Why doesn't India produce genuinely fast bowlers (over 150KPH when needed). The fastest ball ever bowled by an Indian is by Ashish Nehra in the 2003 world cup - 149.3KMPH - after that effort, he never played for India due to injuries. Not a single person can bowl at over 150KMPH while the neighbors always have someone who can. What is the secret of this failure? Every quick bowler to have played international cricket pretty much started quick - be it Bond, Waqar, Akthar, Tait, Lee, Donald etc. This guy Ishant does a military medium 132Ks. No point in getting into dogmatic views like good talent doesn't get recognition India because the truth is that when it comes to cricket, by and large, talent especially for hostile fast bowling will shine through. It's not about genes because the neighbors with much worse domastic cricket conditions and with pretty much the same genes, provide fast bowlers regularly. It's not about body mass because Genuinely quick bowlers come in all shapes thin to strongly built (Mohd Sami to Harmison) Statistically baffling that there just haven't been any in India and the question is Why?
RE:Need for Speed
by Venkatesh AG on Jun 15, 2007 07:42 PM
Please check, Javagal Srinath clocked 157 km/h in 1996 against South Africa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javagal_Srinath
RE:RE:Need for Speed
by on Jun 15, 2007 07:51 PM
Srinath was a great and very accurate bowler and was fast as well (not as quick as the other bowlers but fast). However, he was not a great swinger of the ball. Thats the main reason why he could never be very dominating. He never struck fear in the batsman. However, while i make the argument for speed, I must also point out that accuracy and swing matters too. Prime example, Glenn Mcgrath.
RE:RE:RE:RE:Need for Speed
by Shankar Panday on Jun 15, 2007 08:24 PM
all the nutriets in meat can be easily got fm veg food..add fish and u hv perfectly balanced food...the less red meat the better u r in health and mind...great sporting or even military nations are not necessarily great meat eaters...the diets of Gama pehelwan gorging huge chunks of red meat and glasses of whole milk are gone !!
RE:Need for Speed
by reader on Jun 15, 2007 08:02 PM
I heard at MRF pace foundation australian trainers motivate youngsters to concentrate on line and length and not on speed. Munaf in domestic cricket crossed 150kph but Lili adviced him to reduce. The same Zahir khan produced about 145-150 earlier but harshed badly by batsman. His new comeback is good and by reducing a little bit on speed and concentrating on line and lengh.
RE:Need for Speed
by Aalsi on Jun 15, 2007 07:48 PM
Venkatesh south indian ho kar tujko english nahi samaj aati hai. The article says that it has been reported that he clocked 157 km/hr.That means that it is not confirmed,as such.
RE:Need for Speed
by on Jun 15, 2007 07:33 PM
Like it or not but the real reason for India not producing speedsters is "MEAT" (if you want to be specific "BEEF") Unless u have that in your body, you can never by stronger faster or more athletic. This is not just for cricket. It is for all sports that require athletic ability.
RE:Need for Speed
by ACM on Jun 15, 2007 07:36 PM
That is so wrong...there are lots of meat (beef too) eaters in India. More than most other countries playing cricket.
RE:Need for Speed
by on Jun 15, 2007 07:45 PM
80% of Hindus dont eat beef. Hindus account for 90% of the indian population. the rest of the population that do eat meat, you can deduct the people who are children and over 35 from the mix who could play. from that number deduct the ones who have so lazy that they do even want to play chess for that matter. Take the women out from that rest (45%). Then take the guys out who are not even interested in playing cricket. That makes up a very small pool of players (close to nothing if I may say).
RE:RE:Need for Speed
by ACM on Jun 15, 2007 07:58 PM
Wrong again! Hindus account for 80% of India's population. India has the highest muslim population among cricket playing countries in the world. It has more christians than the entire population Australia. In short there is no shortage of beef or meat eaters in India. Period. It's nothing to do with meat eating.
RE:Need for Speed
by ACM on Jun 15, 2007 08:13 PM
There are no pork eaters in Pakistan! Quit this line about meat, beef, pork because that line of reasoning is faulty by design! Because it's impossible to NOT find some one with fast bowling ambition in India who also has been eating beef, pork and all other forms of meat all his life.
RE:RE:Need for Speed
by Shankar Panday on Jun 15, 2007 08:19 PM
exactly ACM..this line of thinking is stupid and pbbly has more to do with Islamic bravado than nutrition and cricket....Sarfaraz Nawaz had once boasted that India can only beat Pakis if it had 11 Muslim players !! thats the way these guys think which is laughable....in sports Pakis r no big deal at all and regularly get drubbed in football, hockey & even kabaddi....and yes u r right pork is a far better food being white meat, than beef...
