The Indian Test Bowling Attack Debate

Since the inauguration of the Indian Premier League in 2008, there has been a steep rise in the quality bench strength, the credit of which, also goes to Rahul Dravid, who has been training junior players to achieve more than what the current Indian team has already achieved. 

There have been lots of debates regarding the bowling attack, India should continue with and no one, even the greatest spinner of the world, Ravichandran Ashwin, can be assured that his spot is a fixed one. An example of this has already been seen in the first test of India tour of England 2021. 

There have been discussions whether India should back the same attack always or go on with a rotation policy but the latest experiment was trying to play bowlers on the basis of conditions, something the best teams of the world (England and Australia) have been doing since a long time. However, the good thing in that India got quite good amount of success while doing so. They went in with 4 seamers and all took wickets. 

The following are the contenders for the place in the bowling attack in the Indian test team:

1. Jasprit Bumrah-

Jasprit Bumrah, has been the man with the golden arm for India and an unorthodox action has been teh golden sword for team India as he has been successful in bowling good deliveries with good accuracy as well as induced edges when his captain has brought him. In the middle of his career (unfortunately including the WTC final), he lost his form but has proved himself again with a four wicket haul and fifer in the first and second innings respectively, finishing the match with 9 wickets, the most by any bowler in the match. One of the best of his era, it is very hard to leave him out until there is a very poor performance by him in continuous matches. One can believe more or less, he is the first choice bowling option for India currently.

2. Mohammed Shami-

Although Mohammed Shami made his debut years after Ishant Sharma, India's test specialist, he has replaced the latter as the second choice fast bowler for India. His ability to swing the cherry to a commendable angle has helped him beat batsman  and square them all ends up. Rather them getting batsmen bowled, he induces edges which portrays that he sets up a batsman for an unexpected ball. However, Mohammed Siraj poses a threat to Shami as the young gun's ability to swing the ball both ways and the fact that he is young, is the main problem. But, till Shami is performing, his experience will trump Siraj. He is also a must in more than 90% of matches in the WTC cycle 2021-23.

3. Ishant Sharma-

The test specialist has proved time and again in history that he is an inevitable and unavoidable part of the bowling attack but his case is not as safe as Bumrah's or Shami's. Having been the most recent bowler to take 100 international wickets, this timely achievement has even hidden all the mistakes he has done in the near past. He had established himself as the third seamer of India, making a trio of Shami, Bumrah and Ishant. However, he has gone through some tough times due to the remarkable bench strength of India and Shardul Thakur's batting has made him more vulnerable to being dropped. He will need to prove himself if he wants to stay in the Indian cricket team for the next 4-5 years.

4. Shardul Thakur-

Shardul Thakur is one of many of those youngsters who have come to light owing to IPL. Being just 2.3 overs elder to Siraj, he has established himself in the team as a bowling all-rounder owing to his heroics at the Gabba. His knack of taking wickets at the right time has earned him India call-ups and he has shown his prowess with the ball as well as the long handle in hand. He also gets considerable amount of swing but his short career has been affected by injuries. In his debut match, he got hurt while playing against New Zealand. Now, in the India tour of England 2021, he has again got hurt and was ruled out of the second test, something Ishant Sharma would have been thanking. However, to cement his place in the team permanently would mean ruling out either Ishant or Siraj or surprisingly Ashwin. 

5. Mohammed Siraj-

Siraj is fast replacing others in the race to become India's second choice bowler and his fifer in Gabba and the considerable amount of swing he gets both ways puts him ahead of Shardul if India needs a specialist seamer (as is preferred in overseas conditions). His excellent field placement and accuracy has come to light in the  ongoing England tour. Apart from his tactics, his aggression has been a thing to notice and confidence to give silent send-off to batting greats like Jonny Bairstow is commendable and shows that he is not only growing as a bowler but also as a cricketer in all dimensions of the game.

6. Umesh Yadav-

The middle-aged workhorse, Umesh Yadav has been somewhat forgotten in the team and has not played a lot of cricket recently. With his accuracy of hitting consistently good lines and lengths and a wisely used seam movement, he can do a lot of damage with the ball, especially, when it is new. A career affected with injuries, Umesh has not been able to find his mojo but he could go on to become the fourth seamer wherever India needs him to deliver.

8. Ravinchandran Ashwin-

Finishing with the pacers, the first spinner unsurprisingly Ashwin, who is not only the best spinner in India but the leading wicket taker among currently playing spinners in the world. His variations as an offspinner has helped him deceive many batters. Earlier, Ash's batting helped him gain a spot in the side and Ashwin- the bowler justified his place and met more than the expectations. He had never been a doubt in any conditions but the first two tests have made it sure that Ashwin would have to work hard as a batter to be selected ahead of Jadeja. In the subcontinent and slow pitches, he is as effective as ever with his ability to extract turn and bounce but he will have to work on his batting to prove his case ahead of Jadeja's comeback in the side.

9. Ravindra Jadeja-

Ravindra Jadeja is fast replacing Ashwin and Hardik Pandya as the first-choice allrounder is the test side. His batting skills have compelled selectors to pick him up. his ability to bowl short but very economical spells is also an advantage to add a bowling option who bats like a specialist batsman. On days when he does not shatter the wood work behind the opponent or induce catches, he does well to stop runs. In addition to this, he is able to cut down on the over rate due to a short run-up. His brilliance while fielding makes him a full 3-dimensional package.

10. Washington Sundar-

In the 4th test in the Border-Gavaskar series of 2020-21, Sundar came to the rescue when mny of hiss teammates were injured. Although that match created numerous heroes, Washington Sundar was special due to his stand with Shardul Thakur in the first innings, when no player stepped up. That 123-run stand took India to the driver's seat. He also finished with 4 wickets in the match. however, recently, Sundar-the batter has overshadowed Sundar-the bowler. To be included in the test side, he will need to sharpen his bowling skills as India has no dearth of batters or part-time bowlers or even bowling-allrounders in the team. 

11. Axar Patel-

Axar Patel is the same nightmare that haunted the English team when they came to India in early summer. His ability to spin, bounce, use variations and knack quick wickets (almost everything a spinner is required to do) have come to the notice of selectors. He forms a strong case in Indian conditions where he took the historic 11-wicket match haul. His batting has also not compromised and added to his bowling, a half-century along with Washington Sundar against England. More can be said about him only when he plays more matches.