India’s tour to West Indies is about to begin officially later this month with the first Test scheduled to start on 21st July 2016 and while the batting lineup is going from strength to strength being led by example by the passionate Virat Kohli, it’s the bowling lineup which needs a stamp of approval courtesy some good performances in unfamiliar conditions. Even though the new bunch of young bowlers

Even though the new bunch of young bowlers have gained some amount of credibility and success in the limited overs format, they are yet to be fully exposed to hard earned success in unfamiliar conditions barring a few exceptions such as Mohammad Shami.

It is a known fact that for a longish period of time, Indian bowlers have struggled in overseas conditions, be it in Australia or England where their failures were the most profound in the team’s defeat or rather whitewashes. In such a scenario, it will be interesting to see how the Indian team’s bowlers confront the demons of the past and tackle and contain the West Indies batsmen in their own backyard.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-75065" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Bhuvneshwar-Kumar.jpg" alt="Bhuvneshwar Kumar" width="600" height="465" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-75065" class="wp-caption-text">India&#8217;s Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowls in nets during a training session. (Photo by PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption>

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been a favorite of yesteryear skipper MS Dhoni and in more recent times, has added a new degree of pace and bounce to his otherwise swing worthy bowling style. This feature has added to his bowling strengths as the fact that he can practice both out swing and reverse swing with a fair degree of pace behind the ball makes it a good combination for Kumar and for team India.

Kumar likes to set up the batsmen, his most memorable wickets remain the ones where he has set up the batsmen with a slew of out-swingers and then out of the blue, the one coming in, the reverse swing somehow manages to rattle the stumps.

The fact that his last outing in a Test match wasn’t a favorable one would certainly be looming on Kumar’s mind as he looks to further his young Test career.

Also read &#8211; <a href="http://www.crictracker.com/5-indian-players-watch-west-indies-tour/" target="_blank">5 Indian players to watch out for on West Indies tour</a>

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-75064" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Mohammad-Shami.jpg" alt="Mohammed Shami " width="600" height="399" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-75064" class="wp-caption-text">India&#8217;s bowler Mohammed Shami attends a practice session. (Photo by SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption>

Shami has played the same number of Tests as Bhuvneshwar. The two burst onto the international scene at the same time and I still remember the home series against Pakistan which awarded them their first outing in a T20I. Their progress graph has been synonymous with each other and yet a tad bit varied depending on the different formats.

While Kumar gained a stronghold in the Indian team during the former&#8217;s injury the fact that Shami’s comeback and recuperation was eagerly awaited by one and all including the BCCI shows that the extra pace and bounce he brings to the table is a potentially lethal weapon which India can’t afford to miss. Adding to that, the tag of being India’s most profitable bowler in the 2015 world Cup ensures that Shami has a lot of good baggage attached to his name, one of them being that he can potentially be Zaheer Khan’s successor.

Shami’s quick promotion to international cricket came on the back of a slew of impressive performances in the Ranji Trophy 2012-13 season where he picked up 28 wickets at 21.35 including two 10-wicket hauls. He didn’t miss out on the early chances and India’s fast bowling woes especially in the Test format ensured that his strong performances earned him a spot next to Ishant Sharma. Here’s to hoping Shami has an injury and hassle free tour.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-75063" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Ishant-Sharma.jpg" alt="Ishant Sharma " width="600" height="443" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-75063" class="wp-caption-text">Indian cricketer Ishant Sharma bowls during a net practice session. (Photo by MANJUNATH KIRAN/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption>

We take Ishant Sharma’s name and are reminded of his magical spell of 7 for 74 at the Lord’s during India’s tour of England 2014. The spell was instrumental in ripping apart the England middle order and yet, Sharma’s injury prone body or physique couldn’t withstand the celebration perhaps and he was sidelined for the next two Tests in a series which India eventually lost.

Rewind to the time Sharma burst onto the scene and his spell against Ricky Ponting is the stuff of folklore for cricket enthusiasts. A few years down the line and a tired down Sharma failed to deliver the express pace he was known for. Lately though he seems to have revived his bowling and is regularly clocking the 140 kph mark.

