Indian cricket fans are traditionally obsessed with batsmen but star pacemen, including yorker king Jasprit Bumrah, are finally bringing overdue recognition to the side’s bowlers, says coach Gautam Gambhir.
Gambhir took over from Rahul Dravid in July and will oversee his first Test for India in a two-match series against Bangladesh in Chennai from Thursday.
The 42-year-old former opener praised India’s world-class bowlers for making a difference to the set-up.
“It has not happened many times in India where we have started talking about the bowler now. It has always been about batters, batters, batters. India at one stage was a batting-obsessed nation,” Gambhir told reporters.
“Jasprit Bumrah is the best fast bowler in the world in all three formats,” he said.
“It’s an honour that we have got someone like Jasprit Bumrah sitting in that dressing room who can make a difference at any stage of the game.”
Bumrah’s slinging action has a knack for choking an opposition’s flow of runs and bagging wickets. The 30-year-old has claimed 159 Test wickets since his debut in 2018.
Spin bowling usually prospers on Indian pitches and the hosts’ chances are likely to hinge on Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Ashwin has claimed 516 wickets, while Jadeja, a left-hander who is also an attacking batsman, is six short of 300.
“India has been fortunate that we have got people like Ashwin and Jadeja, and they have bowled well in tandem, and we know what they can contribute,” Gambhir said. “Those two can create a lot of impact in Indian conditions.”
Gambhir, a talented left-handed batsman who played a key role in India’s ODI World Cup win in 2011, coached the Kolkata Knight Riders to an IPL title this year.
The former politician is also known for his short fuse and once had an ugly on-field altercation with Virat Kohli during an IPL match.
But Gambhir said he had good relations with all the senior players, including Kohli and ODI and Test skipper Rohit Sharma.
“My relationship with all the senior players has been really good,” he said. “Sometimes people have made a lot of hue and cry about other things, but that’s not true.”
India remain clear favourites on home soil, but Bangladesh last month celebrated a landmark 2-0 series sweep in Pakistan – their first series win over the Asian rivals.
“We played very good cricket against Pakistan but that is the past,” Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said. “That gives us confidence, but we are here to play a good series.”
Commentators have disparaged Bangladesh in earlier series for lacking emotional restraint, affecting their on-field performance.
But Najmul said that characterisation was a thing of the past.
“A lot of players have been playing for the last 10-15 years and are experienced,” he said. “We don’t get very emotional now.”
© Agence France-Presse
Photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images
