Team India include 15 net bowlers for Asia Cup and ODI World Cup preparations

In a first, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly hired 13-15 net bowlers for Team India’s preparatory camp at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Alur, Bangalore, for the Asia Cup and the ODI World Cup.

According to Star Sports, the BCCI has increased net bowlers from five up to 15 to use the domestic bowlers in the best possible manner during the off-season.

The cricket body has included India’s tallest left-arm Indian seamer in the form of Aniket Choudhary to prepare against the likes of Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi and New Zealand’s Trent Boult, etc. The 33-year-old scalped 33 wickets in seven games for Rajasthan in the last season of the Ranji Trophy.

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Other players among the net bowlers include Umran Malik (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Kuldeep Sen (Rajasthan Royals), Yash Dayal and Sai Kishore (Gujarat Titans), Rahul Chahar (Punjab Kings), and Tushar Deshpande (Chennai Super Kings), to name a few. The players have been rewarded for their good performance in domestic cricket and the IPL.

“A unique opportunity” – Sanjay Bangar on net bowlers’ role for Team India

Former batting coach Sanjay Bangar said that Team India couldn’t accommodate more than five net bowlers in away World Cups during his stint as a support staff. The 50-year-old said that the new opportunity arose because the ODI World Cup will be held in India, adding that this approach will only groom the next generation of bowlers.

Bangar told Star Sports:

“(On net bowlers’ role) A unique opportunity because in the last two World Cups, which I was part of, on both those occasions – once in Australia and another in England, it’s tough to take so many quality bowlers, domestic talents.”

Bangar continued:

“It's off-season in India, so all the players are available. So, they are being used in the best possible manner. All these quality performers are a double-edged advantage because all the senior players know how the domestic players have been performing outside the IPL.

He added:

"How they deal and their actual talents. Net bowlers get a chance to bowl at quality batters. It’s a win-win for all, a great initiative. We couldn’t do it in the last two World Cups because it was away from India.”