This when the BCCI has trimmed down his annual itinerary and put him on the path of being a Test specialist per say. Sharma’s impressive showing in the Lord’s Test and the tour of Sri Lanka may be a sign of good things coming ahead for the lanky fast bowler.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-75062" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Stuart-Binny.jpg" alt="Stuart Binny" width="600" height="450" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-75062" class="wp-caption-text">India&#8217;s Stuart Binny bowls at the nets during a training session. (Photo by DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption>

Stuart Binny has shown sparks of brilliance now and then and is surprisingly the holder of the best bowling figures for an Indian in ODI’s with his figures of 6 for 4 against Bangladesh and yet, his numerous limitations including the lack of pace make him ineffective on dry and slow tracks. At the most he can play the part of a third seamer looking to take some pressure off the two main seamers and restrict scoring on one end.

Binny feels that these are exciting times for him but contrary to his beliefs, I think his bowling ability relies a lot on the pitch conditions and while bowling on an unfavorable track, the firepower required to extract wickets is missing from his repertoire. India could perhaps benefit more from a specialist seamer adding to the two main seamers and 2 spinners thus completing the bowling attack. It is hard to see a permanent spot opening up for Binny in the future.

The all-rounder though is content with his bowling abilities and has full faith in his chosen brand of pace bowling which has fetched him a combined 183 wickets in the first-class and List-A formats. He relies on swing bowling as his weapon. Perhaps a good performance in West Indies will boost his chances but considering his limitations, Binny has to ensure he makes his batting performances count too.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-75061" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Umesh-Yadav.jpg" alt="Umesh Yadav" width="600" height="456" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-75061" class="wp-caption-text">India&#8217;s Umesh Yadav attends a cricket training session. (Photo by PATRICK HAMILTON/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption>

Umesh Yadav presents himself as the fastest bowling option with his express pace being his biggest weapon and yet, the fact that he routinely decides to abstain from line and length makes it even easier for the batsmen to hit him for runs as they just have to guide the ball delivered at an express pace.

Even so, Yadav has a pretty good bouncer in his arsenal and can be a lethal force when bowling wicket to wicket. It was in 2011 that he played against the West Indies and picked up 9 wickets in 2 Tests thus earning him a place in the Australia tour. In what was otherwise a disastrous tour, Yadav emerged as a big positive for India, picking up 14 wickets in 4 Tests at a rate of 50.50 and impressing everyone with his speed and aggression.

He emerged on the scene around the same time as Varun Aaron and while the latter has fallen prey to a regular slew of injuries, Yadav himself is injury prone and has missed out on several games in the past due to injuries. In this sense, he is much like the other fast bowlers in India who in the process of bowling hard and fast on dry and dull tracks in India, injure or overstrain themselves.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-57147" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Shardul-Thakur-celebrates-the-wicket-of-South-Africas-Stiaan-van-Zyl.jpg" alt="Shardul Thakur" width="640" height="380" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-57147" class="wp-caption-text">India&#8217;s Shardul Thakur. (Photo by PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption>

The newest entrant to the Indian Test team, Shardul Thakur earned a place in the Indian Test line-up on the back of a successful campaign for Mumbai in Ranji Trophy 2016 which Mumbai won. Thakur grabbed everyone’s eye as he picked up 8 wickets in the final against Saurashtra which was instrumental in the team’s eventual success.

His first-class record speaks immensely of his talent and after having lost weight due to the persuasion of his teammates, Thakur is today a lean, mean fast bowling machine looking to compliment the likes of Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. At the same time, the task of carving a niche for himself and gaining a prominent role will be on his mind as he looks to take on the West Indian challenge.

The situation is tailor-made for Thakur as being a fast bowler, it’s not a pleasant experience when the pitch conditions don’t compliment or supplement your bowling style. He has the advantage of making his debut in West Indies where the conditions will, in all likelihood aid his bowling.

The Indian fast bowling unit will look to grab the eyes of the selectors and the headlines, this time, around as they get ready to take on the Caribbean challenge. A large part of their success depends on how captain Virat Kohli uses or rather rotates the bowlers to the best effect.

It will also be interesting to see how Shardul Thakur takes up the challenge as he has to realize that he is facing stiff competition from bowlers like Barinder Sran, Dhawal Kulkarni and Jaspreet Bumrah who have already made their debuts in the limited overs format and would be vying for a Test spot.

