Fast come, fast go

Celebrate the comeback kid Sreesanth, but it takes nothing away from inconsistency that plagues Indian fast bowling.

Even though Sreesanth took some of his wickets with innocuous deliveries, he did bowl many outstanding ones and has clearly made a triumphant return to the Indian Test team after 18 months. But as we toast him, one wonders what may be going through the mind of Ishant Sharma, who was the toast of the team not too long ago. Or Irfan Pathan, who was our find of the century in 2004-05. Or L Balaji, who returned from the 2004 tour to Pakistan a hero and was our best fast bowler on Pakistan’s return tour. Or Ashish Nehra, who was our best bowler in the 2003 World Cup. Or Munaf Patel, who was supposed to be the fastest bowler we ever had, but now bowls a shade faster than Anil Kumble did at the time of retirement.

Having taken its first steps into international cricket 79 years ago with an excellent pair of new ball bowlers in Amar Singh and Mohammad Nissar, India spent the next few decades without a fast bowler worth the name, with the notable exception of Ramakant Desai. For some time, we took refuge in excuses about our climate and genetic code not being conducive to growth of fast bowlers. But Pakistan called our bluff when Imran Khan and Sarfaraz Nawaz inspired an assembly line of fast bowlers across the border.

In the last few years, we caught up with Pakistan in the number of fast bowlers coming through the ranks. Although none of them could match the speed of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younus or Shoaib Akhtar, we had the numbers.

However, if one takes a long hard look at our fast bowling resources, the most striking thing is their short life span. After Javagal Srinath, the most durable we have had is Zaheer Khan, who has played no more than 67 Tests since his debut nine years ago. He enjoys an excellent reputation globally as a swing bowler, more so after India’s Test series win in England on the last tour, but misses more games than he plays.

The others are doing worse. They come into the team with immense promise, just like Khan, but start falling prey to injuries and loss of form faster than they bowl. Does that mean we are not nurturing our talent properly? Was Venkatesh Prasad the right bowling coach? Was it wise to sack him when we have not yet found a replacement?

As far as Sreesanth (15 Tests in nearly four years since debut) is concerned, his selection was widely questioned because he had not done enough on the domestic circuit to earn a recall. He has been warned by BCCI with a suspension if he violates the code of conduct one more time. But let’s enjoy his bowling while it lasts.