It takes a lot to impress me - so I am happy to report that I have positive feedback about Sree Santh’s bowling yesterday. I had seen a little of him against Sri Lanka and thought he was just another one in the long line of mediocre medium pacers who are inducted into the Indian team from time to time only to be dumped and forgotten forever.
Sree Santh has a very smooth, clean, uncomplicated run-up and bowling action. I just wish he was a bit taller. Also, I got the impression that he puts a lot of thought into his bowling. - always a good sign.
Now, this is going to ruffle a few feathers (among my Pak friends) but Santh does have a run-in to the wicket that resembles that of Waqar Younis - though he doesn’t quite have the same built as Waqar.
RP Singh , however, is somewhat erratic as compared to Santh…he has good pace and the ability to move the ball bothways…but needs more control over his line. I did not like the casual way he played down the question of his bowling 10+ wides yesterday , saying - “It happens sometimes”…He has talent, but Greg Chappel clearly has some work to do with him.
Agarkar - What can I say ? A wicket here and a wicket there camouflages the mediocrity of a bowler who has been playing International Cricket for about 8 Years now. I will just say that it is a shame for India to be playing him at the expense of the numerous potential youngsters waiting to be tried.
Zaheer Khan - He is fast transforming into an Agarkar. I have been a fervent supporter of Zaheer. However, I am beginning to have second thoughts about him. I think Zaheer tried a bit too hard during this tour - probably due to the threat posed to his spot by Pathan/Santh/RPS…I will not shed any tears this time if he is dropped during the series against England.
Indian bowlers bowled with a lot of cricketing sense, and pitched the ball where it should be pitched. To be able to get wickets, you need more than just good sensible bowling, though:
You need mistake from the batsmen (though arguably you can induce a mistake by constantly applying pressure and varying line n' length).
You need good fielders to hold on to the catches (Indian team caught some real blinders in this series- fantastic fielding, as that put pressure on the batsmen).
You need some luck.
Its always premature to pass judgements on a bowler after 1 or 2 series. Lets give them all (put in Asif in the mix too) some time before putting them on a pedestal.
Sree Santh..i agree with you,….that is the first time I saw him bowling and I liked his smooth and clean runup…..some1, I don’t think that his action resembles to waqar younis that much…however, his action is pretty similar to Daniel Morrison of NZ….I am not sure how many of you have actually seen Morrsion bowling in early 90s…..
RP Singh….nothing special about him at all….he will be one of those bowlers who will be discarded after few experiments but if he is lucky and well-connected politically, one can see him playing for next few years but in terms of shear talent, the guy does not posses anything special….plus India already have so many left-handed fast bowlers…….If you are a left handed fast bowler, the most important thing is the angle between your arms at which you deliver the ball. Wasim Akram had that sharp angle which always allowed him to bowl with great speed even even with a shorter run up.
Sreesanth and RP Singh are the finds for India. There isnt any doubt about that. But then again, Indian bowlers do well the year they come on the scene. Agarkar was really sharp when he came along, as was Zaheer Khan. AshisH Nehra was a similar case. But they all faded away (or seemed like past their best) after 3-4 years of international cricket and generally THIS is the time for a fast bowler's prime; when he has played 3-4 years of international cricket. But this isnt the case with indian bowlers. Zaheer, Nehra, Agarkar, all have lost their pace. And all of them made their mark when they came to the scene as newbies. Did they peal too soon? Now RP singh and Sree Santh both have been impressive. Lets see where are they performance wise after an year or two.
Totally spot on. This has been problem with Indian bowlers. The come with bang and then fade away very soon.
Regarding RP, I think his biggest strenght is that, because of his high arm action he is able to lift the ball a lot and if when he pitches those balls in right area he becomes dangerous. He can be even more dangerous in AUS wickets. I was impressed by him during SL series and he impressed me aagain during this series. Sreesanth looks promising too. But I would bet my money on RP too have longer career.
Let see how it goes.
Regarding Zaheer, I think he can still be asset for Indian team if he gets his act together. He can still generate good pace.
Agarkar: I have no idea why he is there. Not only his batting sucks but I have noticed that he looks pretty aloof in the team. As if his wife has kust left him. Always alone and dull. His body language is pretty pathetic.
Keep in mind, i am speaking absolutely when i say i am yet to see you make a SINGLE sensible prediction that ever turned up correct in retrospect. except wexcept ki taang mat toro.
zaheer should be kicked out, he just bowls straight deliveries without much pace or swing. agarkar is OK in the team until someone comes up to take his place. pathan is above average bowler, he is a great cricket player as allrounder. i think sreesanth will mature and will be a regular team player, he just needs to work out and bulid some meat. RP singh has impressed.
i dont know whats up with nehra. is he still injured!!!!!! He is such a good bowler.
whats up with Kaif?????????There are other good players who could be given chance over him. I've never seen him play good, except he is an exceptional fielder. there are plenty other good middle order batsmen in india.
kaif is crisis man.. he was the one who was pullign team together against NZL in zimbabwe recently. Unfortunately he plays so down the order that he is either trying to save the team or blast the opposition. I think he should be moved a bit up in the batting order and he will come good.
