Give pace a chance - Goswami wants 'fair opportunity' for domestic quicks

Former India fast bowler Jhulan Goswami wants India's domestic structure to treat fast bowling on par with spin, saying that opportunities and sustained backing have been missing links in building a pace-bowling pool. Developing fast bowlers is among Goswami's priorities in her role as mentor of Mumbai Indians (MI) in the WPL.

"I think the most important thing in [developing a wide pool of fast bowlers] is that all domestic teams need to give a fair amount of opportunity to fast bowlers and need to have a fair amount of belief in fast bowlers," Goswami told ESPNcricinfo. "Unfortunately, almost all the state teams use a lot of spinners rather than giving that opportunity to the medium pacers."

At the Senior Women's T20 Trophy in 2025, all of the top ten wicket-takers were spinners. Since 2023, six pacers (including allrounders) have made their India debuts across formats, while the number of debutant spinners is double that.

Goswami feels domestic teams need to trust fast bowlers even when they concede runs rather than turning to spin for wickets, saying there's no shortage of fast bowling talent in the country.

"I think all the state associations should give enough chances to medium-pacers and believe [in] them that they can deliver well. The problem is they don't give enough opportunities during practice matches too," she said. "So whenever they get selected for BCCI [India or India A] matches, if they have one off day they start losing confidence in fast bowlers and start believing [relying] on spinners.

"I think we [should] believe in them, give them enough faith and prepare them in such a way that whenever it is required, they can deliver. We have plenty [of quality pacers] but we need to guide them properly."

MI have had several Indian domestic medium-pacers over the years including Jintimani Kalita and Akshita Maheshwari, while Kranti Gaud, who's now part of the Indian team, once served as their net bowler. One of the fast bowlers MI bought at the auction this year is 21-year old Nalla Kranthi Reddy, a medium-pacer who plays for Hyderabad, who Goswami believes has an X-factor.

"She has been a special, talented cricketer," Goswami said. "During the trials and domestic matches, our scouting coaches liked her accuracy. She was able to bowl consistent areas and also has a different kind of action - she has a little bit of a slingy kind of action, which is what we like about her."

Goswami also highlighted MI captain Harmanpreet Kaur's leadership and how it differs from her role with India. Harmanpreet had made her international debut under Goswami's captaincy in 2009, and Goswami has since watched her evolve into a World Cup-winning captain.

"I think when she [Harmanpreet] is leading Mumbai Indians, she is more calm because she knows that she has the quality players around her," Goswami said. "Nat [Sciver-Brunt], Amelie [Kerr], Hayley Matthews, Shabnam Ismail are all established cricketers in international cricket so it's easy for her to lead the Mumbai Indians team, I feel."

Goswami credited the team culture and support staff for allowing Harmanpreet to thrive, adding that it's the reason why MI are two-time champions in the WPL. "We have a great culture behind this team, that's why she enjoys playing for MI and leading the team, and that is [the reason] she has been the most successful captain in WPL.

"These days she looks very calm and positive. She knows what she has to do, and that's a great quality about Harman. Whenever crunch situations come, we see Harman stepping forward and taking the responsibility but she also always backs the youngsters. She has developed those skills over a period of time, for the last 10-15 years. She is absolutely competitive. It's been really an honour for me, playing with her as a player, as a captain. And now as a coach, she is my captain."

One of the players who's gone on to play for India from the MI set-up is pace-bowling allrounder Amanjot Kaur, who was also part of the World Cup-winning squad. Goswami, who has worked closely with Amanjot in the MI nets, said the focus has been on her situational awareness rather than technical overhaul. "It's been about which area she needs to bowl, what field setting she needs to have," Goswami said. "She has been doing well for the last couple of years in domestic cricket as well as international cricket, so we are just giving her [Amanjot] a little bit of touch-up. Otherwise, she has been fantastic so far."

Transitioning into coaching has brought a different set of challenges for Goswami but she has embraced the learning curve. "I think as a coach, it's always challenging because the most important thing is you can't enter the ground. Whatever you do, it should be from outside the loop. As a coach, you can't control the game [as much as a player]. You're just giving the suggestions. But yes, I'm enjoying this challenge.

"Every day is new, I'm trying to learn from others and from a quality [head] coach like Lisa [Keightley] who has so much experience in this team."