Re: India's current fast bowling attack - VERY WEAK
I think you may be a bit harsh on Sreesanth. For all the jokes we make about Indian fast bowling, he is the only one of the current lot that consistently clocks above 140 in his spells. Can also rely on him to bowl a few wicket-taking deliveries in every spell. Many many skills he still needs to learn, but he is young and will learn. Has played 8 tests so far, mostly all away tests (in Windies and South Africa), and I couldnt find any other Indian bowler with even close to comparable numbers in his first 8 tests. Excellent strike rate, two 8-wicket hauls, one man of the match. Sure, too small a sample to base a career prediction on, but at the same time, nothing to sneeze at either.
Agreed, he is eccentric and maybe a bit too aggressive sometimes for his own good. But this is a young fast bowler we are talking of, not a Sunday school choir boy. His antics may not always be in good taste, but he brings a "mongrel" scrappy quality to the table that India has always lacked. Imran used to say that fast bowlers have to be nurtured. My fear is that rather than nurturing this (admittedly eccentric, even immature, maybe) talent, our establishment and love of conformity will end up dumping him or worse, converting him into a zen master like Dravid (one of my favorite players, BTW, just not my ideal for a fast bowler temperament). I think he would fare much better across the border - one of Pakistani cricket's biggest strengths has been its ability to nurture "attitude" as opposed to stifling it.