RE:Need for Speed
by rationalize on Jun 15, 2007 08:16 PM
Definitely, this (meat/beef) is a contributing factor but is not the only factor. Actual stamina/strength develops in colder conditions. The academy or talent search should find prospects at very early age then they should be trained somewhere in Northern Indian colder conditions. Not just 2 weeks camp but put them there for years. Develop a diet plan for each individual. Last but not the least, develop fast pitches. If you look at the fast bowler temperament, they are aggressive (or atleast they should be). You provide them a platform they get excited and try to go beyond their normal expectations.
RE:Need for Speed
by ACM on Jun 15, 2007 08:41 PM
Rationalize and Shankar Pandey - respects to your thoughts. However, the north Indian cooler climates have always been there but surprisingly enough, the faster Indian bowlers have more often emerged from the peninsular regions even in this era where cricket has become synonymous with fame and money and with enough to attract talent from any part of India. Mohd. Sami is from Karachi and it can get mighty hot there. Regarding facilities, India was the first country in the world to set up a fast bowling academy so much so that international teams send their talented lot to this academy to train even today. Mohd. Asif became a fantastic bowler after his stint in the academy. There are no fast pitches in Pak. So far, I've not seen reasoning that screemed - bingo, that's why there are no genuinely quick bowlers in India.
RE:RE:Need for Speed
by Shankar Panday on Jun 15, 2007 08:22 PM
Its not a contributing factor dumbo....vegetarians kick far better than others..they may not be vicious but they kick ass ok...Japanese are basically veggies, so r Gurkhas....most strong animals are veggies..the bad ones are carnivores..
RE:Need for Speed
by rationalize on Jun 15, 2007 08:32 PM
Check your facts before commenting. Japanese are pure non-vegies and Gurkhas are non-vegetarians. In fact, Gurkhas are one of the better non-veg cooks. Pandayji, nobody is telling you to eat non-veg. Regarding your comment on animals, there is difference between strong and strong & aggressive. You can compare Elephant Vs Lion etc.
I am sure you can gain similar protein/calory level by eating specific veg/fruit diet but how many of us do it? I do not want to sound gross but the aggressiveness of meat has something to do with the blood.
RE:Need for Speed
by Shankar Panday on Jun 16, 2007 12:57 AM
Japanese were a non meat eating people until recently..Jap diet mostly veg & some fish...in this day & age when there is awareness of food & nutrition you should not be glamorizing beef or any red meat...the tendency the world over is a bias to veggie diet and red meat is definitely a no no..its like tobacco these days.....the other point is veggie food needs to be be balanced as well, Indian diet leaves much to be desired..the point is beef is not the silver bullet u make it out to be..indeed its better to keep away from it...whats not good for ur heart, gives u mad cow disease cant be good for your sex life, ur stamina, and nothing at all.
RE:RE:Need for Speed
by Shankar Panday on Jun 16, 2007 01:03 AM
I just gave u good examples that a veggie diet can support huge, strong, agile, smart, & quick animals...on the other hand you chose to dramatize your rebuttal with the Bengal tiger and bison story !! u get it or u dont..either way the beef lobby dont measure up or make sense..personally i dont hv a problem with anyone eating cats or dogs, leave alone beef...the point is being vegetarian is no excuse not to raise fast bowlers !!! by that same logic that India has only a couple of Grandmasters & Russia has many has nothing to do with Indian or Russian diet.
RE:RE:Need for Speed
by on Jun 15, 2007 08:13 PM
Why don't you kill your mother and eat her. Please don't say such thing and sorry for my above statement. Nothing is like that, take example of Shivaji Mahraj fought against mughals his kingdom was their for 109 years. He was vegetarian. His commander (Mahadji Shinde) even fought agianst mughals and had victory their too. Nobody was non-vege. Please don't spread such nonsense
RE:Need for Speed
by Shankar Panday on Jun 15, 2007 08:14 PM
Beef my foot !! whats there in beef that u cant find in other foods..look into the animal world..the strongest, fastest & handsomest animals are all vegetarians elephants, bulls, rhinos, hippos, horses, gazelles, you name it.....the carnivores like tigers, lions & hyenas are mean & vicious thats it...check out the nutrition chart for any body building or strength training and u will see these days the emphasis on red meat is very very low..rather its replaced by fish like salmon, sardines, tuna etc.....dont keep dissing Hindus on dietary habits its perfect, except people are not educated to balance their diets and eat the right thing...and yes India got so many beef and pork eaters in Muslims & Christians why cant they be fast bowlers??? the answer is probably priorities and lack of role models...one Kapil Dev inspired a number of medium pacers..u need a few more fast men...btw even Pakis dont come out with hordes of fast men as u claim....Imran, Wasim, Akhtar & Sami are all they came out with who were genuinely fast..the rest of the crop were all medium pacers.
Mr.Pandya, mind your own business. What Ishant has done wrong to you? Why r u after him to spoil his career? Let him play his natural game and don't bring out all imaginary socalled politics.
