Dhoni concerned by India's failure to produce fast bowlers of international calibre

Dhoni is disappointed by the failure of the faster bowlers to make their opportunities count

Indian skipper MS Dhoni is concerned by India’s failure to produce fast bowlers of international calibre, ESPNCricinfo reports. The 34-year-old is worried that the younger generation of fast bowlers in the country are not making the step up to the highest level despite being given plenty of opportunities.

India’s fast bowling duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohit Sharma came is for harsh criticism from various quarters, with the former conceding more than 100 runs in his 10 overs during the fifth and final ODI between the hosts and South Africa, as the Proteas scored 438 runs in their 50 overs. The visitors went on to win the match by 214 runs and thereby the series 3-2, handing South Africa their first-ever bilateral series win in India.

Speaking after the match, Dhoni conceded that India does have a genuine lack of quality bowlers and is particularly unhappy that some players are not making the step up despite repeated backing from the team management.

"If you see any other Test or ODI-playing nation, the fast bowlers come and in one or two years they graduate to the next level - they become the strike bowlers or they learn what their strength is and bowl according to that. To some extent, we have not been able to do that and also, once you put in a lot of time and effort in a particular individual and if it doesn't come up good, then a vacuum gets created where you have to look for the individuals.

"We tried going for fast bowlers - bowlers who bowl quick - but we realised that they are giving the opposition more runs and we were better off playing with people who are more into their line and length. So you have to see what the best solution is as of now. Ideally, Mohit [Sharma] should be your third seamer but you have to mix and match - who is your best death bowler, who can bowl well in the middle overs, who is a good new-ball bowler - so we have to go through a few things,” Dhoni said.

The skipper feels that the current level difference between India’s first-class cricket and the international level was contributing to the issue and us hopeful that India can produce genuine fast bowlers in the future.

“Definitely we have seen that we have tried a lot of different fast bowlers who have not done really well for us but at the same time when they go back and play in the different formats, they are ones who have done well for their IPL franchises or in the Duleep/Deodhar Trophies,” he said. "It's a transition. Sometimes it takes time because I still feel there is a bit of a difference between the top strike bowlers in first-class cricket and the top strike bowlers at international level."