Shamik Chakrabarty in Kanpur
Back in 2011-12, a Ranji Trophy match between Mumbai and Odisha became high-profile. It was not because of Ajit Agarkar storming off after falling out with then Mumbai coach Sulakshan Kulkarni, but for the fact that it was Zaheer Khan’s comeback game after an injury lay-off. India’s tour of Australia was round the corner and Zaheer was considered central to India’s chances of doing well.
As it turned out, India suffered a humiliating 4-0 whitewash in Australia under MS Dhoni. Zaheer had a decent outing – 15 wickets from four Tests at 31.80 – but he seriously lacked support. The tourists even had to resort to R Vinay Kumar’s military-medium pace in one of the Tests. In fact, it has been India’s story for long in overseas Test series; not to have good support bowlers around the top two.
After Virat Kohli took charge as India captain, he addressed this and created a fast-bowling group that would make an impact irrespective of conditions. Jasprit Bumrah’s emergence was a godsend. And India also had the likes of Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav. Now, Indian cricket has entered a phase when they need to rejig their pace attack.
Bumrah is there of course, the numero uno. But Shami is still recovering from his Achilles tendon surgery and at 34 years of age, there’s naturally a question mark over his long-term future. Mohammed Siraj’s form has been a tad indifferent of late, although the Hyderabad quick is expected to regain his mojo sooner rather than later. Maybe, a short break before the Australia series in the winter will help him.
In Australia, however, India will still require a fourth seamer capable of providing breakthroughs and supporting the frontline duo of Bumrah and Shami. If Akash Deep continues to perform the way he has been doing, the Bengal seamer could be the answer to the problem.
Deep has a knack of taking wickets in his first spell. He did it on his Test debut against England in Ranchi earlier this year, removing Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope in his fifth over followed by Zak Crawley’s scalp in his sixth. In the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai, Deep was brought into the attack as first change in the first innings and he made an instant impact, accounting for Zakir Hasan and Mominul Haque in successive deliveries. On both occasions, length did the trick and also, the bowler’s ability to make the ball skid off the surface.
Only 35 overs of play have been possible over two days in the second Test here in Kanpur. If Day 1 was truncated, Day 2 was a washout, with persistent drizzle forcing the call-off. At 1.58 pm on Saturday, the umpires walked in, had a chat with the groundsmen and dropped the curtain for the day. Deep so far has bowled 10 overs in this game, claiming 2/34. Once again, both his wickets – Zakir and Shadman Islam – came in his first spell. On a slow Green Park pitch, he beat Islam for pace to trap the opener leg-before.
The most impressive part was that on the first day, he was the team’s best bowler, consistently hitting the right length. For a change, Bumrah’s radar didn’t properly work in the nine overs he bowled. Siraj put in a lot of effort, but he was once again a couple of feet short. Deep stood up to be counted.
“I’m not thinking too far ahead,” Deep told reporters before the Kanpur Test. All said and done, the Indian team management has been developing him for the five-Test series Down Under. His nets sessions under bowling coach Morne Morkel and other support staff have been intense. And if the 27-year-old continues with his development, he could be the answer to India’s support-bowlers problem away from home.
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