Hyderabad: Although cricket has become a batter-oriented sport in recent times, Test cricket is the format where bowlers still play a key role in shaping the outcome of the match. In the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy, Jasprit Bumrah has picked a major chunk of wickets for the Indian side. He has taken 30 wickets so far across eight innings out of 67 wickets taken by the Indian team which almost makes up for around 50% of the share.
However, the transition phase has arrived for the Indian team and it is visible from the fact that the pace unit relies heavily on Jasprit Bumrah. Mohammed Siraj has some impressive numbers on away soil, but he hasn’t been able to deliver his best at home.
Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav were some of the mainstay pacers in the Test team in the earlier era. However, Ishant played his last red-ball fixture in 2021, Bhuvaneshwar played his last in 2018 and Umesh played his last Test the previous year.
Overrealiance on Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah has been shouldered with the responsibility of leading the Indian pace attack but he is lacking support from the other end. Mohammed Shami, who usually hunts in pairs with Bumrah is out of the national side due to an injury. Also, with Shami being 34 years old, there is uncertainty around how long he will play considering the kind of toll the body of a pacer takes in the longest format. The current series has shown the bowling unit relies heavily on Bumrah and Siraj in the absence of Shami.
Siraj’s struggle in home Tests
Siraj has been a prolific performer away from home but his recent form and a dismal record at home raises questions on him being a permanent member of the playing XI. Siraj has picked 72 wickets from 21 Tests overseas but has managed to take only 19 wickets from 14 matches in home venues.
Further, in the recent Test series against New Zealand, he managed to pick only two wickets in two matches and in the ongoing India-Australia he has taken 16 wickets from eight innings with a strike rate of 48.4.
Lack of backup pacers
The current Indian Test team also has Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana. Deep has shown his potential but he boasts a bowling average of 54 and a strike rate of 93.4 in the series which is worrisome. Prasidh Krishna has played only a couple of Tests while Harshit Rana has also featured only in two Test matches.
Now, with the lack of backup pacers for Bumrah and Shami, the team might have to look for options in the pace bowling unit.
Pacers who can be included in the Indian team in future
Vijaykumar Vyshak has been a consistent performer in the first-class cricket. The 27-year-old has picked 103 wickets from 26 first-class matches. In the Ranji Trophy 2023/24, Vyshak picked 39 wickets from eight matches and the pacer has also played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League and has taken 13 wickets from 11 fixtures.
Mayank Yadav is one more name that comes to mind courtesy of his sheer pace. The right-arm pacer has played only one first-class match but has an impressive List A record of taking 34 wickets from 17 matches.
Simarjeet Singh, who featured for CSK in 2022 and 2024, has 46 wickets from 15 first-class matches to his name with a bowling average of 30.10. The right-arm pacer is known for clocking speeds around 140 KPH.
Yash Dayal is another name who can rise through the ranks and he has shown his potential while playing for Gujarat Titans in the IPL. He has picked 84 wickets from 27 first-class matches in his career so far.
