The current pace attack is collectively India’s best ever – Rahul Dravid

 

Former Indian captain Rahul Dravid feels the current pace attack of the team is collectively the best ever in the history of Indian cricket. Dravid believes every Indian fast bowler is different from the other and brings different kinds of traits to the table, which eventually makes the bowling unit more lethal.

As all the fast bowlers are different, they bring the variety into the attack. Bumrah has an awkward action and uses the angle to great advantage. Ishant has the extra height and thus he can extract bounce from the surface. Shami has the most beautiful seam position and he can swing the ball at express pace.

Furthermore, it is not that the team is dependent only on these three fast bowlers. They have got the back-up like bowlers Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who have all impressed with their skills. Moreover, bowlers like Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur have done well at the India A level.

In fact, India has had bowlers like Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan but they never had a potent pace battery at one time and thus these bowlers didn’t get the support from the other end. However, it is not the case with the current bowling unit as everyone is ticking the right boxes. Hence, it is a collective bowling effort on most occasions.

“As a collection of fast bowlers I think this is the best fast bowling attack we have had. We have got great fast bowlers like Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan.

“India has developed depth in fast bowling and they are all peaking right now. Also they are all different. Bumrah with his angle, Ishant has height, Shami is skiddy and swings the ball more, Umesh is slingy so they are all unique in their own way,” Dravid said while talking to Sony Pit Stop show.

The Indian pace battery has done a fine job in the last couple of years and they have been at the top of their game. The trio of Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami were right on the money on the previous tour of Australia. These three had scalped 48 wickets in the four Test matches collectively and had played a key role in India’s maiden Test series win on the Australian soil.

A lot of credit for India’s pace battery success goes to their hard work and fitness. All these bowlers are super fit and they can bowl long spells without compromising on speed and accuracy. Furthermore, the bowling coach Bharat Arun deserves credit for guiding the players on the right path.