India’s tour to West Indies is about to begin officially later this month with the first Test scheduled to start on 21st July 2016 and while the batting lineup is going from strength to strength being led by example by the passionate Virat Kohli, it’s the bowling lineup which needs a stamp of approval courtesy some good performances in unfamiliar conditions. Even though the new bunch of young bowlers
Even though the new bunch of young bowlers have gained some amount of credibility and success in the limited overs format, they are yet to be fully exposed to hard earned success in unfamiliar conditions barring a few exceptions such as Mohammad Shami.
It is a known fact that for a longish period of time, Indian bowlers have struggled in overseas conditions, be it in Australia or England where their failures were the most profound in the team’s defeat or rather whitewashes. In such a scenario, it will be interesting to see how the Indian team’s bowlers confront the demons of the past and tackle and contain the West Indies batsmen in their own backyard.
<h4>Bhuvneshwar Kumar:</h4>
<figure id="attachment_75065" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-75065" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-75065" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Bhuvneshwar-Kumar.jpg" alt="Bhuvneshwar Kumar" width="600" height="465" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-75065" class="wp-caption-text">India’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowls in nets during a training session. (Photo by PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been a favorite of yesteryear skipper MS Dhoni and in more recent times, has added a new degree of pace and bounce to his otherwise swing worthy bowling style. This feature has added to his bowling strengths as the fact that he can practice both out swing and reverse swing with a fair degree of pace behind the ball makes it a good combination for Kumar and for team India.
Kumar likes to set up the batsmen, his most memorable wickets remain the ones where he has set up the batsmen with a slew of out-swingers and then out of the blue, the one coming in, the reverse swing somehow manages to rattle the stumps.
The fact that his last outing in a Test match wasn’t a favorable one would certainly be looming on Kumar’s mind as he looks to further his young Test career.
<h5>Also read –&nbsp;<a href="http://www.crictracker.com/5-indian-players-watch-west-indies-tour/" target="_blank">5 Indian players to watch out for on West Indies tour</a></h5>

<h4>Mohammad Shami:</h4>
<figure id="attachment_75064" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-75064" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-75064" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Mohammad-Shami.jpg" alt="Mohammed Shami " width="600" height="399" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-75064" class="wp-caption-text">India’s bowler Mohammed Shami attends a practice session. (Photo by SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
Shami has played the same number of Tests as Bhuvneshwar. The two burst onto the&nbsp;international scene at the same time and I still remember the home series against Pakistan which awarded them their first outing in a T20I. Their progress graph has been synonymous with each other and yet a tad bit varied depending on the different formats.
While Kumar gained a stronghold in the Indian team during the former’s injury the fact that Shami’s comeback and recuperation was&nbsp;eagerly awaited by one and all including the BCCI shows that the extra pace and bounce he brings to the table is a potentially lethal weapon which India can’t afford to miss. Adding to that, the tag of being India’s most profitable bowler in the 2015 world Cup ensures that Shami has a lot of good baggage attached to his name, one of them being that he can potentially be Zaheer Khan’s successor.
Shami’s quick promotion to international cricket came on the back of a slew of impressive performances in the Ranji Trophy 2012-13 season where he picked up 28 wickets at 21.35 including two 10-wicket hauls. He didn’t miss out on the early chances and India’s fast bowling woes especially in the Test format ensured that his strong performances earned him a spot next to Ishant Sharma. Here’s to hoping Shami has an injury and hassle free tour.

<h4>Ishant Sharma:</h4>
<figure id="attachment_75063" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-75063" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-75063" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Ishant-Sharma.jpg" alt="Ishant Sharma " width="600" height="443" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-75063" class="wp-caption-text">Indian cricketer Ishant Sharma bowls during a net practice session. (Photo by MANJUNATH KIRAN/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
We take Ishant Sharma’s name and are reminded of his magical spell of 7 for 74 at the Lord’s during India’s tour of England 2014. The spell was instrumental in ripping apart the England middle order and yet, Sharma’s injury prone body or physique couldn’t withstand the celebration perhaps and he was sidelined for the next two Tests in a series which India eventually lost.
Rewind to the time Sharma burst onto the scene and his spell against Ricky Ponting is the stuff of folklore for cricket enthusiasts.&nbsp;A few years down the line and a tired down Sharma failed to deliver the express pace he was known for. Lately though he seems to have revived his bowling and is regularly clocking the 140 kph mark.
This when the BCCI has trimmed down his annual itinerary and put him on the path of being a Test specialist per say. Sharma’s impressive showing in the Lord’s Test and the tour of Sri Lanka may be a sign of good things coming ahead for the lanky fast bowler.

