Former India pacer Zaheer Khan has highly rated India’s fast bowling department ahead of the start of the South Africa Test series, and reiterated the fact that the pace battery is fully capable of picking up all 20 wickets in a match.
For the South Africa series, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami will return, and along with Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma and Shardul Thakur, India will reform the pack that has made India a threat in overseas conditions.
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"They are certainly good enough to take 20 wickets in each Test. They have been performing consistently all over the world. It is a good, balanced attack. The best part is that we have enough variety within the fast-bowling pack," Zaheer told Hindustan Times.
"We have a tall bowler like Ishant Sharma to extract extra bounce from awkward lengths and someone like Mohammed Shami with his prominent seam position who can move the ball both ways off the deck. Then we have got Jasprit Bumrah, who is truly world class and has created problems for batters with pace and guile."
Zaheer spoke highly of Shardul, Umesh and Siraj, who are usually the replacement bowlers. But while India have all boxes ticked as far as fast-bowling is concerned, Zaheer pointed out one variety which the team lacks, even though it is no deal-breaker.
"We also have an excellent second battery in Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj. On the whole, we have a well-rounded attack and there is no reason to think they won't get the desired success. Perhaps the only bowler missing is a left-arm quick, but I guess you can't do much about it. A left-armer does give you the advantage of a different angle, but unfortunately for India, the wait continues," mentioned Zaheer.