India's pace bowling in Test match cricket is firmly in a transition phase, with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj the only certainties. But who are the other names in the red-ball pipeline?
The capped players
Prasidh Krishna
Tall, lanky and deceptively quick, Prasidh being included in the ‘next-gen’ fast bowler category is tricky, since he is 29 years old. But experience-wise, he is still raw (injuries have not helped his cause).
He has only played 28 first-class matches, and his initiation to Test cricket in December 2023 was a difficult one. He was more impressive in Sydney earlier this year, and had a better time of things in England.
His height and ability to extract bounce from a length give him the attributes that India have been looking for over the last couple of years. Prasidh is yet to play Test cricket at home, but remains a player with the raw materials worth backing.
Harshit Rana
Harshit's continued selection in India’s squads in all three formats since his mentor at KKR, Gautam Gambhir, took charge of the team has been panned across several sections of India’s fanbase.
He was thrown in the deep end somewhat on his first Test tour in Australia, and was dropped after two Tests. But like Krishna, there is logic behind his backing.
Harshit runs in, bends his back and hits the pitch hard – the “heavy ball” often mentioned on broadcast commentary. India also clearly value his batting (or hitting) potential; after all, he does have a first-class century to his name.
Akash Deep
Akash impressed on Test debut against England last year, and has certainly shown promise in the format to the extent that he is now a near-automatic squad pick for overseas Test series.
How much he plays in India will largely be dependent on Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj’s workload management.
Anshul Kamboj
Kamboj had a horror Test debut in England, but which may have been at least in part down to an injury he was carrying. His first-class record remains solid, but you fear for his prospects on flatter Test surfaces.
‘Dibbly-dobbly’ may be an unkind description of his bowling style, but he is definitely outside the Prasidh/Harshit mould, as someone whose control of line and length, and dependence on movement off the wicket are his USPs.
The domestic performers
Auqib Nabi
The opposite of players like Harshit and Prasidh, Jammu and Kashmir’s Auqib Nabi has a stellar record in domestic cricket, but with little reward thus far.
In last year’s Ranji Trophy, he took 44 wickets, the most by a seam bowler. He began this season with a five-wicket haul against a strong Mumbai team, and earlier this year set a new record with four wickets in four balls for North Zone in the Duleep Trophy.
At 28, he is on the older end of the uncapped player scale but with another solid season under his belt, the India cap may not be just a pipe dream.
Gurjapneet Singh
As a 6’3” left-arm quick, Gurjapneet’s profile perhaps means he receives opportunities others would not. For instance, last month he was picked for the India A 50-over side against Australia, before he’d played any List A cricket at all.
He took only two wickets in two games there, but his brief first-class career has also been encouraging, with 27 wickets in seven matches. He was also part of the South Zone team for this year’s Duleep Trophy, and will certainly be on the selectors’ radar.
Also read: IPL star adds maiden first-class five-for to impressive batting record in Ranji Trophy
Gurnoor Brar
Not unlike Gurjapneet, Brar has also seemingly been earmarked as one for the future. The 25-year-old Punjab quick made his first-class debut in December 2022, but impressed in last year’s Ranji Trophy, averaging 20.3 for his 26 wickets in seven matches.
One of those matches came under the captaincy of current Test skipper Shubman Gill, and he had a successful couple of red-ball games for India A in Lucknow last month, taking eight wickets at 25.5.
Yudhvir Singh
Nabi’s teammate at Jammu and Kashmir, Yudhvir is another strong, tall fast bowler who hits the pitch hard. He is somewhat known to Indian fans thanks to his nine IPL matches for Lucknow Super Giants and Rajasthan Royals.
He also started this Ranji campaign with a five-for against Mumbai, on the back of a near-identical season to Brar (7 matches, 26 wickets, but an average of 22). Yudhvir is rather more on the fringes, but a player with a desirable skillset in good form is always good to have in the back pocket.
Read more: Better than Dravid: Where does Rinku Singh rank among India’s all-time highest first-class averages?
The future prospects
Anuj Thakral
Hailing from Haryana like Kamboj, Thakral only made his first-class debut earlier this year, but has impressed with his ability to get something out of the pitch, no matter what.
His three games in the Ranji Trophy have yielded a stunning 21 wickets (including 10 on debut), against solid opposition as well in Bengal, Karnataka and Mumbai.
Eight of his victims – Mayank Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal, KL Rahul, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, Ajinkya Rahane, Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube – are India internationals, with Ayush Mhatre and Abishek Porel also on the list.
Sakib Hussain
Bihar’s Sakib Hussain is still only 20 years old, but earned an IPL contract with KKR for the 2024 season, and trained with Chennai Super Kings as a net bowler prior to that. He took 6-41 and 4-58 against minnows Arunachal Pradesh in the first round of this year’s Ranji Trophy, just his third first-class game.
His slower deliveries, rather more useful in white-ball cricket, have come in for praise from Mitchell Starc, and his ability to get through the crease quickly helps him retain pace through his run up and delivery stride. He’s a long way from Test cricket, but keep an eye out.
Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal
All-rounders tend to develop more gradually than specialists, natural thanks to the need to work on both facets of their game. Bengal’s Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal is almost 26, but debuted in first-class cricket only last year. He has since emerged as less of an all-rounder, but more of a bowler who can bat.
His 14 matches so far have yielded a staggering 68 wickets, at an average of under 17 and economy rate under three. In 10 out of 24 innings, Jaiswal has taken at least four wickets, and ran through Haryana this January to finish with 11-138 in the match.
Such a volume of wickets is usually the domain of spinners, given the conditions and how much of the bowling they do. To have a quick bowler doing so is certainly something to take note of. He also averages 24.5 with the bat, with one century and one half-century.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
