The future is bright for Indian pacers, says Glenn Mcgrath

The MRF pace foundation has created an opportunity for the Indian fast bowlers to enhance their bowling skills under the supervision of Australian bowling legends. Glenn McGrath, popularly known as the ‘Pigeon’, is now the Director of the foundation after taking over the proceedings from Dennis Lillee.

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McGrath, who ranks among the greatest bowlers the game of cricket has ever seen, said that the current Indian bunch of fast bowlers have massive potential. In an interview with India Today, McGrath shared his thoughts.

When asked about the area of improvement in Indian pace bowling McGrath pointed out that Indian cricket is equipped with far superior facilities now. He said that the current situation is hugely different from what it was earlier with four bowlers having the much-needed confidence to succeed at the grandest stage.

“Look, fast bowling is still tough. You still have to work hard and get the basics right. Indian cricket has great facilities now. And, you have four fast bowlers who have more experience and confidence than earlier. All that has helped make them greater cricketers. It’s a much better situation now.” said Mcgrath.

Speaking about top Indian bowler Umesh Yadav, McGrath flattered the bowler with praises. McGrath said that Umesh has the quality of bowling with raw pace but with discipline. The bowler knows what he is doing and now has the experience of bowling for long stretches. Complimenting his performance in the recent times, McGrath said that the bowler is delivering his best at the moment.

“Without a doubt Umesh knows himself better now with the experience of bowling day in and day out. What I like about him is he bowls good pace but still has better control. He knows what he is doing with his movement rather than spraying it here and there. All those things are about experience and going out there and doing it over and over again. It’s about knowing how to recover for the next match. He is doing exceptionally well at the moment.” added the right arm bowler.

Taking up the combination of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Shami, McGrath said that they are a perfect mix of pace, swing and experience.

“Indians bowlers are doing well at the moment and once you are doing well day in and day out as a group, you get to know how they work. Bowling like batting is about working in partnerships. Yadav has pace, Shami and Kumar have good swing. Ishant has experience and they all compliment each other as a group.” opined McGrath.

Talking about Jasprit Bumrah, who is still to make his national debut in Test cricket, McGrath pointed out that Bumrah’s unique action is a plus point. According to the veteran, Bumrah is extremely effective with his yorkers in the shorter formats but he needs to figure out a game plan to perform well in Tests. McGrath stated that with little improvement in his bowling Bumrah can be a part of the Test team soon.

Bumrah has worked with us in MRF earlier. He has something quite unique in his action and you don’t want to change much about such blokes. The way they bowl is how they bowl. He bowls really good yorkers and does really well with that in the shorter version. But that does not mean he cannot succeed in Test cricket. It’s about having a good game plan in the Test version and knowing where to bowl. The more he plays he will know. If he can improve his longer version game, he could be bowling for India soon.