting that out the way, Ashok Dinda doesn't look like a bowler who can sustain himself against the rigorous routine this level of cricket provides. Irfan Pathan is actually a decent bowler with the new ball not so much towards the end of the innings, that's because he hasn't developed a good yorker/slower ball or effective bouncer. Out of the list you have mentioned, Varun Aaron is probably the most talented closely followed by Munaf Patel, who's actually more experienced so he should be a definite starter in the team, unfortunately for him, I think Dhoni and Srikanth have misguided faith in the Kumar duo. Another problem here is, you've only mentioned the tried and tested failures, I can easily see guys like Shami Ahmed and Siddharth Trivedi make it big for India. Also, where's that Atul Sharma fella, India were 'manufacturing' to be the fastest bowler ever seen

atul sharma was a dream/embarrasment for cricket... a man who never bowled a single bowl and to say his the fastest ever

[liaqat]

india have got some decent bowlers but thats all it is decent at best,

vadav and veron are the best of the lot iv seen, but their injuries come more often then wickets,

irfan pathan will do a job but will also leak runs gladly,

to be honest when was the last time indian bowling line up dismissed a good team under 200 in tests or even odi cricket?

[Canistani Hero]

Originally Posted by liaqat atul sharma was a dream/embarrasment for cricket... a man who never bowled a single bowl and to say his the fastest ever

[Gattuso]

Originally Posted by Statsman Mixed opinions barring Umesh. What about Sreesanth? No hopes from him?

Sreesanth has priorities elsewhere.

Its hard to accept when he's constantly 'injured' but would be up on the stage dancing to bollywood tunes for random events on TV.

He clearly has the cash..why not just focus on recuperating/injury rehab and try to make a comeback instead.

[Canistani Hero]

Originally Posted by Gattuso Sreesanth has priorities elsewhere. Its hard to accept when he's constantly 'injured' but would be up on the stage dancing to bollywood tunes for random events on TV. He clearly has the cash..why not just focus on recuperating/injury rehab and try to make a comeback instead.

Sreesanth has decent pace but his antics and theatrics don't bode well with bowler trying to make a comeback

[IndianWillow]

Sreesanth is only genuinely talented of the lot - but he simply lost his way as his priorities appear to be different. Apart from him, Yadav is the one likely to make a big impact and I hope he is properly looked after and does not go the way of other Indian pacers.

[IgnitedMind]

At present Yadav,Ishant,Aoron.... Munaf Patel should also be playing..he is much much better than people playing..even nehra is much better

Pathan is decent

if they work hard .. Sree, RP can comeback...age is on their side

And about Hope...Indian seemers and hope?

[Cricfan4eva]

Originally Posted by Statsman Mixed opinions barring Umesh. What about Sreesanth? No hopes from him?

He has the ability to be India's best bowler but unfortunately his focus is elsewhere always. Gifted bowler but not committed.

[Moh@n]

Forget pace bowling, do we even have a decent spinner?

Spin used to be our strength. But what do we have now - Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Rahul Sharma. I won't bet on these guys to run through a test side.

[Singham]

Umesh Yadav
Varun Aaron
Abu Nechim
Rahul shukla
Shammi Ahmed
Ishant sharma

All the above pacers I have mentioned can clock 140s. But but our beloved Captain Dhoni does not want to do keeping to real quickies. He wants trundlers like Vinay kumar and Praveen kumar so that the ball would come slowly to him and its easy to do keeping to these sort of bowlers. Our selectors suck as they don't want to select abu nechim because he played in ICL once . they won't pick him at any cost.

[ahamedirshad123]

Zafir Patel from Baroda

[Ashraful_Rox]

Sreesanth is more talented than all the bowlers in India.

[leatherface58]

sreesanth didnt do squat in england. his good performances come 1 in 10 tests and so on. plus his batting is . he and zaheer fight for who can be more embarassing before getting out. talent is useless if you dont back it up with performances. when he returned in a test vs lanka and was rather restrained and took 5 wkts, i thought sreesanth v2.0 has come. but it was a false dawn.

ishant is a hard worker but he simply doesnt get wickets. beating the bat is useless. you gotta get edges too sometimes.

aaron for odi's and yadav for tests. irfan is getting back into groove but is still miles away.

praveen kumar is a must in english and australian conditions. in india, he will be cannon fodder but weirder stuff has happened.

vinay kumar is a very good right arm legbreak bowler in the mould of anil kumble though a couple km/hrs slower than jumbo.

