Bouncers are easier to bowl than yorkers or length balls, affirms Kapil Dev
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Kapil Dev has shared that bowling bouncers are much easier than bowling yorkers or full as he went on to share that bouncer should be used as a secret weapon. Kapil also shared that he loved squaring up batsmen and nicking them off, which he considers as a classic fast bowler dismissal.
Indiaās first World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev is nowadays busy touring the globe delivering motivational speeches and smashing the golf ball. Kapil, who lead the country to the 1983 World Cup, has served as a beacon of inspiration for cricketers in the country since his very famous catch to dismiss Sir Vivian Richard in the final of the 1983 World Cup.
The all-rounder who started off as a pacer went on to share that short ball is a secret weapon of the bowler which can falter the mindset of a batsman. Kapil, who secured 380 plus wickets for India across formats opined that it's easier to bowl a bouncer.
āThe bouncer can be a surprise weapon. Because a batsman who is uncertain is easier to remove. Fast bowling is also about the mind. The bouncer ensures the batsman does not come forward and forces him to playback. That is when the bowler should grab the chance to move the ball. The greatest bowlers in history have been those who moved the ball appreciably. You pick the top 50 bowlers of the world and you will see the more successful ones are those who moved the ball," the former skipper told Sportstar.
āBowling bouncers is easy, bowling yorkers and bowling up is difficult. To do that you have to be a confident bowler. At the back of your mind you are scared the batsman may hit you, so you donāt pitch the ball up. But you have to back yourself and understand that you can pick more wickets when you pitch the ball up. Almost every bowler who bowls 140+ will get more wickets when he moves the ball than from sheer pace.ā
Talking about a classic pacerās dismissal, Kapil shared he loves to square up the batsman and get them caught behind. He even went on to name some of his victims, the big fishes he caught like Javed Miandad, Viv Richards and Zaheer Abbas among many, as he relieved the wickets of the batting legends.
āFor an off-spinner it is when he flights the ball, induces a cover drive and takes the return catch. He has deceived the batsman. For me, it was squaring the batsman up. I remember Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad, Gordon Greenidge, Richards, Desmond Haynes. Getting them caught behind or in the slips meant they picked the wrong line. That was my strength. I cherish getting David Gower and Graham Gooch out to swing," he shared.
āIn Duleep Trophy, bowling to West Zone, all those wickets I remember, getting them caught behind or in the slips. The best was, of course, bowling to the West Indians. Getting Greenidge and Richards was thrilling. Also the wicket of David Boon (Adelaide, 1985). He had made a 100 and I squared him up, the ball went to second slip (Dilip Vengsarkar).ā
