"Umran Malik doesn't just have pace, he knows how to pick wickets as well" - Ex-Indian cricket team pacer VRV Singh

Back in the 2000s, the Indian cricket team wasn’t really renowned for producing tearaway fast bowlers. The Men In Blue had plenty of skilful operators, considering Ashish Nehra, Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan were still around. Yet, the absence of a genuinely quick pacer made the Indian cricket team fans wonder what could’ve been.

In the mid-2000s, though, the Indian cricket team started feeling the winds of fast bowling change. S Sreesanth, who has almost always found ways to keep himself in the news, was one such fast bowler. Not only did he bowl at pace, he also got the ball to talk when he was on song.

The same could be said about VRV Singh too – another tall and bustling pacer who set the domestic stage alight before making his Indian cricket team debut in 2006. Unfortunately, a string of injuries meant that the international audience could never really see what VRV Singh was capable of. For those in the domestic know-how, he was earmarked as someone who could usher in a new era of fast-bowling, meaning that his injury-ravaged career felt even more frustrating.

Years on from those bouts of disappointment, VRV Singh is back in the cricketing infrastructure and is doing his best to impart whatever knowledge he gained during his playing days. He has been coaching for three years, with two of those being as Chandigarh’s head coach. He is also completing the level-2 BCCI course for coaching at the National Cricket Academy.

And, having been an excellent fast bowler during his prime, he was grinning from ear to ear when talking to Sportskeeda about the Indian cricket team’s glowing fast-bowling battery.

“Umran is a special talent. Mohsin has pace and hits the hard lengths. Avesh also has pace and bowls variations too. Arshdeep has been bowling the tough overs for Punjab (Kings). Prasidh bowled beautifully during the West Indies series and knows what kind of variations are needed on any surface. Mukesh also did well in the IPL this year.

So this shows they are mentally strong. All the pacers that have come through in these past couple of years, they have pace and skill but they also are very good tactically. They know when to bowl what kind of delivery. All of them have the potential to play for India. I am very happy that we have such a huge pool of fast bowlers in India,” the former Indian cricket team pacer told Sportskeeda.

Fast bowling, though, is not an easy gig. In extremely hot and humid conditions, especially in India, it gets a little unforgiving on occasions. That also leads to several injuries. VRV Singh, having been down that road in his career, spoke about how he couldn’t have done anything different but how the current crop would do well to understand their bodies and keep injuries away as much as possible.

“They have to keep an eye on their fitness and look to always keep improving. Technically, everyone works on their game but taking care of their fitness is paramount. You only come to know about your fitness when you bowl longer spells, if you can bowl faster than you did last season and if you can take the right decision in key moments,” VRV Singh said.

In the recent past, the Indian cricket team has done very well to manage potential injuries to its key fast bowlers. While that can be put down to the pacers being more aware of their strengths and weaknesses, the crux revolves around how India has a superb structure, laden with physios and coaches at every possible step.

“If you have specialized people (fast bowling coaches, head coach, trainers and physios), it really helps. The thinking of a 19-20-year-old is different from someone who is 28-30. When you are young, it is a huge help if you have good mentors around you. There are some injuries that just happen. But if these people are around, it helps you emerge from it,” he added.

The former Indian cricket team speedster also drew parallels with his career, saying that the system, which is so prevalent now, was present at that juncture too. So, more than anything, the Indian cricket team’s fast bowling reserves could be down to how intricately it manages its resources and optimises them completely. It must also not be forgotten that this particular system was put in place in the 2000s, and the Indian cricket team is now reaping its rewards nearly a decade later.

“Even at that time, the system was very good. The Indian cricket team tried to support me in every way possible. Sometimes, it is just down to bad luck that your career gets shortened. Injuries are part and parcel of the game. But if you understand your body nicely, it helps.

You need to understand what is your strength and what is your weakness. If you bowl at 140-150, niggles will happen. It is important to know what you can do to avoid it. When I was at Kings XI Punjab, Patrick (Farhart) worked with me a lot. I was looked after nicely, irrespective of whether it be at my IPL team or when I was in the Indian side or at the National Cricket Academy,” VRV Singh elaborated.

Like most things these days, any conversation with an ex-fast bowler – that too of VRV Singh’s calibre, can’t fizzle out without mentioning Umran Malik, who has pretty much become the apple of the Indian cricketing fraternity’s eye. The speedster made heads turn in IPL 2021 with his searing pace but in 2022, almost everyone jumped aboard the Umran bandwagon. Not just because he hit speeds in excess of 150 regularly, but also because he ended up with 22 wickets in the season.

VRV Singh was all praise for Indian cricket team pacer Umran Malik

That, by the way, is also the quality VRV Singh feels separates Umran from the rest of the pack. Through the campaign, Umran was seen bowling an assortment of hard lengths, bouncers and yorkers, leading many, including VRV Singh, to label him a special talent.

“Umran doesn’t just have pace, he knows how to take wickets as well. If someone is taking 5-fer in the IPL, where there are international batters, he is doing something right. He has pace, he has yorkers, he has bouncers, he has slower ones. Umran has most of the things that a bowler requires in white-ball cricket. As he plays more cricket, he will get better. He enjoys every single ball and puts in every ounce of effort,” the former Indian cricket team fast bowler quipped.

VRV Singh also drew comparisons between Rashid Khan and Umran. While both are vastly different bowlers, he said that Umran, like the Afghan, brought the X-Factor to the fore and was capable of tilting any game in his team’s favour. He even mentioned how the 2021-22 domestic season helped Umran hone his abilities and become the best version of himself in IPL 2022.

Being an ex-fast bowler, nothing filled VRV Singh with more pride than when talking about Umran. After all, the Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer was the kind of bowler VRV Singh could have been, had it not been for a wretched run of injuries. The only thing the former Indian cricket team pacer emphasized on was that Umran needed to do what had propelled him into the higher echelons of Indian cricket.

“The only advice I want to give (Umran) is for him to keep doing what has gotten him here, and not hear too much about what is being said about him outside. I genuinely feel he has huge potential to serve India for a long time. The way he has come up, he just needs to do the same kind of hard work. I personally feel he will soon make his debut for India and he should just use that experience. If you look around the world, there are not many who bowl 150-plus consistently. I mean, if you are bowling 157, it is not easy. Best part is Umran also knows how to outwit the batters,” VRV Singh told Sportskeeda.

So, here it is. In the 2000s, there were a ton of expectations that India would become a renowned fast-bowling force. Evidence, at that time at least, was in relative short supply. But because the Indian cricket team was willing to invest in it, they now find themselves in an enviable situation, with even teams of Australia, England and New Zealand’s ilk salivating at their fast-bowling prospects.

It hasn’t been an easy journey. Along the way, talented pacers like VRV Singh have fallen away – largely due to luck not aiding them. That, however, hasn’t dwindled the fast-bowling spark the Indian cricket team has always craved.

Back then, not many would’ve envisioned someone as tearaway as Umran to dominate the back pages in the country. They might not have even thought that his rags to riches story would culminate in a national call-up. But generations, like the waves that always come quicker at you, change things.

It is only for the better of the Indian cricket team that this revolution has happened. It was unfortunate that VRV Singh wasn’t a part of it in the 2000s, despite having the skill-set to do so. Yet, as long as his successors keep bowling quick and keep producing the goods, you feel he won’t mind it that much.