[Singham]

Sreesanth blew up his chances. He will be remembered as a joker in Indian cricket. Nothing more. I liked him once but he became extremely embarassing with his antics on and off the field.

[90MPH]

India spin attack is quite poor - that should be more of a concern as this was their strength for many years.

[leatherface58]

Originally Posted by 90MPH Indian BOWLING attack is quite poor - that should be more of a concern as this has been their weakness for many years.

fixed.

[speed]

no no hope for indian fast bowling

[Statsman]

wish the mods could have a multi option poll for this. Could have given some idea which medium/fast bowlers of India the cricket lovers have atleast some trust in.

[Statsman]

My pick would be: Zak, Umesh Yadav and S Sreesanth for tests.

As much a fan I am of Varun Aaron, I know he cannot sustain the rigors of International Cricket. He's been injured for months now after playing one single test match and this has been his story so far in domestic cricket too.

[Singham]

I can see 7 bowlers who can bowl 140s consistently

Umesh
Varun
Abu nechim
Rahul shukla
Shammi ahmed
Ishant sharmaa
Parwinder Awanna


But but but our beloved captain would want Praveen kumar and Vinay kumar. What a shame...!!!!

[ethan hunt]

who is varun aaron . keep hearing the name as if he is the spearhead of their attack , saw him play just once and he looks like a straight up and down bowler much like ashok dinda , id be very surprised if he is a success at the international level , the rest are just spinners disguised as fast bowlers .
umesh yadav has the most potential, indias biggest hope for the future tbh .

[Gattuso]

Awana looks pomising today..

[Singham]

Originally Posted by ethan hunt who is varun aaron . keep hearing the name as if he is the spearhead of their attack , saw him play just once and he looks like a straight up and down bowler much like ashok dinda , id be very surprised if he is a success at the international level , the rest are just spinners disguised as fast bowlers . umesh yadav has the most potential, indias biggest hope for the future tbh .

Varun clocked 153 in a domestic match and he can bowl at 140s consistently. He is not the spearhead but he can bowl as quick as Umesh with much controll and swing.
Yes, the rest of the bowling unit such as Vinay and Praveen kumar are joke.

[Statsman]

Praveen should stay away from ODI cricket and start focusing on tests. His average of 36 and Economy of 5+ speaks how poor he is at this format.

[Spiderguy252]

All is well as long as we have the legend, Ashish Nehra.

[PakPrince]

Yadav is the real deal

Varun Aaron wont last long

[Anfield]

Umesh Yadav is a good prospect, others are ordinary.

[cricketjoshila]

Dhoni like the Trundling Kumar pair.He thinks they will be able to hold runs

[cricketjoshila]

Originally Posted by Anfield Umesh Yadav is a good prospect, others are ordinary.

Have you seen Aaron?

[Anfield]

Originally Posted by cricketjoshila Have you seen Aaron?

No. How many international matches has he played? I am talking from the pool of players I have seen.

[cricketjoshila]

Originally Posted by Anfield No. How many international matches has he played? I am talking from the pool of players I have seen.

Has played 4 Odis and a test match.Is as quick as Yadav.But he primarily brings the ball in and reverses it.

[Statsman]

Originally Posted by Anfield No. How many international matches has he played? I am talking from the pool of players I have seen.

He played the home series against England (ODI)

Looked very promising. Here's a video that gives you a glimpse of him.



Played one Test also (against Windies) at home, although on a flat track, took only 3 wickets, but bowled well.

Issue with him however is his fitness. Although in his defense, he's injured a bone and not a muscle, one cannot do much about it.

[Anfield]

Originally Posted by cricketjoshila Has played 4 Odis and a test match.Is as quick as Yadav.But he primarily brings the ball in and reverses it.

oh ok. Haven't seen him bowl yet as I mentioned above but seems like a good prospect. Someone above mentioned that he has fitness issues so that might be something which should be worked on.

[cricketjoshila]

Originally Posted by Anfield oh ok. Haven't seen him bowl yet as I mentioned above but seems like a good prospect. Someone above mentioned that he has fitness issues so that might be something which should be worked on.

Check out that video.He has a backbone stress reaction.Not his fault actually.