<h4>Stuart Binny:</h4>
<figure id="attachment_75062" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-75062" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-75062" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Stuart-Binny.jpg" alt="Stuart Binny" width="600" height="450" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-75062" class="wp-caption-text">India’s Stuart Binny bowls at the nets during a training session. (Photo by DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
Stuart Binny has shown sparks of brilliance now and then and is surprisingly&nbsp;the holder of the best bowling figures for an Indian in ODI’s with his figures of 6 for 4 against Bangladesh and yet, his numerous limitations including the lack of pace make him ineffective on dry and slow tracks. At the&nbsp;most he can play the part of a third seamer looking to take some pressure off the two main seamers and restrict scoring on one end.
Binny feels that these are exciting times for him but contrary to his beliefs, I think his bowling ability relies a lot on the pitch conditions and while bowling on an unfavorable track, the firepower required to extract wickets is missing from his repertoire. India could perhaps benefit more from a specialist seamer adding to the two main seamers and 2 spinners thus completing the bowling attack. It is hard to see a permanent spot opening up for Binny in the future.
The all-rounder though is content with his bowling abilities and has full faith in his chosen brand of pace bowling which has fetched him a combined 183 wickets in the first-class and List-A formats. He relies on swing bowling as his weapon. Perhaps a good performance in West Indies will boost his chances but considering his limitations, Binny has to ensure he makes his batting performances count too.

<h4>Umesh Yadav:</h4>
<figure id="attachment_75061" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-75061" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-75061" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Umesh-Yadav.jpg" alt="Umesh Yadav" width="600" height="456" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-75061" class="wp-caption-text">India’s Umesh Yadav attends a cricket training session. (Photo by PATRICK HAMILTON/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
Umesh Yadav presents himself as the fastest bowling option with his express pace being his biggest weapon and yet, the fact that he routinely decides to abstain from line and length makes it even easier for the batsmen to hit him for runs as they just have to guide the ball delivered at an express pace.
Even so, Yadav has a pretty good bouncer in his arsenal and can be a lethal force when bowling wicket to wicket. It was in 2011 that he played against the West Indies and picked up 9 wickets in 2 Tests thus earning him a place in the Australia tour. In what was otherwise a disastrous tour, Yadav emerged as a big positive for India, picking up 14 wickets in 4 Tests at a rate of 50.50 and impressing everyone with his speed and aggression.
He emerged on the scene around the same time as Varun Aaron and while the latter has fallen prey to a regular slew of injuries, Yadav himself is injury prone and has missed out on several games in the past due to injuries. In this sense, he is much like the other fast bowlers in India who in the process of bowling hard and fast on dry and dull tracks in India, injure or overstrain themselves.

<h4>Shardul Thakur:</h4>
<figure id="attachment_57147" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-57147" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-57147" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Shardul-Thakur-celebrates-the-wicket-of-South-Africas-Stiaan-van-Zyl.jpg" alt="Shardul Thakur" width="640" height="380" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-57147" class="wp-caption-text">India’s Shardul Thakur. (Photo by PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
The newest entrant to the Indian Test team, Shardul Thakur earned a place in the Indian Test line-up on the back of a successful campaign for Mumbai in Ranji Trophy 2016 which Mumbai won. Thakur grabbed everyone’s eye as he picked up 8 wickets in the final against Saurashtra which was instrumental in the team’s eventual success.
His first-class record speaks immensely of his talent and after having lost weight due to the persuasion of his teammates, Thakur is today a lean, mean fast bowling machine looking to compliment the likes of Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. At the same time, the task of carving a niche for himself and gaining a prominent role will be on his mind as he looks to take on the West Indian challenge.
The situation is tailor-made for Thakur as being a fast bowler, it’s not a pleasant experience when the pitch conditions don’t compliment or supplement your bowling style. He has the advantage of making his debut in West Indies where the conditions will, in all likelihood aid his bowling.
The Indian fast bowling unit will look to grab the eyes of the selectors and the headlines, this time, around as they get ready to take on the Caribbean challenge. A large part of their success depends on how captain Virat Kohli uses or rather rotates the bowlers to the best effect.
It will also be interesting to see how Shardul Thakur takes up the challenge as he has to realize that he is facing stiff competition from bowlers like Barinder Sran, Dhawal Kulkarni and Jaspreet Bumrah who have already made their debuts in the limited overs format and would be vying for a Test spot.

