A freak. But he’s so soft-spoken, that despite being in a team where everyone likes to have some sort of presence in the media, he seldom opens up. He’s also arguably the best all-format bowler now. Can bowl yorkers even if woken up in the middle of the night. When he isn’t wearing his cricket gear, he’ll walk past you in his round-framed glasses, and you won’t even notice him.
A mild-mannered menace. You won’t find a more lethal bowler who can hit the right lengths with the new ball and the old. Will make the ball speak in the language he wants, but he won’t exchange words with batsmen. He isn’t your stereotypical trash-talking pacer, but he doesn’t show mercy either.
A real-life Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde. He blows hot or cold. It’s hard to predict when he’ll turn up. But when he does, there is no better sight. Swing, pace, reverse swing, aggression. Wasn’t the fittest, but has improved leaps and bounds over the last few years.
A baby-faced assassin. There are only two of his kind at the World Cup; that’s how special this 24-year-old is. Ever since his coach asked him to give up his dreams of becoming Wasim Akram, he has bamboozled batsmen with his own set of tricks. When few were attempting to even try out this art, he believed it was the way forward. All the spotlight and video analysis in the world hasn’t cracked his code.
A wiry brainiac. A national chess player who made leg-spin sexy again. Not as much as Shane Warne, but at a time when spinners are being taken to the cleaners, his confidence is refreshing. Size of boundaries have hardly mattered to him. He breaks leg-spin theories by pitching outside off instead of on the stumps, or slides them in. Gets wickets against the run of play. All of this at an economy of under 5.
A dart specialist. The most experienced of them all. Bowls, bats and fields with equal ease. In an alternate world, he’d most probably be a sniper, courtesy his consistent accuracy. Like Glenn McGrath, can land the ball at the same spot six times in an over, and make them spin away or go straight. Forever in the face of batsmen. Also does fancy sword twirls.
These are the six India are banking on. This is the first time that the team is going to the World Cup with an attack considered to be more reliable than the batting unit. Because of them India are tagged alongside England as one of the favourites to have the last laugh on July 14. Among them, only Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja have played a few World Cup matches. Bhunveshwar Kumar has featured in only one. But in four years they have made fans smile with their skills, dishing out treatments to opponents that many a time Men in Blue were at the receiving end of.
Instrumental in this transformation is Bharathi Arun, the bowling coach, who inspired an inexperienced attack in the previous edition to take 77 of the 80 wickets on offer. This time, expectations are higher. Speaking shortly before the team left for England, Arun agrees. “There are expectations. That’s because this attack has shown it’s capable of winning matches from any stage. In Bumrah, we have one of the best in all formats. Bhuvi is excellent in this formant and conditions will be favourable for him. He is equally good at the death. Then there is Shami, from the last World Cup to now, there’s massive improvement. We have two wrist spinners who have done exceedingly well in the middle-overs. It was a problem area and we have that aspect covered too. We have Jadeja, who can be more than a handful if the conditions gets drier.”
The rise of Shami over the last year has made the attack go from strength to strength. When India take the field on June 5 against South Africa, they will have an important decision to make with regards to who to bench. Four months back it was unimaginable to think Bhuvneshwar will compete for a spot with Shami. But Arun believes the latter’s performance in 2018 has earned him a place. “Take last year for instance. What stood out was they never let the intensity slip. In South Africa, England and Australia, in each of the Tests they competed hard. Bumrah and Bhuvi were good across formats, but for Shami to come to the party was a big bonus. Against West Indies he bowled reasonably, but what we saw in New Zealand when we rested Bumrah was exceptional. Mind you, he was out of ODIs for long, but his magnificent showing in New Zealand got him a spot.”
If there is competition for pacers, the spin department isn’t far off. While Chahal and Kuldeep have grown into phenomenons, that India are also carrying a third in Jadeja is a reflection of the bases being covered. While it has come at the cost of a pacer, Arun believes in Hardik Pandya and Vijay Shankar if need be, there are options. “Middle overs was an area that needed improvement. Chahal and Kuldeep have played their roles well. Considering the big scores you see, the only way to be in the game is by taking wickets. Pitches are going to play true to batsmen, so you need to have all options. Jadeja will play a role if it gets drier. We have to be flexible because conditions in England can change in a short span. We can’t have a set plan when it suddenly gets gloomy and swing comes into play. The attack has to suit the conditions,” Arun added.
While every World Cup bowler appeared in good form in IPL, Kuldeep was the only exception. Arun believes it’s the best thing that could have happened to him. “At some stage, every great bowler has got hit badly. There starts the learning. You have to set your mind on what went wrong — choice of the ball or execution. Kuldeep has more success than failures and if he looks at areas that gave him success then he has more than enough skill to come good.”