[Bullet Drive]

Harmeet looks good.

[zulfiqar]

Only one, yadav.

[mithun_minhas]

I have to say

1) Yadav (Long term prospect. Has the built to bowl at that pace.)
2) Zak (For another 2yrs)
3) Ishant (Until a better option shows up. He has the pace. He needs get his length right.)

Honorable mentions:
Aron ( The guy will not play more than 10 Tests. Looks unfit to bowl at that pace)
PK (Too slow, but accurate mostly)
VK (Too slow, but rubbish)
Dinda
Munaf (Slow and accurate. Can only contain runs)

[Statsman]

Originally Posted by mithun_minhas I have to say 1) Yadav (Long term prospect. Has the built to bowl at that pace.) 2) Zak (For another 2yrs) 3) Ishant (Until a better option shows up. He has the pace. He needs get his length right.) Honorable mentions: Aron ( The guy will not play more than 10 Tests. Looks unfit to bowl at that pace) PK (Too slow, but accurate mostly) VK (Too slow, but rubbish) Dinda Munaf (Slow and accurate. Can only contain runs)

Good choice. Agree about Aaron, he's good but fitness will always be an issue. He's said that he wont decrease his pace, even if that means he plays less.

What about Sreesanth?

[Dolphins]

Probably Varun Aaron, if he doesn't work than all hope is lost.

[BD-fan]

Originally Posted by Gattuso Awana looks pomising today..

He should be a good prospect. Being 4th in wicket taking in Ranji Trophy (where the spinners usually dominate) is a good sign.

[spitfire64]

India will not have any great fast bowlers until they appoint a great fast bowling coach to set the agenda and teach speed.

[Senman]

Follow England & SouthAfrican way pick and choose a good bowler in the ongoing IPL and give him Indian passport problem solved. So easy sooooo easy.

[The Law]

There is plenty of hope for India's pace bowling. It will not be a quick process, but the IPL has been discovering and helping the development of a number of bowlers, especially for limited overs cricket. I think our limited overs bowling will be very strong in the next few years based upon the training of the IPL and the large talent pool and sink-or-swim nature of the competitive squads and matches.

[Canistani Hero]

Originally Posted by Moh@n Forget pace bowling, do we even have a decent spinner? Spin used to be our strength. But what do we have now - Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Rahul Sharma. I won't bet on these guys to run through a test side.

out of that lot, Ojha is massively underrated atleast in LOI's.

[Senman]

Originally Posted by The Law There is plenty of hope for India's pace bowling. It will not be a quick process, but the IPL has been discovering and helping the development of a number of bowlers, especially for limited overs cricket. I think our limited overs bowling will be very strong in the next few years based upon the training of the IPL and the large talent pool and sink-or-swim nature of the competitive squads and matches.

What training and development does IPL provide? IPL is the end product. Unless BCCI does something to support school level training to the kids who play cricket, there is no hope. We can only wish and hope the IPL franchise will invest at the root level and bring the talent level up but the probability of thats happening is very low.

That said there are lot of talents that goes unnoticed because of politics, favoritism and IPL broke that. Currently IPL serves as a medium to showcase the talents of those who otherwise would have been shunned by the political nature of our system. That is why I support IPL.

Yesterday Awana bowled brilliantly, I wouldn't even know who he is if it isn't for the IPL but he is not trained by the IPL and it is the responsibility of BCCI to spend money on the development of infrastructure at the school level.

[Gattuso]

Originally Posted by Canistani Hero out of that lot, Ojha is massively underrated atleast in LOI's.

Yep.. he is on a different level compared to Jadeja.

Dhoni's obsession with Jadeja is just mind-boggling

[Canistani Hero]

Originally Posted by Gattuso Yep.. he is on a different level compared to Jadeja. Dhoni's obsession with Jadeja is just mind-boggling

Well, CSK bought Jadeja for $2 million, thats around 10 crores if I'm not wrong, it speaks volumes about Dhoni's feelings for Jadeja

[Blitz]

I'm a believer in statistics.


If a one sport country, which has a population of a billion, can't produce even one AVERAGE fast bowler in 80 years.....then no....no hope.

When you add the financial muscle of the BCCI, its a disgrace to humanity that they can't find a fast bowler. Infact, it is impossible. Freaks of nature are born everywhere, and when India has its population, it is impossible to comprehend what they have achieved.

