Former India captain Kapil Dev on Thursday praised on India’s current pace bowlers, saying the fast bowlers have changed the face of Indian cricket in the last four-five years. While he was asked whether this current pace attack is the best, he replied in a great manner.
“Aisa pace attack humne dekha nahi tha, socha bhi nahi tha (we have not seen such a pace attack and never thought about it). So one does not have to say anything and yes without any doubt, in the last four-five years the fast bowlers have changed the face of Indian cricket,” he said.
India currently have a great pace attack with the likes of Bhuvneshar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Deepak Chahar and Navdeep Saini. In the absence of Bumrah, who has been ruled out due to injury in his back, Mohammed Shami led the attack and dismantled the batting line up in the first test match in Visakhapatnam.
“No issues about that (not being in the top 10 bowlers). How effective he (Shami) has been for the team is more important. You have seen him. Great to see him doing well and that’s the bottom line,” Kapil Dev said. “Today it is about their life. I am proud of the quality of Indian fast bowlers. They have come in numbers.”
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He gave the credit to IPL for providing a great platform to the young pacers.
“It takes time to develop a pace attack. It feels good to witness the amount of cricket that is being played now. Because of IPL so many fast bowlers have got an opportunity,” he said. “When you play more cricket, more players will come up. It is important to give youngsters opportunity to show their talent.”
The former World Cup-winning captain also praised India’s bench strength. He also backed Rohit Sharma in the opening in Test cricket.
“It is good to see he (Rohit) getting runs,” he said.
However, he also feels that it would be best to leave the things to MS Dhoni to decide about his future.
“That is his (Dhoni’s) call. How can we say anything about his future? He has to take a call or the selectors have to take a call. He is a such a great cricketer,” he concluded.
