Former India fast bowler Ashish Nehra reckons that the current Indian team has a fierce fast bowling unit and is particularly pleased with the display of seasoned campaigner Ishant Sharma in the first Test of the current 5-match series in England. Sharma grabbed six wickets in the series-opener against England at Birmingham, including a five-for in the second innings, albeit in a losing cause as the visitors fell short by 31 runs.

During a show on Sony Pictures Network, Nehra said, “We have a huge number of options, but the more important thing is quality. We have 6-7 fast bowlers and one or two come in behind also and they have quality. In the first Test match, we managed to pick 20 wickets and, more importantly, somebody like Ishant Sharma – leading from the front after playing so many Test matches – that was good to see.”

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The former left-arm pacer was of the view that Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj were coming up in the ranks. He said, “Another two guys I see coming up are Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj. They both have been part of India A squad (and) I have (also) seen them closely in RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore). All of them have heaps of talent. We have an experienced bowling attack on this tour. All in all, we have a very good fast bowling unit.”

Nehra, who played 120 ODIs, also spare a thought for the all-rounder Hardik Pandya as he feels that Hardik has improved as a bowler, he still needs a cushion and there is a long way ahead for the Baroda player.

Ashish said, “I personally feel when he (Hardik) is playing as a fifth bowler (in Tests), or in even T20s or One Dayers, then we need some cushion behind him. At times we have six batters but nobody bowls. He (Hardik)has done well, shown some improvement in his graph, but he has not reached that way (position) that he is your fifth bowler in 50 over (game).”

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While Nehra termed India as one of the top contenders for next year’s World Cup to be in England, he stressed on the fact that Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah need to be the part of the World Cup squad.

Nehraji concluded, “We have Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, they are your number one (bowlers) in One Dayers and T20s. Third I feel, Umesh Yadav is good, but you are in search is for the fourth and the fifth spot. World Cup is still a year away. We have enough resources and I feel when it comes to World Cup, the Indian team is a top contender. We have enough options, (but) those two are certain for sure – Bhuvi and Bumrah.”