India have depth in fast bowling and good balance: Shaun Pollock

Former South Africa captain and legendary paceman Shaun Pollock paid glowing tributes to India’s fast bowling resources, especially praising the balanced attack that team India now possess.

“Yeah, you guys (India) are really in a strong position now (with regard to fast bowling). The depth in bowling, the different variations, you have got some tall guys, shorter guys, quick, skillful, shaping the ball and you can decide in between them and you can have a real good balance,” Shaun Pollock said on Sony Ten’s Pit Stop show.

Virat Kohli’s side boast of a long line of fast bowlers led by spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, with the likes of Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron and Bhuvneshwar Kumar to back him up.

India also has a quality back up to the above with the likes of Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar and Navdeep Saini, ready to step in whenever required.

Shaun Pollock feels Indian cricket team has good backup bowlers

Shaun Pollock feels Jasprit Bumrah is well backed up

Shaun Pollock, who turned out in 108 Tests and 303 ODIs for South Africa, recalled that there was a period when India did not have any third seamer to support quality pacemen like Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad.

“If you decide to go with three or even four seamers, you now have got guys who can step in. In the years gone by, you might have had a Srinath or a Venkatesh Prasad, but then the replacement bowler...third bowler or backup bowler... was not of the same quality and that's where I thought they were letting themselves down," said Shaun Pollock, who has 421 Test wickets and 393 ODI scalps.

The 46-year-old former allrounder in a recent chat with Mumbai Indians’ Jasprit Bumrah had told him about competition among the Indian bowlers.

"We had a chat with Bumrah, the other day, and he was saying everyone is competing, ready to go, you really have to keep performing and if you don't have a good few games, then someone can step in and take your place. So, that's a good situation for India," Shaun Pollock had said.

Meanwhile, Cricket South Africa (CSA) are yet to finalise the name of their Test captain to replace outgoing Faf du Plessis with likes of Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram in contention. Quinton de Kock is their ODI skipper.

Shaun Pollock said if there are no Test matches around any time soon, so South Africa should look for a long term solution.

“It goes down to where this team is going. If there is a series soon, then they might go for experience. If it takes longer for Test cricket to return, you may think long term. We need to run with a captain for 4-5 years. There are no firm favourites. De Kock has done well in the shorter formats,” the former Mumbai Indians allrounder said.

Asked if he found leading the sides a tall order, Shaun Pollock said: “I did not find it too taxing. I always wanted to be involved and helped the team. Also, we had two formats at that time.”