Former Indian cricket Sunil Gavaskar lauded the current Indian pace bowling unit which seems to be hitting new highs with time. The bowlers turned out to be the protagonists during the recent white-ball assignments against West Indies. This was especially evident during the ODI series where bowlers didn’t let a series of underwhelming performances from the batters hinder Team India from completing a whitewash against the visitors.
Gavaskar appreciated the emergence of Deepak Chahar who he says is a ‘terrific swing bowler.’ Chahar can get frequent breakthroughs with the ball especially early in the game. Chahar has also elevated his game as a batter lower down the order. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, despite not being the same player he once was, can also get considerable swing with his bowling and has plenty of experience according to Gavaskar.
“He (Deepak Chahar) is a terrific swing bowler. He has that extra pace as well. He isn’t express but he gets the ball to move at a decent pace which makes it difficult for a batsman. And he has got both the in-swinger and the out-swinger without a noticeable change in action. So when you have someone like him and have Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the bench after two fine performances in the series, India are blessed as far as riches in bowling are concerned,” said Gavaskar in a chat on Star Sports.
Sunil Gavaskar also showered a plethora of praise on right-arm quick bowler Jasprit Bumrah. Since his rise with the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, Bumrah has gone on to establish himself as arguably the premier all-format fast bowler in the world and is also among the best in India’s history.
The 28-year-old is the leader of India’s pace bowling unit and has galvanised the setup almost single-handedly. Mohammad Shami and Mohammed Siraj are also excellent options to have and the Indian team isn’t short on resources in their fast-bowling arsenal.
“There is Bumrah. Don’t forget him. He will walk into any team in the world not just India team, any team. Then you have Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami…spoilt for choices,” concluded Sunil Gavaskar.
The Men in Blue will now take on Sri Lanka in a three-match T20I series as well as a two-match Test series beginning with the T20I series on February 24. Jasprit Bumrah will return to the side after being rested for the series against West Indies.
