Chennai: Team India couldn’t have hoped for a better preparation. Legendary Aussie pacer Glenn McGrath, director of MRF Pace Foundation, is mentoring two young Indian pacers Varun Aaron and Ishwar Pandey ahead of the gruelling five-Test series in England.
The 44-year-old’s first mission upon arrival on Wednesday was to make sure the pace duo of Aaron and Pandey got accustomed to the Dukes cricket ball which will be used in the England series.
“Indian bowlers will relish bowling with the Dukes ball. Ishwar and Varun are practising with those and are getting a hang of it. The seam of this red cherry is big and it feels good in the hand enabling prodigious swing,” McGrath said.
After a non-stop T20 action over the past four months, McGrath said it’s imperative the Indian pacers got their actions sorted out. “According to me, playing a lot of T20 would change a fast bowlers action. One tends to forget the usage of front arm. My focus is on these guys (Varun and Ishwar) getting their act right,” mentioned McGrath.
For a man who had tormented English sides in the past, McGrath felt that it’s about adapting quicker in those conditions. “The warm-up games are going to be vital. Though the Test pitches in England are sporting ones, they are a bit slower. So the pacers need to get into a fuller zone,” said McGrath.
“Ishwar is a good out-swing bowler who is there and there about questioning the batsmen whereas Varun is quicker, attacking and a wicket-taker albeit the chances of him providing boundary balls are higher,” he said when queried on their bowling styles.
With Team India playing a five-Test series for the first time in over fifty years and India having six pacers in the squad, would tactical rotation of bowlers lead to success? McGrath said, “It’s not about rotating in a long tour but fielding your best eleven every time you play. We went unchanged throughout our 5-0 win in the last Ashes. So MSD should get the right combination during the tour matches and build momentum.”
India’s horrendous run overseas started with 2011 tour to England and since then the M.S. Dhoni-led Indian side hasn’t registered a single win abroad. McGrath said that this series is India’s best chance to turn the tables around as England are devoid of their key players and aren’t the same team they used to be.
