Young fast bowlers in India

Fast bowling has been India’s Achilles heel for a long time. Right now India has a number of promising quick guys who can grow into top class seamers in near future. 

When the cricketing world talks about the all-time great fast bowlers, not a single Indian bowler’s name comes in the conversation. Recent times have seen some promising signs though and we have had some exciting bowlers coming up in the last few years

Umesh Yadav

It’s easy to think of Umesh Yadav as a veteran but the man is still just 26-year-old and hasn’t come anywhere close to reaching his peak. Yadav is one of the fastest bowlers India has seen in its history; he can regularly clock 90 mph and possesses a very good out-swinger to go with his pace. He was India’s most successful bowler on their tour to Australia and made heads turn with his pace, bounce and control.

Varun Aaron

Varun Aaron is another bowler who seems to have been around forever but at 24, he’s even younger than Yadav. Aaron has been clocked bowling the fastest ball bowled by any Indian bowler ever and is one of the biggest hopes for the country’s fast bowling future. Having already been a part of India’s national team in a few ODIs and Tests, he has impressed people with his pace and aggression.

Mohammed Shami

Shami has been India’s best quick bowler in ODI cricket in the last 12 months. He possesses decent pace and the ability to swing the ball consistently and is also good with his reverse-swinging Yorker in the death overs. Shami has been a regular member of the Indian Test team too but has failed to do much damage in the longer format after his great start against the West Indies on the Indian soil in 2013. The 24-year-old has been trusted a lot by his captain MS Dhoni, who has big expectations of him.

Harshal Patel

Harshal Patel has been one of the most promising quick bowlers in domestic cricket the last few years. The 23-year-old possesses a big out swinger and can bowl at a decent pace, around the 135 kmph mark, consistently. Ian Pont, a leading fast bowling coach, had earmarked Patel and Aaron as the brightest future fast bowling prospects for India. The country’s cricket fans would hope that Patel lives up to his potential.

Mohit Sharma

Mohit Sharma has been a part of Indian ODI teams in the last one year and has been touted as a promising pacer in the limited overs format. His biggest strength is his ability to bowl a good line and length and he also bowls at a fair clip. The 26-year-old has been hugely successful for the Chennai T20 team.