Indian pace attack reminds me of West Indies of yore, says Brian Lara
Brian Lara was all praises for the Indian pace bowling attack and stated that it is reminding him of the great Windies pace bowling attack of the yore. As a matter of fact, the pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, and Mohammed Shami, in 2018, picked a record 142 wickets among them in Tests.
After years of frustration in the away tours, where all the good work by batsmen was nullified by wayward pace bowling, India finally have one lethal pace bowling unit of their own, with Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant Sharma leading the way. While Bumrah is definitely the talk of the town, Ishant's evolution has been a sweet turn-around story in Indian cricket, leaving many teams flummoxed at their disposal. Lara couldn't help but heap praise.
"It's the Indian pace attack. Unbelievable. I saw them in the West Indies. When you look at the quality -- (Jasprit) Bumrah, (Mohammed) Shami, (Umesh) Yadav -- all these guys, and the guys on the sidelines, like Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) are unbelievable. It reminds me a little bit of the (pace bowling) strength that the West Indies had in the 80s and 90s. The reserve strength is very important in assessing a team's ability. It means that your attack has quality," Lara said, reported Times of India.
Under Virat Kohli, India have become a champion team at home, becoming nearly impossible to beat. Virat Kohli's contribution as a leader of the pack is unmissable too. He added a great deal of attitude to the line-up, a trait that helped them fight till the very end. Lara was lavish in his praise for Kohli and called him the 'Ultimate Captain'.
"He's (Kohli) the ultimate captain. In terms of his performances, he leads by example. And I mean that in all facets of the game, and off the field too. He came off very well in the background of MS Dhoni, who laid the foundation, and did things in a different way. So, I think Indian cricket, as we all know, is headed in the right direction. It's influenced by some of the best people, and is reaping the benefits of it," Lara told reporters.