BOMBAY, 21 July 2006 — The old order changeth, yielding place to new. This is how the growing process is defined. But when changes come quick and fast, even those who are still growing are caught in a quandary.
This is exactly what is happening in the Indian cricket team, at the moment, particularly with regard to the component of pace in the attack.__
Things indeed have moved so fast in the matter of the composition of two or three slots of medium-pacers in the side, that a highly talented player like Irfan Pathan found himself left out of the playing eleven in most of the Test matches in the West Indies recently.
Hailed as the best all-rounder in Indian cricket, after the departure of Kapil Dev, Pathan established his claim as a mere 19-year old. Apart from being the side’s main strike bowler, he proved to be a highly successful batsman. Today, at the age of 21, he is struggling to find a permanent place in the team.
Two comparative newcomers, Munaf Patel and S. Sreesanth, have been able to grasp their slim opportunities with both hands to usurp both the pace bowlers’ slots in the team. But this is a part of a cycle, or a game of merry-go-round, if you will, that has been going on for the last couple of seasons. Today, it is as difficult to get into the side as a middle-order batsman, as it is to squeeze in as a pace bowler.
If you look around, there are no less than 10 bowlers of that ilk who have, or are building up, credentials for selection in the Indian team. While the ousted Irfan had two youngsters, R.. P. Singh and V.R.V. Singh, for company on the Windies’ tour, there are half-a-dozen more waiting in the wings.
The most prominent among these is Zaheer Khan. Just one moderate series in Pakistan put Zaheer out of the running even for selection in the squad. Not to be undone by this setback, Zaheer has hit a purple patch in the County Championships in England and is one of the leading wicket-takers there. He is all set to make a comeback. So is Ajit Agarkar, who was surprisingly left out for the Test series, after being the most outstanding bowler on both sides in the one-dayers.
Two men who had long lay-offs on account of injuries, L. Balaji and Ashish Nehra, have already sounded a warning that they are very much there to challenge the best. From all accounts, both are back to their old form and fitness. Then there is the quietly efficient Amit Bhandari, another left-arm seamer, who hasn’t got his due yet after loitering in the reserves for almost two years. So the cupboard, as far as fast bowling talent is concerned, seems to be overflowing. And to think that there was a time in Indian cricket, when spin so dominated team selection that the selectors did not pick any pacers and made do with those with just the pretence of pace and capable of bowling a couple of overs with the new ball.
Today, the task of the selectors is unenviable. Talking to one of them the other day, he admitted this is no uncertain manner. “When it comes to making a choice on the medium-pacers, I would prefer to hand over the job to someone else,” he said.
This boom time for pace in Indian cricket is a rare occurrence. One is not sure whether it will have a positive or a negative effect. If men like Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Agarkar and R.P. Singh are found struggling to make the team, it might discourage the up-and-coming fast bowlers. It will not surprise the aficionados if youngsters begin to take to spin bowling in the future.