[speed]

Originally Posted by Blitz I'm a believer in statistics. If a one sport country, which has a population of a billion, can't produce even one AVERAGE fast bowler in 80 years.....then no....no hope. When you add the financial muscle of the BCCI, its a disgrace to humanity that they can't find a fast bowler. Infact, it is impossible. Freaks of nature are born everywhere, and when India has its population, it is impossible to comprehend what they have achieved.

edit

[speed]

Originally Posted by Blitz I'm a believer in statistics. If a one sport country, which has a population of a billion, can't produce even one AVERAGE fast bowler in 80 years.....then no....no hope. When you add the financial muscle of the BCCI, its a disgrace to humanity that they can't find a fast bowler. Infact, it is impossible. Freaks of nature are born everywhere, and when India has its population, it is impossible to comprehend what they have achieved.

yadav might just be the anomaly

[saeedhk]

Awana looked good yesterday.

[Canistani Hero]

Originally Posted by Blitz I'm a believer in statistics. If a one sport country, which has a population of a billion, can't produce even one AVERAGE fast bowler in 80 years.....then no....no hope. When you add the financial muscle of the BCCI, its a disgrace to humanity that they can't find a fast bowler. Infact, it is impossible. Freaks of nature are born everywhere, and when India has its population, it is impossible to comprehend what they have achieved.

80 years. hm. Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan in recent history can be called half decent bowlers but I don't see why it's 'impossible'. India is gifted with batting, Pakistan is gifted (or was until recently) gifted with fast bowlers, we literally had them growing on trees, India can always dream but perhaps most importantly make movies like Iqbal, where they find a true fast bowler

Yes, money can improve infrastructure, better coaching, improved techniques etc but money can't 'buy' fast bowlers, unless Pakistan or South Africa start exporting

[IndianWillow]

Originally Posted by The Law There is plenty of hope for India's pace bowling. It will not be a quick process, but the IPL has been discovering and helping the development of a number of bowlers, especially for limited overs cricket. I think our limited overs bowling will be very strong in the next few years based upon the training of the IPL and the large talent pool and sink-or-swim nature of the competitive squads and matches.

IPL itself has not produced or developed any talent, at the best it has enabled talented players to showcase their talent. We have to have a more robust FC structure ( that are played throughout the year) in order to churn out fast bowlers, IPL cannot help produce talent - a short form of cricket played for one month an year can produce what? India is a batsman-oriented country. IPL is batsman oriented - the man of the match awards of the IPL shows they care little for bowlers.

[hasanmehmoodkhan]

indian pace bowling is in the gutters the standard of bowling in the IPL is truly awful

[Krishnan]

Originally Posted by IndianWillow IPL itself has not produced or developed any talent, at the best it has enabled talented players to showcase their talent. We have to have a more robust FC structure ( that are played throughout the year) in order to churn out fast bowlers, IPL cannot help produce talent - a short form of cricket played for one month an year can produce what? India is a batsman-oriented country. IPL is batsman oriented - the man of the match awards of the IPL shows they care little for bowlers.

But how do u make our "temporary memory people" forget all the important losses outside india and generate the cash registers ringing at the same time.Only because of T20 people coming.

If u just ban t20 and organise one day and tests like in the nineties with sufficient gap in between tours,you will see people coming back to watch tests because they dont have a choice . and at that same time bcci should introduce good pitches for our fast bowlers,never mind the initial losses we may suffer,but it will be helpful in the long term.

But as of now,BCCI main aim is to make sure that people think all is rosy about indian cricket,inspite of the fact we are a pathetic test side outside home as well as a patehtic bowling side in all formats both home and away.

I thought in the nineties we had a terrible bowling unit,now i realise their worthiness.

[Blitz]

Originally Posted by Canistani Hero 80 years. hm. Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan in recent history can be called half decent bowlers

Averaging 30 is decent? I would say 27 is a decent fast bowler.

Originally Posted by Canistani Hero but I don't see why it's 'impossible'.

You don't understand how impossible of a statistic that is.

New Zealand have 1/300th of India's population, have played international cricket far less, and actually don't even care about cricket.

At best maybe 10% of their tiny population cares? Its a Rugby country. Cricket is like hockey in Pakistan. No one cares.

Yet bowlers like Hadlee and Bond are WAY better then any Indian bowler.


