India’s current fast bowling group best ever: Bharat Arun, bowling coach

The Indian cricket team has had woeful overseas returns in 2018. They lost the series 2-1 in South Africa while in England, they were hammered 4-1. However, Virat Kohli’s side have made an excellent start in their tour of Australia with a magnificent 31-run win in the Adelaide Test. During all these overseas tours, the contribution of the bowlers has been magnificent. The likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja have all performed admirably and given the team plenty of opportunities to secure a win only for the batsmen to squander it. In the South Africa series, the Indian bowlers took all 60 wickets while in England, they took 82 out of the 90 wickets. In Adelaide, they picked up all 20 wickets for a famous win,

Speaking in the press conference ahead of the second Test in Perth, India’s bowling coach Bharat Arun praised the current group of bowlers highly. “I can say that not only now for what they did in Adelaide but what they've done over a period of time in South Africa, in England and now in Australia. This is probably one of the best group of fast bowlers India has ever had,” Arun said.

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Arun highlighted the fact that better execution was the key to the success of the side. “Consistency was a bit issue (on previous tours) and that's something we've addressed with the bowlers. It's something we've really worked hard on. We insist on one-person form factor even during practice, and the bowlers have responded exceptionally well. That's showing dividends right now. It's very simple work. Each time they come to the net and they bowl, they need to be aware of their plans and what they need to execute. Each time it's a little different of what they need to execute. We just test as to how far they've executed each time. That feedback allows them to be more consistent,” Arun said.

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The India fast bowling coach added that the potential of a fast and bouncy wicket at the New Perth stadium is not a deterrent to the side’s confidence.

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Marcus Harris, the debutant in the Adelaide Test, also heaped praise on the current Indian bowling line-up. “I realised pretty quickly they don't bowl any crap and they don't miss any chances that you give them. So you've got to be switched on from ball one. I felt like my game stood up to it, it's probably just a decision-making thing and being able to occupy the crease for long periods of time, but I didn't feel like I was out of my depth at all,” Harris said.