Obviously, we must praise all the guys on this trip but once the euphoria settles we must return to some pragmatism. It's a quality we lack as a country and a huge reason why people become so powerful in our cricket systems that no matter how much hue and cry is made about them, they are immovable.
Ishant Sharma, a senior pro and part of the India set up also had a fantastic start to his career from Australia and then he went into the wilderness for a good half a decade. We must recognise the skill set Siraj has and try to improve him while not typecasting him. It's a very tricky balance but that's the job of the team management. Very important to keep the heroes from today on earth.
Ishant Sharma only ? There are like 10 others in the past who had a fantastic start to the careers but suddenly disappeared or hidden to wilderness after a series or two or never really performed consistently after that.
But heck times have changed , eras have changed we are no longer into the 90s or 2000s. The article clearly highlights the fact about the role Bharat Arun had not only over Siraj but the other crop of fast bowlers as well.
Lets take an example of past Ishant Sharma - how old was he when picked for the National side ? 18 in 2007 when he made his debut against Bangladesh. Selection Criteria - Young Prodigy who can clock 90 mph. He performed well though in his first 1 year or so , that spell to Ponting is still vividly remembered but what followed was a steep decline which made the tall lanky fast bowler looked an average medium pacers who struggled until 2015 only to comeback as they call Ishant 2.0 after that.
Another example is Irfan Pathan - drafted into the squad on the bank of 9 wicket haul against Bangladesh U19 and was straight away fast tracked into the senior squad playing in Australia a month later. Sure he had his time which lasted like 2 years the post 2007 Pathan was someone else. (One can argue about Chappell , injuries etc.)
India as a cricketing nation lacked fast bowlers for years so whenever we see some exciting prospect coming up the whole nation has their eyeballs on them but fortunately we now have a system that is much more stable and structured.
If this was 2008 , I am pretty sure that Young Karthik Tyagi would have made his debut or someone like an Ishan Porel or other U19 guys would have been on the fringes now.
The likes of Siraj or Thakur or Saini etc. have toiled for years on the domestic system (Ranjis ,A Tours etc.) so the talent they possess is only nurtured by the skill set they developed by playing for years in the domestic also establishing a mental temperament which helps them perform at the highest level which also bridges down the gap between International & First Class cricket to some extent as well.
The fitness level these guys have today is top notch never ever in Indian cricketing history we had a such a long crop of bowlers.In the past a breakdown of a fast bowler meant they were hardly the same bowler ever again.
Mohammed Shami had a knee surgery back in 2015 missed cricket for a year but what a comeback he made from there on again if this was 2000s that would have been end of Shami or he would have been half the bowler after the comeback.
The NCA in Bengaluru looks after the bowlers - their Rehabilitation is done and their fitness level is closely monitored.
So unlike previously where our fast bowlers used to fade away after couple of seasons it is highly unlikely happen to the current crop maybe a couple of cases will come but due to the strong setup which has been established & the NCA - these fast bowlers are taken care of better then ever which is big positive sign for Indian cricket.
At the moment they deserve every praise for their historic achievement down under.Only time will tell how future shapes up for these guys and how much success they can achieve in the future years.