Seriously, it really really really is impossible.

Originally Posted by Canistani Hero India is gifted with batting, Pakistan is gifted (or was until recently) gifted with fast bowlers, we literally had them growing on trees,

Its a myth. We've had many world class batsmen. Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad, Mohammed Yousuf, Saeed Anwar etc.

India have never had an average fast bowler, let alone world class.

Originally Posted by Canistani Hero Yes, money can improve infrastructure, better coaching, improved techniques etc but money can't 'buy' fast bowlers, unless Pakistan or South Africa start exporting

Money can do all those things you listed, which should improve the chances of getting bowlers, and making them better.

Someone getting payed a million a year would be far more likely to go on the high tech costly machinary to improve muscle and technique.



Again, if you were to use a program known as Stata, and entered all these variables, you'd get one answer = impossible.

India should have some great bowlers, and quite a few of them by now.


Yet still, to this day, their best bowler in terms of average is Bedi, at 28~!

[IndianWillow]

Originally Posted by Krishnan But how do u make our "temporary memory people" forget all the important losses outside india and generate the cash registers ringing at the same time.Only because of T20 people coming. If u just ban t20 and organise one day and tests like in the nineties with sufficient gap in between tours,you will see people coming back to watch tests because they dont have a choice . and at that same time bcci should introduce good pitches for our fast bowlers,never mind the initial losses we may suffer,but it will be helpful in the long term. But as of now,BCCI main aim is to make sure that people think all is rosy about indian cricket,inspite of the fact we are a pathetic test side outside home as well as a patehtic bowling side in all formats both home and away. I thought in the nineties we had a terrible bowling unit,now i realise their worthiness.

BCCI is somehow hoping that test cricket will slowly die out, If what they are anticipating turns out to be true, then the moves of BCCI are in the right direction. BCCI occasionally pays lip service to test cricket, but none of these actions prove that they are serious about it and this corroborated by India's decline of late.

Perhaps the future of cricket is T20 and all we will get to see in another 30 years will be T20 only. If test cricket fails to attract audience it will fade away, ODI never challenged test cricket, but the commercial form of T20 organized by movie makers and celebrities is threatening test cricket for sure.

[AccidentallyOnPurpose]

Never mind the indians but I think that Pakistan renowned always fo its bowling is in a much worse conditions.

[Moh@n]

Originally Posted by Blitz I'm a believer in statistics. If a one sport country, which has a population of a billion, can't produce even one AVERAGE fast bowler in 80 years.....then no....no hope. When you add the financial muscle of the BCCI, its a disgrace to humanity that they can't find a fast bowler. Infact, it is impossible. Freaks of nature are born everywhere, and when India has its population, it is impossible to comprehend what they have achieved.

A one sport country?

Ever heard of these names: Vishwanathan Anand, Mahesh Bhupathi, Leander Paes, Pullella Gopichand, Vijender Singh, Pankaj Advani, Abhinav Bindra, Narain Karthikeyan, Saina Nehwal? These are champions in their respective sport, just that people don't follow these sports enough.

And India didn't produce one AVERAGE fast bowler in 80 years? The likes of Kapil Dev and Javagal Srinath were pretty good bowlers. And a good fast bowler does not necessarily need to have express pace. The likes of Glenn McGrath and Shaun Pollock were great fast bowlers despite not having much pace.

And I have never been able to understand this population arguement. How is that supposed to be a parameter for having a good cricket side or a good bowler or batsman? Does China have a champion cricket team?

[Canistani Hero]

Originally Posted by Moh@n A one sport country? Ever heard of these names: Vishwanathan Anand, Mahesh Bhupathi, Leander Paes, Pullella Gopichand, Vijender Singh, Pankaj Advani, Abhinav Bindra, Narain Karthikeyan, Saina Nehwal? These are champions in their respective sport, just that people don't follow these sports enough. And India didn't produce one AVERAGE fast bowler in 80 years? The likes of Kapil Dev and Javagal Srinath were pretty good bowlers. And a good fast bowler does not necessarily need to have express pace. The likes of Glenn McGrath and Shaun Pollock were great fast bowlers despite not having much pace. And I have never been able to understand this population arguement. How is that supposed to be a parameter for having a good cricket side or a good bowler or batsman? Does China have a champion cricket team?

Blitz answered your question in his response to my posts, go a few posts up