Former West Indies speedster Ian Bishop has showered rich praise on India’s current pace attack, saying it is the best generation of fast bowling talents produced by the country known for churning up extraordinary batsmen.
See Also: Bharat Arun says India's pace group can be on top for "at least two more years"
Bishop also believes that the foundation for this success was laid by likes of Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath followed by the emergence of Zaheer Khan, RP Singh among others.
"It is perhaps the best generation of talents of fast bowling India have produced. And it started a while ago," Bishop told Harsha Bhogle on Cricbuzz in Conversation. "We can go back to Zaheer (Khan), RP Singh, Munaf Patel and that little cluster that came through after (Javagal) Srinath, who followed Kapil Dev. It's great to see.
"It seemed to me from the outside that there was a deliberate attempt by India to recognise that 'batsmen were good, but if have to win overseas, we have to get players from the MRF Pace Foundation and the NCA coming through, try to prepare pitches to encourage these faster bowlers rather than dusty turners'.
"And now when you have three fast bowlers, sometimes four and an excellent spinner, it takes my mind back to the West Indies pace quartet before my generation - the Marshalls, the Holdings, the Garners, the Roberts -- I'll stick Colin Croft in there. There is no release point, two come out, two come on. There is no flow of runs, and there is always a threat of penetration and physical harm to a lesser extent. That is one of the things that makes this group of fast bowlers excellent."
Bishop had special words reserved for Jasprit Bumrah, who has come a long way after his international debut in January 2016. He currently holds the No. 2 position in ICC ODI rankings for bowlers and occupies the 7th spot in Test bowling rankings.
Last year, Bumrah played an instrumental role in India’s maiden Test series victory on Australian soil with 21 wickets to his name. He then scripted India’s 2-0 Test series win in West Indies, claiming 13 scalps at a phenomenal average of 9.23 including a hat-trick.
"I grew up on the history of the game and coming through, I had this whole concept of a fast bowler as someone with a long flowing run; someone like Wes Hall, Sir Richard Hadlee, Denniss Lillee, the Marshalls, the Holdings, so on and so forth. And Jasprit is exactly the opposite: it is a stuttering, short run.
"Until today, I'm amazed as to where the pace comes from. And he has got a serious skill set. The way he swung the ball in the Caribbean, for example, and the way he can up his pace and still apply control to it. And then when I hear him speak about the game and break the game down, there I see a generational talent. Once he can stay fit, he is an entire package," Ian Bishop remarked.
