Glenn McGrath has some advice for the Indian bowling attack

Both the India and Sri Lanka teams are preparing themselves for a long and challenging tour that lies ahead of them. The Indian team will be playing against the Lankans in a 3-match Test series followed by 5 ODIs and one T20I match. Men in Blue are touring their neighbouring country after a long time to play such a long tour.

Australia’s most experienced fast bowler Glenn McGrath who is also the director of the MRF Pace Academy in India had some advice for the Indian bowling attack who will take the field against Sri Lanka. McGrath explained the importance of bowling at good lengths and at pace. His mantra for success in the island country is to bowl quick, full and straight.

Focus on the lengths

“The difference was with the lengths. They bowled a lot fuller and cleverly changed the angles. However, if you keep on bowling full and not manage to swing the ball, they will cream you for boundaries. So you have to be aware of how the pitch is behaving at that particular point and be adaptive. Invariably, you have to mix it up a bit and think on the feet, and tweak your plans a little bit,” he pointed out.

The sub-continent pitches have traditionally assisted the spinners and it was also evident when Australia last toured Sri Lanka, the ball was turning sharply from the first day of the Test matches and Sri Lankan spinners Rangana Herath and his companion Dilruwan Perera rattled the Aussies. The home team whitewashed the Kangaroos 3-0 in that Test series.

McGrath was impressed with the way Aussie fast bowler Mitchell Starc bowled in that series against Sri Lanka. “For a fast bowler, it’s a very challenging place to bowl, but if you have the requisite skill-set and are smart enough, you can be successful. Look how well (Mitchell) Starc bowled on Australia’s last visit there,” McGrath said. “He is in a different league among the current crop of pacers. He operates at

“He is in a different league among the current crop of pacers. He operates at great pace, has a lot of variations and is very aggressive, which is very important for any fast bowler, or any bowler for that matter. In the subcontinent, it’s always useful to have an out-and-out fast bowler, who can keep on bowling full at the stumps at top pace. Such bowlers take the pitch out of the equation. Dale Steyn was another,” he added.

Umesh is impressive

The Aussie legend was also impressed with the way Indian pacer Umesh Yadav bowled in the long home season in India. He also compared Umesh with Starc and termed that the former also has the ability to bowl quick and at perfect lengths.

“I’m impressed by the way he has improved in the last few years. He has become more reliable and consistent. What I like most about him is his aggression. Hopefully, he will be used in short bursts, where he gives four-five high-intensity overs and a couple of wickets, like the way we used Brett Lee in the subcontinent,” he said.

McGrath also stated the importance of the variety and depth in the bowling attack. “Overall, India has a very good bowling unit, as it had been in the last few years. There’s also variety, someone like Bhuvneshwar (Kumar) who can swing the ball both ways, (Mohammed) Shami is really proficient with reverse swing, and Ishant (Sharma) is vastly experienced. Then you have people like Varun Aaron and Jasprit Bumrah and youngsters like Basil Thampi coming up,” he added.

“When India tour overseas, it’s seldom been about the resourcefulness of their fast bowlers, but rather the adaptability of their batsmen,” said the former fast bowler.