Australian great Glenn McGrath has raised optimism at the fast bowling stock in India, stating that they were improving and there was much to look forward to from the emerging group as well.
“I think so. Fast bowlers in India are getting better. There's more of them now. They're leaving more grass in the Ranji Trophy. A third of the wickets aren't too bad to bowl on for the fast bowlers. India is in very good hands with the young fast bowlers coming through. I hope they enjoy having me here and benefit from me being here,” the 46-year-old told Times of India.
“Ishant has been around for quite some time now. (Bhuvaneshwar) Kumar swings the ball well, Shami has had a bit of success. Then you've got the new breed-Bumrah coming through. He's a bit unusual in the way he bowls,” he added.
Kohli is playing exceptionally well: McGrath
When asked his views on Virat Kohli, the former speedster said that the 27-year-old was batting with a lot of confidence and is definitely among the best batsman in the game today.He added that one way to stop him from scoring as freely as he does is by applying pressure and not provide him with many scoring opportunities.
“He's definitely up there. Virat plays with a lot of confidence. He's quite an aggressive batsman who likes to score. He's playing exceptionally well. He had a great Test career, taking over as captain, a lot of responsibility. As long as he's batting well, things would go well, if there's a form slump, I would be interested to see how he goes.
“He's a top batsman who enjoys scoring, so hopefully build some pressure ...take those scoring options away from him. I used to love bowling to Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid, because I enjoyed the challenge to bowl to the best batsmen. Unfortunately, I didn't get the opportunity to bowl to Virat. It might've been a good thing, he might've hit me everywhere,” he added.
On asked why the present lot of Australian batsman have found it tough on turning pitches, McGrath felt that it was upto a player on how he wanted to prepare for such conditions and admitted that ahead of their next year's tour to India the Aussies had some work to do.
“It's an issue, but it's up to an individual to devise a plan to counter it. Mathew Hayden is a good example because he didn't play spin that well and then he developed the sweep shot to combat it and played it very well. To be either super-defensive or aggressive probably isn't working. We've a fair bit of work to do between now and the Indian tour next year because the wickets are going to turn,” he concluded.
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