Is it a new dawn for quick bowling in India?

Ever since the quartet of spinners disappeared from the scene, Indian cricket has never enjoyed the reputation of a strong side. In Test cricket, India has been found seriously wanting in the bowling department and is literally carried by Sachin Tendulkar's brilliance. Through the 1990s, it was a foregone conclusion when the Indian team toured abroad that it would not win a Test match, let alone a series.

But there have been odd wins in the shorter form of the game, most notably the World Cup in 1983, followed by the World Championships in 1985. I believe it was Kapil Dev's genius as an allrounder that gave some respite to the Indian team. Thanks to Kapil who was ably supported by other tireless seamers like Roger Binny and Madan Lal, India had the nucleus of an attack which could pose a threat.

Now nearly two decades after Kapil's heyday, the Indian medium pacers are once again posing a threat in the shorter version of the game. The efforts of the MRF Pace Foundation which mirrored the progress made in Australia has served to put quick bowling back on the right track. The Coca Cola Cup in Zimbabwe has showcased the abilities of five medium pacers in Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, Debasish Mohanty and Harvinder Singh.

Nehra is quite obviously the find of the tour and is quickly developing into the spearhead of the Indian attack. Deceptively quick, he also has the aggression vital for a pace bowler. The second best is Mohanty who is a genuine mover of the ball and a great trier. Mohanty's only shortcoming is that when the ball is old he is not able to extract much out of it and his lack of pace becomes a liability.

Zaheer Khan, who is the leading wicket taker for India so far, can potentially develop into a very good bowler. Zaheer sometimes gives me the impression that his mind is wandering but when he wakes up, he seams the ball a great deal to pose a lot of problems. Agarkar is probably the most experienced of this attack but his unworthy classification as an allrounder is becoming a millstone around his neck and affecting his bowling.

Agarkar should be advised that he is primarily expected to take wickets and then if he does score runs when the chips are down, it will do wonders for his confidence. Harvinder Singh, like Nehra, is deceptive but his pace or rather the lack of it may be a problem. He has to develop the ability to cut the ball off the wicket to overcome his speed limitations.

With the NCA and the various Zonal Academies going flat out to unearth more talent and serving as a feeder line to the Indian team, hopefully it should mark the beginning of a fresh dawn for pace bowling in the country. The sad story is that of Javagal Srinath who has served India so manfully over the years. It's a pity that he suffered a shoulder injury in his prime which affected his fielding to a large extent. But Srinath is still capable of producing sharp bursts with the new ball and I believe he will serve Indian cricket in the longer version for at least one more season