NEW DELHI: Indian bowling resources have been praised by former Pakistani cricketer Danish Kaneria, who claimed that the country is “working on the basics” and that this is the reason they are creating talented players.
Following India’s victory over Pakistan in the Champions Trophy, Kaneria spoke to ANI.
“India is producing fine bowlers. There is a fine process. Sai Kishore is a fantastic spinner. He has to wait because Ravichandran Ashwin has retired, and Washington Sundar is playing. He has to wait for his chance, and when he gets it, he will grab it with both hands.”
Sai Kishore, who plays for the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket, has claimed four wickets at an average of 15.75 in three games. Last year, he represented India at the Asian Games in Hangzhou.
“Mayank Yadav has a lot of talent, he is brilliant. There is another fast bowler, Umran Malik. There are many such IPL bowlers who are also performing well in domestic cricket. They are being produced in the MRF Pace Academy. They are working on the basics. India has such a great product, that they are coming one after the other,” he added.
Mayank was marred by injuries in 2024. Following two ‘Player of the Match’ performances in his first three Indian Premier League (IPL) games for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), where he consistently outpaced many sports stars with his accurate and controlled line-and-length and pace of over 150 kmph, he suffered an abdominal injury that prevented him from competing in the tournament. He had another injury while bowling at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) after he had recovered from the first one.
He made his debut for India last October. He finished the series with four wickets after hitting the 145 kmph speed often in his four-over performance in the opening match. Before the T20Is against South Africa in November of last year, he suffered another injury. Although he hasn’t played competitive cricket since, LSG spent Rs 11 crores to keep him during the mega auction because of his pace and potential.
Umran rose to fame in the 2022 Indian Premier League after a 20-wicket season for Sunrisers Hyderabad, during which he reached the 150 kph threshold several times. He has taken 13 and 11 wickets in his ten ODI and eight T20I appearances for India, respectively. He last played for India in July 2023.