Poor attitude of Indian fast bowler’s – senior player's
The Indian bowling power is being questioned by senior and former players, as the new-age Indian fast bowlers are facing problems keeping up with pace and fitness. Former Indian bowling coach Ventkatesh Prasad believes that the depleted pace bowling of Indian
pace men can be explained by a lack of discipline and drive to do better.
Meanwhile, former Pakistani skipper and fast bowler http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wasim-Akram-c96292 blames the depletion of pace among Indian fast bowlers on the advent of twenty20 and Indian Premier League (IPL) as bowlers spent less time in the nets and are getting used to bowling smaller
spells. Indian bowling Coach Eric Simons has also identified the same problem but his argument is different as he thinks that not all main bowlers can be fit all the time.
Simons has stressed the need for a bigger pool of bowlers to stay competitive at the top-level. The South African Indian bowling coach says, “I think in the modern era you need a group of bowlers because you can’t always rely on your main bowlers to be fit.”
Akram expresses grief as he sees the effort and passion of the young Indian bowlers. Referring to them as “softies” and “spoilt”, he believes that these younger players lack enthusiasm and energy. The 44-year old expressed himself and his surprise when Simons
was appointed as the Indian bowling coach, saying, “Who is this guy”, as he couldn't understand the reason for Simons appointment and doubts his coaching skills.
Akram says, “The dream to represent the country for long doesn't seem to exist. Look at some of the young Indian bowlers. They breakdown every now and then. Last year, when I was involved with the IPL, I realized that the bowlers were happy bowling just
3-4 overs in the nets. I was amazed. “Softies”, is the word to describe them. They are also spoilt and don't believe in working hard.”
On the contrary, former http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 fast bowler and bowling coach Prasad expressed the same concerns, saying that the younger bowlers lose pace after a few matches in the international cricket season as they lack the right amount of practice hours in the nets.
The veteran Indian right-arm bowler says that nowadays fast bowlers after bowling 3-4 overs in the nets are done with their practice. And discipline is what they need to over-come their short-comings and is the only key to their success.
Prasad says, “I was very disappointed with amount of bowling that was going in nets. And with the amount of training: they weren’t training hard, the bowlers weren’t pushing themselves.”
Whether it is the money, passion for their country or the urge to do better, these Indian bowlers are not up to the mark. The current Indian pace attack includes the likes of Zaheer Khan, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Irfan-Pathan-c1601 and Munaf Patel. These fast
bowlers are experiencing a loss of pace after a few matches in the international circuit. Meanwhile, the current issue being addressed by the Indian bowling coach is to bring Sharma back up to the 140kmph mark on a consistent basis.
However, one might look at the problem of depleting pace and fitness, and one should also throw light on the increased number of twenty20 matches as compared to one-day international (ODI) and test matches. Especially, Indian cricketers are facing this problem
because the new age cricket is more money oriented rather than the passion to play for one’s national team. No doubt the advent of IPL and twenty20 cricket has evolved the game itself, but to keep up with the international cricketing arena, where a pace man
is expected to bowl longer spells.
Indian bowlers will have to go back to school. In the old school style one had to spend long hours aiming just one stump at a time and pitch the bowl in a certain area. Bowling 3-4 overs in the nets or increasing number of bowlers is not the answer, as the
Indian pace problem lies with the old school form of practice, as it would resolve their issues regarding fitness and pace.
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