India's Fast Bowling in Disarray as Injuries and Doubt Afflict a Transition Generation

India's fast-bowling combination is facing an uphill battle with injuries continuing to accumulate and youngsters finding it difficult to be fit or consistent. The recent inclusion of Anshul Kamboj in the Indian Test team prior to the Manchester Test is reflective of the bigger problems in the side. It was not only a payment for his India A series performance against England Lions but rather an emergency recall. With two of its fast bowlers injured and the seam-bowling all-rounder out of action it became evident that India's reserve strength is under heavy strain. The case illustrates how thin the system actually is and how much a good plan is required for India's future pace bowling.

At only 24, Kamboj is joining a long queue of fast-bowling prospects. The queue continues to lengthen but also continues to turn over as injuries and form issues propel players in and out of the side. What was meant to be a consistent and unambiguous process of constructing the next wave of quick bowlers has become a series of band-aid solutions. This England tour had promised answers and define the pecking order but has instead shown how shallow the bench is behind the top two names.

Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj are presently the core of India's pace attack. Both are 31 years old and have been carrying a large workload in recent times. Bumrah has already spent time out of action with injury and now every time his name is mentioned there is speculation about workload management. Siraj has been India's workhorse recently. Since the beginning of 2023, he has appeared in 24 of India's 27 Tests and bowled more than anybody except Ravindra Jadeja. It is apparent that if he continues in this fashion he too will require rest and gentle handling.

Mohammed Shami was once an integral component of India's bowling strategy but he has not featured in a Test since 2022 and his comeback now appears extremely doubtful. There has been no formal retirement but also no actual indications of a return. If he is finished it will be a subdued departure for a player who led India's dominant seam bowling period.

The biggest problem is with the unit of bowlers who were next in line to take over. Akash Deep is one of the promising names among that list. He demonstrated his ability against top order batsmen like Steve Smith and took a six-wicket haul at Edgbaston. But within six months has already experienced two injury scares which is not good for a player who is still struggling to find his place in the team.

There is another name in the form of Prasidh Krishna who was once considered the natural heir for tall quick bowlers such as Ishant Sharma. He possesses raw pace and bounce but his body has not been able to hold up to the Test format. At 29, he has played only five Tests and is a player somewhere between promise and performance. His recent stats do not look good but some of it was due to strategy and not poor form. For example when he went for 50 runs in five overs it was part of a plan by the captain not random failure.

India has also been searching for a left-arm seamer after Zaheer Khan's last outing in 2014. Left-arm bowlers provide variations and angles and can be helpful in producing patches of rough for spinners. Arshdeep Singh was one of the highest white-ball picks and was being moulded for the red-ball cricket. He even played county cricket with Kent albeit with varying results. Unfortunately, his journey too has been stalled due to injury in a finger.

Yash Dayal was the initial left-arm choice and received his Test summons in the Bangladesh series. He also had a better red-ball background than Arshdeep but has now vanished from the scene which indicates how fast things can go in this setup.

With so many injuries it is not known if there is even an actual pecking order these days. Skipper Rohit Sharma had once talked of strengthening the bench of fast bowlers and in retaliation, the team organized a group of reserves who accompanied the team prior to the Australia tour. It had young talents such as Mayank Yadav who impressed with his speed and Harshit Rana who could bat a little too. Nitish Reddy was another name on the team list regarded as an emerging seam-bowling all-rounder.

In early 2024 the BCCI came out with a new plan to provide special contracts to fast bowlers so they could concentrate more on Test cricket and better manage workloads. It was the right direction but nobody knows what happened to that plan after all this while. The system appears to have reverted to responding to injuries instead of preventing them.

Mayank Yadav's bowling continues to turn heads but he also has been troubled by fitness. Harshit Rana also impressed on his debut in Perth and bowled out Travis Head with a stunning ball. He was part of the team in England as well but when someone else was required Kamboj was chosen over him. Some others such as Mukesh Kumar and Shardul Thakur have also played elsewhere but could not remain. Mukesh has just disappeared silently and Shardul is employed more as a stopgap rather than a long-term one.

The Indian pace attack is not entirely barren but it appears battered and indifferent. Those are no longer the golden days when one fast bowler took the place of another effortlessly. Currently, it is a transition group where injuries are determining careers rather than performances. If the management is serious about crafting a solid fast-bowling future, then they need to stop thinking short term. Selectors coaches and the board must act before the next injury strikes. They must concentrate on constructing a system that buffers the bowlers, develops them, and gears up for the long term. The situation now is a warning sign and it is time the system really listens to what these young bodies are telling it.