Top Indian Bowling Prospects

[adharcric]

In your opinion, which of the following domestic-level bowlers will make the greatest impact on Indian cricket within the next five years?

R. Singh (Uttar Pradesh)
S. Paul (Bengal)
A. Bhandari (Delhi)
G. Singh (Punjab)
J. Sharma (Haryana)
A. Nabi (Jammu and Kashmir)
N. Aiyappa (Karnataka)
R. Jesuraj (Tamil Nadu)
R. Pawar (Mumbai)

 

[Tim]

What happened to Munaf Patel?. There were huge raps on that guy but it seems he's disappeared off the planet like Rayudu.

 

[Deja moo]

Is R. Pawar Romesh or Rajesh ?

Tim, Munaf Patel cant get a game for Mumbai, let alone India. Rayudu throws away his wicket when faced with quality attacks.

 

[adharcric]

It's Rajesh Pawar ... Ramesh Powar could also return to the side, but he isn't as much of an uncapped "prospect", although I guess he qualifies in this list too ...

 

[Arjun]

In your opinion, which of the following domestic-level bowlers will make the greatest impact on Indian cricket within the next five years?

R. Singh (Uttar Pradesh)
S. Paul (Bengal)
A. Bhandari (Delhi)
G. Singh (Punjab)
J. Sharma (Haryana)
A. Nabi (Jammu and Kashmir)
N. Aiyappa (Karnataka)
R. Jesuraj (Tamil Nadu)
R. Pawar (Mumbai)

• RP Singh- Medium-pacer who moves the ball off the pitch and gets decent bounce. He has been in good form in the FC's and List-A's and has just taken 5/58 in one OD. His fielding ability (UP players are supposed to be good fielders)
• S.S. Paul a.k.a. SteamShip- Yet another medium-pacer. He was in good form in Nairobi and Zimbabwe and has performed rather well, but nothing special. Again, his fielding can decide how far he goes. He seems to be a swing bowler who moves the ball in the air, while some journos and experts say he can bowl fast. In Nairobi, he was anything but fast.
• Amit Bhandari- He has performed consistently in the Ranji/Duleep matches and in the A-team. He gets movement off the pitch and draws the batsman forward. He attacks the stumps. In all, he tries for wickets, unlike his state teammate Nehra, who just tries to contain the batsmen despite being faster. He has not played away from India in a long time, but he has been the A-team's best bowler in England, outperforming Pathan and Balaji.
• Gagandeep Singh- Not the tallest among the best, but he is a swing bowler who can get some bounce. He has a verbal problem, which can backfire badly, given his lack of experience.
• Joginder Singh Sharma- Another bowler who's not too fast but attacks the batsmen, making them play. He uses the bouncer well, but bowls the short ball on the wrong pitch at the wrong time. If he eliminates that flaw and changes his action to bowl more smoothly, he should be chosen ahead of Balaji, who's not a wicket-taking prospect at all. He has 2 first-class centuries and needs more runs to strengthen his position in the selectors' plans.
• Abid Nabi- IF he plays for India, he'll be the first from Jammu & Kashmir to do so. Fans say that he's over six feet in height and bowls regularly over the 140's. He has to finish a full FC season if he should be considered as an India prospect.
• NSC Aiyappa- The Karnataka medium-pacer was the winner of the Scorpio Speedster event in 2003, bowling a then record speed of 135km/h. But only a maximum of 135- nothing more. He has had a rather average season for Karnataka and must increase his pace to be more useful.
• Jesuraj- One medium-pacer too many
• Rajesh Pawar- He's been around for almost 10 years and has not done much for Mumbai- his FC bowling average was over 30, but since he moved to Baroda, both his batting and his bowling have improved. He doesn't stand much of a chance to even make an India A team, given his age and the form of Ramkumar from TN.
• Ramesh Powar- He's a few years younger than Rajesh and a much better batsman- a hard hitter of the ball in the lower order with a few FC centuries. With Kumble not likely to get a match and Harbhajan far from impressive in ODI's and often negative in approach, he may be the frontline spinner, at least in the shorter version of the game.

Of all these prospects, Gagandeep has been around for a very long time so that makes him a more certain choice, though SS Paul and RP Singh are not far behind. At least one of them should regularly make the starting lineup of the Indian team. That said, Joginder Sharma could be the joker in the pack with the runs he scores.

 

[Arjun]

What happened to Munaf Patel?. There were huge raps on that guy but it seems he's disappeared off the planet

Munaf Patel got injured regularly, but soon started sitting out of matches for minor niggles. His A-team coach, Sandeep Patil, was at wit's end. Even the Mumbai selectors were annoyed, which is why he didn't return to the Mumbai side.

 

[honestbharani]

I voted for Gagandeep. He has shown some promise.

 

[V Reddy]

I voted for Amit but i wonder whether will he ever get an oppurtunity b'coz if people like Nehra and Ajit get an oppurtunity ahead of him then there is more to it than just cricket

 

[Arjun]

I voted for Amit but i wonder whether will he ever get an oppurtunity b'coz if people like Nehra and Ajit get an oppurtunity ahead of him then there is more to it than just cricket

Agarkar's is a shut case which the people that matter are repeatedly trying to open, while Nehra is a potential world-class swing bowler who had a pathetic attitude. Bhandari is not as talented as a strike bowler (he may just be a one-day specialist at best) but he's a hard trier, aggressive and sneaky.

 

[Nate]

Bhandari for mine

 

[adharcric]

So it looks like the top options are Amit Bhandari, Abid Nabi, Gagandeep Singh and Shib Sunder Paul ...

 

[Arjun]

So it looks like the top options are Amit Bhandari, Abid Nabi, Gagandeep Singh and Shib Sunder Paul ...

Abid Nabi? Somebody better get back in the basket. He's hardly finished a full season.

 

[adharcric]

right about his inexperience, but he's performed quite well so far and dominated in the U-19 match vs. england (not that this type of match is enough of an indicator), he bowls fast and is a hard-worker and has been backed by prasad ... and he's from j&k (possibly the first)

 

[marc71178]

It looks like England have one batsman!

 

[GermanShepherd]

What happened to Munaf Patel?. There were huge raps on that guy but it seems he's disappeared off the planet like Rayudu.

Munaf has a shoulder injury which is why he hasn't played for Mumbai this season.

Rayudu hasn't exactly disappeared off the face of this planet - he is currently captaining India u-19 against England.

 

[Hoggy31]

Shib Paul, he's the only one i've heard of.

 

[Arjun]

Jai Prakash Yadav is over 30, but he deserves a recall for ODI's. He's in very good form with the ball and is a hard-hitting batsman in the middle/late overs. Until Reetinder Sodhi, Irfan Pathan and Joginder Sharma are performing with the bat (Sodhi with the ball), this man should be in the national team- he can't do much worse and he's a lot better than what his debut series suggested.

 

[Arjun]

Surprisingly, nobody voted for RP Singh, a promising youngster in very good form.

QUESTION: Who among the fast bowlers to play for India can field well?