Pacers are role models for future generation, states Rahul Dravid

Dravid complimented the Indian pacers and suggested that they would be the ideal role models for the future generation of Indian cricketers who look to bowl fast. He further said that his job as the Director of the National Academy is to help the players bridge the gap between the U-19 stage and first-class cricket, enabling more players to emerge out of the division. 

Currently monitoring the youngsters in their series against West Indies, Dravid believes that the youngsters are nicely shaping their career and honing their skill set on the Indian stars. In particular, he said that the juniors have started to shape themselves like the Indian pacers. 

“I think Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah are becoming role models for a lot of young boys who have started believing they can also bowl fast and be successful in India. I think it is great to see that,” he told the Times of India. 

“We have a bunch of very good fast bowlers at the under-19 level. During the last World Cup (2018-19), we had three of them – Kamlesh (Nagarkoti), Shivam (Mavi) and Ishan (Porel). This year also you will see some good fast bowlers in the team."

In the current U-19 squad, Vidyadhar Patil is making a name for himself with express pace and accurate line and length. Combining with the skipper Shubhang Hegde and Manav Suthar, the Indian team have wrapped the series at 3-1 with one game to go. Further, Dravid also pointed out what makes the current lot of fast-bowlers stand out from the past eras. 

“Obviously we had people like Kapil, Sri (Srinath), Zaheer and others in the past. But now as a group probably the current lot is one of the best fast bowling attacks we have ever had. I think that’s a great inspiration for a lot of these young boys,” he concluded.