CHENNAI: While fixing holes in the middle-order is India’s top priority at the Asia Cup, they are also looking to answer a few questions in bowling. While the attack for Test matches isn’t short on variety or back-ups, it’s in limited-over games that India have not been able to find a reliable third seamer to complement Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah.
Over the past year or so, apart from relying on these two pacers, who are easily one of the best pair in the world, India have also banked on Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav in the limited-over formats.
That three of them are in the top 10 of the ICC rankings is a true reflection of how well-oiled the bowling machinery is. With Hardik Pandya used as third-seamer who also takes the new ball at times, India have so far managed without a reliable third seamer.
Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur, Siddarth Kaul have been tested without much success. Left-armer Khaleel Ahmed has been added to the squad to see if he can provide some variety.
Shami and Umesh in white-ball cricket are an interesting case study. Regulars in red-ball cricket when fit and reliable, their fluctuations in form has meant only one among them has featured in shorter formats in recent times. While Shami was part of the ODI squad during the tour of South Africa but didn’t play a game, Umesh missed the berth. But in England, it was Umesh who got the nod as Shami was rested keeping in mind the five-match Test series.
While their performance in Tests has been satisfactory, their limited-over sojourn has been the opposite. Alongside the now-forgotten Mohit Sharma, Shami and Umesh formed India’s pace trio in the 2015 World Cup, where the two averaged 17.29, 17.83, apart from having economy rates below five in an edition where 300-plus totals were commonplace.
Interestingly, both have been overlooked for the Asia Cup with Ahmed and Thakur in the squad. In an interaction with Express earlier this year, India’s bowling coach Bharathi Arun had revealed that the team was looking for a left-arm seamer to make it a complete attack.
Having tried Barinder Sran, who failed to impress, the inclusion of Ahmed could make things interesting for the rest in the pecking order. While these are still early days, the news emerging from the Indian camp sound encouraging for Ahmed.
Skipper Rohit Sharma, speaking on the eve of India’s match against Hong Kong on Tuesday, seemed impressed by the 20-year-old from Rajasthan, whose pace was spoken about during the 2016 U-19 World Cup.
“I am quite excited about Khaleel. Of course, he adds variety to the attack. Also, he generates quite a bit of pace. He’s young, talented and can swing the ball as well at the same time. From whatever I’ve seen, he can get batsmen into trouble. He’s got great skills and it’s just a matter of going out there and doing it. He’s not played a game, so he’ll be nervous but again he’s got the tools required to play at the highest level,” Rohit said.
This means, going forward, India will look to narrow down their search and if Ahmed proves encouraging, the team might look at Thakur and Kaul as the add-ons for a unit that badly needs alternatives in the shorter formats.