Pollock feels current Team India has a depth in its pace-bowling department

Former South Africa spearhead Shaun Pollock has said that Indian cricket team currently has depth in the pace-bowling department and gone are the days when the country would struggle to find a quality third or back-up seamer.
 
Yeah, you guys (India) are really in a strong position now (with regard to fast bowling). The depth in bowling, the different variations, you have got some tall guys, shorter guys, quick, skillful, shaping the ball and you can decide in between them and you can have a real good balance, Pollock said on Sony Ten Pit Stop' show.
 
India currently possesses an array of fast bowlers led by spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, with the likes of Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar to back him up.
 
The country also has a good bench-strength with the likes of Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar and Navdeep Saini, among others.
 
When India didn’t have third seamer
 
The former South Africa captain recalled that there was a period when India did not have any third or replacement bowler to support lead pacers like Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad.
 
If you decide to go with three or even four seamers, you now have got guys who can step in. In the years gone by, you might have had a Srinath or a Venkatesh Prasad, but then the replacement bowler...third bowler or backup bowler... was not of the same quality and that's where I thought they were letting themselves down, added Pollock, who has 421 Test wickets and 393 ODI scalps to his name.
 

The 46-year-old Pollock said in a recent chat, Bumrah had told him about competition among the Indian bowlers.
 
We had a chat with Bumrah, the other day, and he was saying everyone is competing, ready to go, you really have to keep performing and if you don't have a few good games, then someone can step in and take your place. So, that's a good situation for India.
 
Shaun Pollock on saliva ban
 
On the issue of saliva ban, Pollock hoped it wouldn't be there for a long time.
 
"Well you can use sweat on the ball for now. Hopefully we don't have to use this over a longer time. Maybe it can just be 3-6 months and then we can go back to normal. New Zealand for example, they started with the domestic league and there probably won't be any issue with the virus at all as they don't have the virus. You do understand the precautions and you would rather have cricket be played," he said.
 
Pollock on South Africa’s Test captain
 
South Africa is yet to zero in on its Test captain with names of Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram doing the rounds. Quinton de Kock is white ball captain of South Africa cricket team. Pollock said if there are no Test matches around any time soon, they should look for a long-term solution.
 
"It goes down to where this team is going. If there is a series soon, then they might go for experience. If it takes longer for Test cricket to return, you may think long term. We need to run with a captain for 4-5 years. There are no firm favourites. De Kock has done well in the shorter formats."
 
Asked if he found leading the sides taxing, Pollock said: "I did not find it too taxing. I always wanted to be involved and helped the team. Also we had two formats at that time."