India aren’t a side that depend on only one fast bowler anymore, reckons Darren Gough

07/29/2018

Darren Gough has claimed that the days of India depending on a single fast-bowler are long gone and they won’t be missing Bhuvaneshwar Kumar in the upcoming series. He also spoke about Adil Rashid’s inclusion in the Test squad and admitted that the leggie had a lot to prove.

The BCCI had earlier revealed that were going to seek a report from the Indian team management over the inclusion of Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the third ODI against England. Bhuvneshwar’s participation in the game led to an aggravation to his lower back condition and subsequently ruled him out of the five-match Test series against Eoin Morgan & Co.

However, former England pacer - Darren Gough claimed that Virat Kohli won’t be ruing the absence of Bhuvaneshwar Kumar too much as the former believed that the Indian cricket team’s over-reliance on a single fast-bowler were a thing of the past.

"Bhuvneshwar is a big loss and he wasn't at his best during the ODI series because he was carrying an injury. But India aren'tanymore a side that is dependent on one bowler. Earlier, they were dependent on Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath or Zaheer Khan, that is no longer the case. India are suited for all sorts of wickets, and they look prepared and geared up for this Test series.

"Today, you have to be on top of your game to beat India, whether you are playing at home or away, because they posses everything in their bowling attack. Kumar gives you swing, Bumrah is a skidding seam bowler, Umesh Yadav can move the new ball as well and he has got pace. Mohammed Shami is strong and hits the deck hard, while Ishant Sharma has experience, and he can bowl lots of overs," Gough told TOI.

Gough also spoke about the recall of spinner Adil Rashid to the squad, something that he disagreed with but admitted that the ECB didn’t have much of a choice regarding that. The hot summer conditions meant that almost everyone is expecting spin-friendly wickets during this Test series, with swing to play a minimal role in the series.

"He shouldn't have been picked in the Test squad because he decided to walk away from day cricket. I was disappointed that he left Yorkshire in the lurch a little bit at the start of this domestic season. I believe if he had worked a little harder with red ball, he would have become a regular in the Test side . There's no doubt that he is England's best spinner by an absolute mile but he was disappointed with the way it was going for him (in first-class cricket).

"Good wrist spinners reach a peak as they grow older and I think Rashid is in that league. He can be a Test regular now and you can see why he has been picked, against popular opinion. England could have gone in with Dom Bess and Jack Leach (but) I don't think they can bowl out India," Gough admitted.

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