'Earlier, 9 out of 10 wanted to be Sachin, Dhoni; now they want to be Bumrah, Shami': L Balaji on India's pace battery

“Earlier, nine out of 10 youngsters wanted to become a Virat Kohli or a Sachin Tendulkar or an MS Dhoni. Nowadays, they want to be like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd Shami or Zaheer Khan," said L Balaji.

Heaping praise on the current crop of Indian fast bowlers led by Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma, former India pacer Lakshmipathi Balaji said earlier nine out of 10 youngsters wanted to be like Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli or MS Dhoni but now they want to become like Bumrah, Shami or Zaheer Khan.

File image of Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant Sharma. (Twitter/Mohammed Shami)

“Earlier, nine out of 10 youngsters wanted to become a Virat Kohli or a Sachin Tendulkar or an MS Dhoni. Nowadays, they want to be like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd Shami or Zaheer Khan. The importance of fast bowling is defined with Bumrah’s pace, Shami’s modern-day skill sets, Ishant Sharma’s huge experience,” said Balaji in an interview with Cricket Next.

The right-arm seamer who was known for his ability to move the ball both ways during his playing days said Shami and Bumrah are the most skilled fast bowlers in India now.

“At present, Shami and Bumrah are the most skilled pacers we have and we could play one at a time. Even Ishant could be rotated. There are other fast bowlers like Bhuvi, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Siraj among others. In the bargain, you end up widening the talent pool; they perform with the same intensity. You need to manage the fast bowlers to be fresh and sustain them over a long period of time. You need to find a formula that makes them sustainable.

“T Natarajan, in recent times, has gone from a remote place in Tamil Nadu to playing international cricket, filling in the void of a left-arm seamer. All these are a result of the evolution of fast bowlers and which is why India is able to take 20 wickets in Tests consistently,” he said.

Further explaining the evolution of Indian fast bowlers, Balaji said the current crop has more opportunities to showcase their talent.

“The current Indian pace attack has evolved over a period. There was a role model in Kapil Dev in the 1980s and later we had Manoj Prabhakar and Javagal Srinath. These people set the tone in the 1980s and 1990s as fast bowlers. Look at the number of players who have made their debuts in the last five or six years. It is large. They have a lot of opportunities across all formats. If you are able to get recognition at the first-class level or the IPL, you are not going to be ignored. Many missed out in the 1980s and 1990s. In the recent past, the best thing that has happened is the rotation of players. A good talent is hardly missed. The opportunities and talents are justified,” he said.