Good to see Ishant leading attack: Nehra
MUMBAI: Former India pacer Ashish Nehra feels that India have a potent fast bowling unit, and is particularly pleased with the performance of seasoned seamer Ishant Sharma in this series so far.
Ishant bagged seven wickets in the first Test against England at Birmingham, including a fivefor in the second innings, albeit in a losing cause as the visitors fell short by 31 runs. He gave India a good start in the second Test too
“We have a huge number of options, but the more important thing is quality. We have 6-7 fast bowlers and one or two are waiting in the wings and they have quality,” said Nehra.
“In the first Test match we managed to pick 20 wickets and, more importantly, somebody like Ishant Sharma – leading from the front after playing so many Test matches - that was good to see,” he said.
The former left-arm pacer is of the view that Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj are coming up in the ranks.
“Mohammed Shami was struggling with injuries, (it’s) not easy to come back, and bowled his heart out (in the first Test). We have Umesh Yadav, who has heaps of talent. You have Jasprit Bumrah, who has done so well, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has been injured, but in ODIs he is your number one guy.
“Another two guys I see coming up are Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj. They both have been part of India A squad. I have (also) seen them closely in RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore). All of them have heaps of talent,” said Nehra.
“We have an experienced bowling attack on this tour. All in all we have a very good fast bowling unit,” explained the 39-year-old ex-cricketer.
Nehra, who played 120 ODIs, believes that though all-rounder Hardik Pandya has improved as a bowler, he still needs a cushion and there is a long way ahead for the Baroda player.
“I personally feel when he (Hardik) is playing as a fifth bowler (in Tests), or in even T20s or One Dayers, then we need some cushion behind him. Because he is not somebody who is bowling 10 overs consistently. At times we have six batters but nobody bowls.
“Hardik has shown some improvement, but he has not reached that (position) to be your fifth bowler in 50 over (game).”