Team India’s bowling coach spoke about the bowlers’ performance in the last couple of years, variety in the dressing room and much more ahead of the 2nd ODI
The Indian team’s performance in the last couple of years has been not just about the batsmen scoring plenty of runs, but also about the bowlers taking 20 wickets and backing the batsmen throughout.
From India going in with five bowlers in the fourth Test match against Australia in the absence of Captain Virat Kohli and winning it, clearly shows the confidence and talent bowling unit comprises.
The first ODI against Sri Lanka was one such similar instance where the bowlers upped their game to curb the flow of runs. From Sri Lanka’s score being 139 for one to 216 all-out, showed what the likes of Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal bring to the table.
“We are blessed to have a bowling attack that’s so versatile and each bowler’s wants are different from the others and I feel that my job is to give them the right feedback that helps them evolve as a bowler,’ said Team India bowling coach, Bharat Arun when asked about the kind of skills each player is working upon.
With the amount of matches being played across the year, it is important to monitor the workload of the fast bowlers and the bowling coach too feels that. “It is not only in practice but also what they do in the matches, you do take into account and you keep their workloads pretty ideal so that they are in the ideal performance state all the time. That’s the key to managing their workload.”
The bowling coach also spoke about all-rounder Hardik Pandya who has been continuously working on improvising his bowling skills. “More than me, I think Hardik wants to bowl those 10 overs and he does understand that to bowl those he needs to work more on his skills and he is someone who works really hard and he is not afraid of trying different things. So, my job is a lot easier to be working with somebody like Hardik who wants to upgrade his skill.”
Regular spinners R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are not a part of the ODIs against Sri Lanka, having made way for the likes of Axar, Kuldeep and Chahal in the squad.
“It is very important to keep all the bowlers motivated all the time and playing for India and being in the 15 is the biggest motivation a player can look for. He shouldn’t be looking at that he is not playing, he may get an opportunity at any point of time so you need to be absolutely prepared and that’s what they are working on,” he added when asked how he has been working along and motivating the part-time bowlers in the team.
He laid emphasis on R Ashwin’s inclusion in the ODI side. ‘Yes, Ashwin is also part of the ODI team which we are looking at, but we would also like to give a lot of opportunities to other bowlers as well and then take a call accordingly.
