ICC World Cup 2019 | All three Indian pacers know English conditions well, claims Venkatesh Prasad
Former India bowling coach, Venkatesh Prasad, has backed the Indian bowling troika of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah to come through at the upcoming World Cup. Prasad opined that the scheduled warm-up games will be positive practice for the Indian bowling unit.
The Indian cricket team have improved their game over the course of the last two years since Virat Kohli assumed leadership of the young squad. While the Indian batting remains on the same level as earlier, the Indian bowling department has certainly stepped up their game and established themselves as a fearsome unit, both at home and away on foreign tours.
Venkatesh Prasad, who served as the Indian bowling coach from 2007-09, heaped praise on the bowling trio of - Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah - and said that they are well aware of the conditions in England.
"All three understand situations very well and know their own strengths. As a bowler you must have the maturity to assess a batsman and the trio has it in them. As a fast bowler, you need to understand your strengths and when to use it against a particular batsman. They do that with a lot of precision.
"Bhuvi bowls close to 140kmph, while the other two consistently bowl in the mid-140s. The beauty of their bowling is in the fact that they can move the ball at that pace. This doesn't happen often with other pacers because the quicker you get, the shorten the length gets. Then, you don't get to move the ball much. In the case of India's fast bowlers, all three have the pace and bowl up to the batsmen," Prasad said in a recent interview with TOI.
Prasad, who played 161 ODIs for India, added that the IPL did not come at an ideal time for the Indian bowlers but said that the upcoming warm-up games will help the bowlers find their rhythm ahead of the World Cup.
"The IPL wasn't ideal preparation for our bowlers. One might say there is nothing like a match situation, but one must remember that the pressure and demands of the league are different from the World Cup. That apart, if you get hammered in the IPL it can have a psychological impact."
"This is because for almost the two months they played the IPL, they spoke, practiced and lived T20 cricket. The warm-up games will give them opportunity to recoup and plan for 50-over contests," Prasad added.