India’s tour to West Indies is about to begin officially later this month with the first Test scheduled to start on 21st July 2016 and while the batting lineup is going from strength to strength being led by example by the passionate Virat Kohli, it’s the bowling lineup which needs a stamp of approval courtesy some good performances in unfamiliar conditions. Even though the new bunch of young bowlers
Even though the new bunch of young bowlers have gained some amount of credibility and success in the limited overs format, they are yet to be fully exposed to hard earned success in unfamiliar conditions barring a few exceptions such as Mohammad Shami.
It is a known fact that for a longish period of time, Indian bowlers have struggled in overseas conditions, be it in Australia or England where their failures were the most profound in the team’s defeat or rather whitewashes. In such a scenario, it will be interesting to see how the Indian team’s bowlers confront the demons of the past and tackle and contain the West Indies batsmen in their own backyard.
<h4>Bhuvneshwar Kumar:</h4>
<figure id="attachment_75065" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-75065" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-75065" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Bhuvneshwar-Kumar.jpg" alt="Bhuvneshwar Kumar" width="600" height="465" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-75065" class="wp-caption-text">India&#8217;s Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowls in nets during a training session. (Photo by PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been a favorite of yesteryear skipper MS Dhoni and in more recent times, has added a new degree of pace and bounce to his otherwise swing worthy bowling style. This feature has added to his bowling strengths as the fact that he can practice both out swing and reverse swing with a fair degree of pace behind the ball makes it a good combination for Kumar and for team India.
Kumar likes to set up the batsmen, his most memorable wickets remain the ones where he has set up the batsmen with a slew of out-swingers and then out of the blue, the one coming in, the reverse swing somehow manages to rattle the stumps.
The fact that his last outing in a Test match wasn’t a favorable one would certainly be looming on Kumar’s mind as he looks to further his young Test career.
<h5>Also read &#8211; <a href="http://www.crictracker.com/5-indian-players-watch-west-indies-tour/" target="_blank">5 Indian players to watch out for on West Indies tour</a></h5>

<h4>Mohammad Shami:</h4>
<figure id="attachment_75064" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-75064" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-75064" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Mohammad-Shami.jpg" alt="Mohammed Shami " width="600" height="399" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-75064" class="wp-caption-text">India&#8217;s bowler Mohammed Shami attends a practice session. (Photo by SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
Shami has played the same number of Tests as Bhuvneshwar. The two burst onto the international scene at the same time and I still remember the home series against Pakistan which awarded them their first outing in a T20I. Their progress graph has been synonymous with each other and yet a tad bit varied depending on the different formats.
While Kumar gained a stronghold in the Indian team during the former&#8217;s injury the fact that Shami’s comeback and recuperation was eagerly awaited by one and all including the BCCI shows that the extra pace and bounce he brings to the table is a potentially lethal weapon which India can’t afford to miss. Adding to that, the tag of being India’s most profitable bowler in the 2015 world Cup ensures that Shami has a lot of good baggage attached to his name, one of them being that he can potentially be Zaheer Khan’s successor.
Shami’s quick promotion to international cricket came on the back of a slew of impressive performances in the Ranji Trophy 2012-13 season where he picked up 28 wickets at 21.35 including two 10-wicket hauls. He didn’t miss out on the early chances and India’s fast bowling woes especially in the Test format ensured that his strong performances earned him a spot next to Ishant Sharma. Here’s to hoping Shami has an injury and hassle free tour.

<h4>Ishant Sharma:</h4>
<figure id="attachment_75063" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-75063" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-75063" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Ishant-Sharma.jpg" alt="Ishant Sharma " width="600" height="443" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-75063" class="wp-caption-text">Indian cricketer Ishant Sharma bowls during a net practice session. (Photo by MANJUNATH KIRAN/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
We take Ishant Sharma’s name and are reminded of his magical spell of 7 for 74 at the Lord’s during India’s tour of England 2014. The spell was instrumental in ripping apart the England middle order and yet, Sharma’s injury prone body or physique couldn’t withstand the celebration perhaps and he was sidelined for the next two Tests in a series which India eventually lost.
Rewind to the time Sharma burst onto the scene and his spell against Ricky Ponting is the stuff of folklore for cricket enthusiasts. A few years down the line and a tired down Sharma failed to deliver the express pace he was known for. Lately though he seems to have revived his bowling and is regularly clocking the 140 kph mark.
This when the BCCI has trimmed down his annual itinerary and put him on the path of being a Test specialist per say. Sharma’s impressive showing in the Lord’s Test and the tour of Sri Lanka may be a sign of good things coming ahead for the lanky fast bowler.

