5 Indian fast bowlers who faded away after showing great promise 

India, as a cricketing nation, is more known for their batting exploits. When it comes to bowling, the spinners have always had the upper hand as compared to seamers.

This may well be attributed to the playing conditions in India with pitches conducive to spin bowling and hardly offering anything for the fast bowlers. As a result, there aren't many fast-bowling legends in Indian cricket.

Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan are the only names that stand out. However, with growing enthusiasm towards fast bowling and India looking to succeed more on foreign soils, their fast bowling stocks have seen a vast improvement in recent times.

With considerable improvements in domestic cricket structure, India has been constantly able to nurture bowling talents who have been able to make a mark in international cricket.

Unfortunately, along the way, India has lost a slew of fast bowlers to a variety of reasons. A lot of young prodigies couldn't live up to the mark and couldn't achieve what was expected of them.

Let's have a look at five such recent fast bowlers who looked very promising but couldn't play for very long owing to different reasons.

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#5 RP Singh

RP Singh was a key reason for India's Test series win in England in 2007

RP Singh showed great promise in the 2004 Under-19 World Cup. Subsequently, the left-arm seamer was recognized by the selectors and handed an ODI debut against Zimbabwe in 2005.

His most impressive performance came against England in Lord's 2007 where he took a five-wicket haul in the hosts's second innings. He continued to impress with a string of good performances in the 2007 World T20. His most memorable performance came against Australia at the WACA in Perth. He took six wickets in the historic match that India won.

After that, RP Singh had a couple of good seasons at the IPL before injuries started hampering his career. Soon after, he lost the kind of swing and seam movement he could generate and was soon out of the reckoning.

He retired from all forms of cricket at the age of 32.

#4 Praveen Kumar

Praveen took two four-wicket hauls in the 2008 CB series finals

Praveen Kumar emerged as a typical swing bowler. Although his speed mostly remained in the mid-120s, his deceptive swing caused a lot of problems for the batsmen.

Hailing from Meerut, Praveen made his name in international cricket on the back of some impressive performances during the 2008 CB series. He got 4 wickets apiece in each of the finals - including the key wickets of Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke.

Praveen continued to perform consistently in the ODIs and T20s. He was awarded a place in the Test side in 2011. His returns were decent enough but he never got a chance to play Tests again.

With lack of pace and multiple disciplinary issues, Praveen eventually fell out of national reckoning. However, he kept playing in the IPL. Praveen retired from all forms of cricket in 2018.

#3 Munaf Patel

Munaf could bowl in the 140s in the early part of his career

Munaf Patel burst onto the scene with substantial raw pace. An ability to bowl consistently in high 130s and touching low 140s was rare for an India pacer in the early to mid 2000s.

Munaf possessed the kind of pace that excited everyone and along with that, he had the ability to reverse swing the old ball. It was England's tour of India in 2006 where he came into the reckoning. In a practice game against the touring team, he took 10 wickets in the match and was subsequently handed his maiden Test cap in the 2nd match of the series.

He returned with seven wickets in the match that India won and showcased his ability to swing the old ball. Munaf chipped in with decent performances but his laid-back demeanour as well as injuries started taking toll on his career.

He was a key part of India's World Cup winning team in 2011 but soon fell out of the reckoning. Having started his career as a sharp pace, Munaf became a medium pacer with a towards the end. He retired from all forms of cricket in November 2018.

#2 Shanthakumaran Sreesanth

Sreesanth's career ended with the spot-fixing saga in 2013

Shanthakumaran Sreesanth was a case of immense talent gone to waste. Hailing from Kerala, the temperamental pacer made quite a few headlines throughout his career.

His ability to bowl was never questionable. With a perfect upright seam, he could move the ball both ways. However, his actions off the field received a lot of flak. Sreesanth's most memorable spell came against the Proteas in the 2006/07 tour. He took 5/40 to demolish the hosts at Johannesburg and help India win their first ever Test on South African soil.

His on-field performances remained fairly impressive but his antics off the field left far too much to explain. Sledging Sachin Tendulkar in the Challenger Trophy, barging shoulders with Michael Vaughan, the slap-gate incident with Harbhajan Singh are numerous such incidents which threatened to derail his career.

In 2013, Sreesanth was implicated in the spot-fixing scandal in the IPL. It led to a premature end to a career that could have been a lot more glittering on the field.

#1 Irfan Pathan

Irfan was once hailed as the next Wasim Akram in the cricketing circles

People who saw Wasim Akram bowl in his prime found an uncanny resemblance in the way Irfan Pathan used to bowl. A smooth run-up and the ability to swing the ball like the iconic left-armer made Irfan a household name very early in his career.

Irfan made his debut in the 2003 Test series against Australia at the age of 19. From then on, he became a regular member of the Indian team in Tests as well as ODIs. His most memorable moment on the field was the hat-trick against Pakistan in the first over of the 2006 Karachi Test.

Apart from being a reliable swing bowler, Irfan could also contribute with the bat as well. His contributions lower down the order made him a valuable asset. However, as soon as Greg Chappell took on the role of the head coach, he started emphasizing more on Irfan's batting as well as remodelling his action for a longer career.

As a result of the over-coaching, Irfan lost the ability to swing the ball and became a mere shadow of a bowler he once was. He came back strongly in 2007 World T20 with a Man of the Match award in the final. However, a lack of penetration meant that he couldn't hold onto his place for long.