This is how media will hype about a person who starts his debut. after two years the same media will talk badly about ISHANT. Why to make them high and stamp them later. Let him focus and do his best. Media should shut.
RE:Ishant Sharma: At 18, fast and flitting
by Manjit Thomas on Jun 15, 2007 07:11 PM
Absolutely !! I agree. Let the media sh-ut up for a while. If the guy is good, his performance will prove it. After Munaf the speedster I tend to look at all new 'finds' with a myopic eye
HE REMINDS ME OF YOUNG AGARKAR...VERY GOOD BUT ALSO VERY FRAGILE..BUT AGARKAR HAS WORKED ON FITNESS..REMEMBER THE FITNESS EXPERT SAYING HE LIFTS THE HEAVIEST WEIGHTS AMONGST THE TEAM IN THE GYM...
BUT HES STILL THE FASTEST!! WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO 160KMPS MUNAF!!
RE:AGARKAR STILL THE FASTEST!!
by asdf on Jun 15, 2007 06:59 PM
HEY AP FELLA WAS MISSING YOU..LOL HOWS LIFE..HOWS WEATHER IN YOUR PARTS? THOUGH NOT IN THE MOOD TO FIGHT WITH YOU TODAY..SOMEONE CLOSE IN FAMILY NOT KEEPING WELL..SO YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY..BUT KEEP POSTING..YOUR POSTS MIGHT BRING SOME SMILE TO ME..
RE:AGARKAR STILL THE FASTEST!!
by Reddy on Jun 15, 2007 07:54 PM
yfh maaaderch000d. ur referring to your family probably. I am more fair than most of north indians I met
this is not a brag but a fact for all ppl to see and especially this maaaderc000d racist
RE:AGARKAR STILL THE FASTEST!!
by image in on Jun 15, 2007 08:22 PM
Still it is important to decide that what is the role on AGARKAR in Indian cricket team
All the Indians who still love watching cricket are eagerly waiting to know wats the speed with which he can bowl.Not occasionally.Wats his average speed?There is no point in being too tall.The thing is at how much speed he can bowl.Wat we have seen so far is that our fastest bowler is not so tall.Thats Ajit agarkar.Munaf even though started bowling fastly,now he is not bowling so quick.Like me all Indians are waiting for a bowler who can make something happen with his speed,like Brett Lee,Shane Bond or Shoaib Akthar.A star with the ball in his own rights,a match winning fast bowler.
RE:Wats his speed yaar?Not the fastest,his average bowling speed.
by Shreeram Jambulingham on Jun 15, 2007 06:33 PM
I can bet you that this article as well as Ishant's selection has a political angle. The guy is nothing special. His frame is too frail to generate any pace.
RE:Wats his speed yaar?Not the fastest,his average bowling speed.
by Aalsi on Jun 15, 2007 06:58 PM
Glenn Mc grath was never very fast.But he was tall and accurate and has more wickets in test matches as compared to the combined tally of Shoaib and Brett lee... Glenn matches played 124 wickets 563 Shoaib Brett matches played 102 wickets 400
I don't know why you don't see these facts first before commenting
RE:Wats his speed yaar?Not the fastest,his average bowling speed.
by Manjit Thomas on Jun 15, 2007 07:29 PM
LONDON, June 5 (AP) %u2014 With a delivery hurtling at about 138 km per hour, Glenn McGrath broke the shoulder of Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin%u2019s bat in his fourth over yesterday. He may as well have broken the back of India%u2019s innings. (Adapted from Tribune - 1999)
My dear Friend, Glen Mcgrath at his youth was consistently bowling at 138 kmph and above...not dollies at 120 kmph like munaf.
RE:Wats his speed yaar?Not the fastest,his average bowling speed.
by Aalsi on Jun 15, 2007 07:53 PM
Munaf bowls at 120 kmph???I did not know that.I thought he was above 135.But i guess the point of arguement was express pace.Now there are many bowlers,who can bowl faster than Mc grath but not necessarily better than him
RE:Wats his speed yaar?Not the fastest,his average bowling speed.
by hemanth M on Jun 15, 2007 06:34 PM
Fitness is key factor for indian players.. after every match or so , players fail in physical tests..
Now , indian team is lack of reserves.. So india is heading towards big problem.
RE:18 pe shuru....19 pe khatam...
by BhejaFry on Jun 15, 2007 06:28 PM
39 pe coach 45 pe selector 50 pe BCCI president 55 pe rajya sabha MP 60 pe lok sabha MP 65 pe president of india.
RE:RE:18 pe shuru....19 pe khatam...
by Sania Mirza on Jun 15, 2007 10:04 PM
Yeah.. that's all sooo funnyyy.. think even u plan to doo sooo... leave the cricketer part.. and president ... and lok sabha.. hm,,
