In a long, long time, India seem to have found a pool of bowlers, and more importantly pacers, who could play an important role in the future of Indian cricket. The recently concluded IPL 2017 has witnessed a bloom of pacers like Basil Thampy, Siddarth Kaul and Shardul Thakur. Add established bowlers like Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami, Indian pace attack shows some great promise for years to come.
With quality pacers in the Indian camp, there is a serious need for India to have a bowling coach, who will guide bowlers and help them constantly improve. India, after the appointment of Anil Kumble as the head coach of the Indian team last year, are functioning without a bowling coach. Bharat Arun was the last person entrusted with the role.
Ahead of the IPL 2017 final, India captain Virat Kohli and Kumble met the Committee of Administrators, and also spoke about the need of having a bowling coach for India, reported Hindustan Times.
If one looks around former Indian pacers, there are some names, which comes to one's mind including Venkatesh Prasad and Zaheer Khan among others, but the latter could be an ideal choice for the Indian team for a number of reasons.
Even during his days when Zaheer led the Indian bowling attack, he acted as the bowling captain for Team India. He would help and suggest fielding changes for the bowler, which showed the confidence the captain had in him.
Zaheer always stood out as an intelligent bowler, and his presence in the Indian team with his vast knowledge will help the Indian cricket team in the long run.
The former pacer knows most of the present bowlers including Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and is also aware of their weaknesses and strengths. If appointed as the coach, Zaheer Khan can play a long way in helping these bowlers go from strength to strength.
It is not only about the experienced bowlers, Zaheer will be able to guide the upcoming youngsters of India cricket as well.
Though Zaheer might have played his last international match in 2014, the pacer was a part of Delhi Daredevils squad, which means that he is still in touch with the game. He understands the current demands of the modern day cricket, which should put him in good stead for the coaching job.
