The Indian domestic pacemen have been among the wickets and in the headlines in the ongoing IPL.
It’s not the established seamers alone, men such as Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, who have swung games.
Many lesser names too have had their moments.
Jaidev Unadkat:Rising Pune Supergiant, 17 wickets, Economy Rate 7.71: Seems to have been around for a long time but is still only 25. He has mixed his length capably in this IPL and sent down cutters effectively, bowling with a semi side-on action. Unadkat brings the odd one back, can also operate with control from round the wicket. He has grown in belief and is holding his nerve at the Death.
Sandeep Sharma:Kings XI Punjab, 16 wickets, ER 8.23: A clever seamer, he makes up for a lack of pace with the manner in which he uses the crease to create angles. Impressive in the PowerPlay where he gets the new ball to dart around, the accurate Sandeep possesses a useful yorker too. His head was earlier falling away at the point of release owing to the limited use of the non-bowling arm and Sandeep got the problem fixed at the MRF Pace Foundation, as its head coach M. Senthilnathan revealed.
Siddarth Kaul:Sunrisers Hyderabad, 12 wickets, ER 8.70: He gets the ball to skid around, again the release is semi side-on, and can take the pace off his deliveries when he wants to. Kaul has been impressive in the end overs this IPL and some of his toe-crushers have been on target. An efficient, if not a menacing bowler.
Basil Thampi:Gujarat Lions, 10 wickets, ER 9.29: A bit of a slinger, Thampi has got two elements that lend a cutting edge to his bowling — speed and a stinging yorker. A good athlete, he runs in with momentum and can send down an effective short-pitched delivery, too. His slower delivery is a good variation. There are times though when he sprays the ball around. A product of the MRF Pace Foundation, Thampi will only get better with experience.
Mohammad Siraj: Sunrisers Hyderabad, 6 wickets, ER. 9.25: His rag-to-riches story captured our imagination. This lanky 23-year-old is a seamer with serious ability. Siraj has a whippy, quick-arm release and the batsmen often find his action hard to pick. He can hit the bat hard with his speed, brings the ball in sharply and has a quick yorker. Clearly someone for the future.
Aniket Choudhary: Royal Challengers Bangalore, 5, ER 8.55: Perhaps the left-arm paceman the Indian team is looking for, Aniket combines velocity with ‘work’ on the sphere to regularly unleash what is known in cricketing parlance as a ‘heavy ball.’ Someone who developed at the MRF Pace Foundation, Aniket can achieve steep lift. Needs some more work on his control though. In an otherwise gloomy scenario for the Bengaluru side, he has created a few bright moments.