<h4>Stuart Binny:</h4>
<figure id="attachment_75062" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-75062" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-75062" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Stuart-Binny.jpg" alt="Stuart Binny" width="600" height="450" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-75062" class="wp-caption-text">India&#8217;s Stuart Binny bowls at the nets during a training session. (Photo by DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
Stuart Binny has shown sparks of brilliance now and then and is surprisingly the holder of the best bowling figures for an Indian in ODI’s with his figures of 6 for 4 against Bangladesh and yet, his numerous limitations including the lack of pace make him ineffective on dry and slow tracks. At the most he can play the part of a third seamer looking to take some pressure off the two main seamers and restrict scoring on one end.
Binny feels that these are exciting times for him but contrary to his beliefs, I think his bowling ability relies a lot on the pitch conditions and while bowling on an unfavorable track, the firepower required to extract wickets is missing from his repertoire. India could perhaps benefit more from a specialist seamer adding to the two main seamers and 2 spinners thus completing the bowling attack. It is hard to see a permanent spot opening up for Binny in the future.
The all-rounder though is content with his bowling abilities and has full faith in his chosen brand of pace bowling which has fetched him a combined 183 wickets in the first-class and List-A formats. He relies on swing bowling as his weapon. Perhaps a good performance in West Indies will boost his chances but considering his limitations, Binny has to ensure he makes his batting performances count too.

<h4>Umesh Yadav:</h4>
<figure id="attachment_75061" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-75061" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-75061" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Umesh-Yadav.jpg" alt="Umesh Yadav" width="600" height="456" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-75061" class="wp-caption-text">India&#8217;s Umesh Yadav attends a cricket training session. (Photo by PATRICK HAMILTON/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
Umesh Yadav presents himself as the fastest bowling option with his express pace being his biggest weapon and yet, the fact that he routinely decides to abstain from line and length makes it even easier for the batsmen to hit him for runs as they just have to guide the ball delivered at an express pace.
Even so, Yadav has a pretty good bouncer in his arsenal and can be a lethal force when bowling wicket to wicket. It was in 2011 that he played against the West Indies and picked up 9 wickets in 2 Tests thus earning him a place in the Australia tour. In what was otherwise a disastrous tour, Yadav emerged as a big positive for India, picking up 14 wickets in 4 Tests at a rate of 50.50 and impressing everyone with his speed and aggression.
He emerged on the scene around the same time as Varun Aaron and while the latter has fallen prey to a regular slew of injuries, Yadav himself is injury prone and has missed out on several games in the past due to injuries. In this sense, he is much like the other fast bowlers in India who in the process of bowling hard and fast on dry and dull tracks in India, injure or overstrain themselves.

<h4>Shardul Thakur:</h4>
<figure id="attachment_57147" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-57147" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-57147" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Shardul-Thakur-celebrates-the-wicket-of-South-Africas-Stiaan-van-Zyl.jpg" alt="Shardul Thakur" width="640" height="380" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-57147" class="wp-caption-text">India&#8217;s Shardul Thakur. (Photo by PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
The newest entrant to the Indian Test team, Shardul Thakur earned a place in the Indian Test line-up on the back of a successful campaign for Mumbai in Ranji Trophy 2016 which Mumbai won. Thakur grabbed everyone’s eye as he picked up 8 wickets in the final against Saurashtra which was instrumental in the team’s eventual success.
His first-class record speaks immensely of his talent and after having lost weight due to the persuasion of his teammates, Thakur is today a lean, mean fast bowling machine looking to compliment the likes of Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. At the same time, the task of carving a niche for himself and gaining a prominent role will be on his mind as he looks to take on the West Indian challenge.
The situation is tailor-made for Thakur as being a fast bowler, it’s not a pleasant experience when the pitch conditions don’t compliment or supplement your bowling style. He has the advantage of making his debut in West Indies where the conditions will, in all likelihood aid his bowling.
The Indian fast bowling unit will look to grab the eyes of the selectors and the headlines, this time, around as they get ready to take on the Caribbean challenge. A large part of their success depends on how captain Virat Kohli uses or rather rotates the bowlers to the best effect.
It will also be interesting to see how Shardul Thakur takes up the challenge as he has to realize that he is facing stiff competition from bowlers like Barinder Sran, Dhawal Kulkarni and Jaspreet Bumrah who have already made their debuts in the limited overs format and would be vying for a Test spot.

SWOT Analysis of the Indian fast bowling unit for the tour to West Indies

Indian tour to West Indies is about to begin officially later this month with the first Test scheduled to start on 21st July 2016 and while the batting lin