The Hindu : Sport : Bowlers may find the going tough

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Wednesday, Sep 12, 2007
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Bowlers may find the going tough

Sports Reporter

Photo: AP

DIFFICULT TIMES: Irfan Pathan will find the going tough as he makes his comeback in the batsmen-oriented Twenty20 World Championship. —

Centurion: Bowlers have come to accept their two-week bit-roles as cannon fodder at the ICC World Twenty20.

“It’s not much fun as a bowler,” said Ajit Agarkar, after the Indian team’s practice session at the Supersport Park. Agarkar, Irfan Pathan, R.P. Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Piyush Chawla had a Twenty20 nets session, replete with free-hits for the batsmen after every no-ball.

Pathan, making a comeback of sorts, found it hard to look forward to being smashed around the ground. “It’s fun for the crowds, but not so much for us, because we have to perform,” he said, just after mercilessly clobbering a local fast-bowling hope.

Virender Sehwag’s clarity of thought which stems from a stubbornly simplistic batting approach should help him tackle this format. The 28-year-old looked his fluid self in the nets.

Comeback coterie

Part of the comeback coterie of Pathan and Harbhajan, Sehwag’s idea of a gameplan is to dismiss all talks of structure and planning. “There are no plans. I’ll just go for my shots,” he said.

The 28-year-old looked relaxed in the nets, which is a familiar sight that’s both discerning and intriguing.

“The break has done me a lot of good, and I hope to do well here and get back into the one-day and the Test teams. South Africa is a nice place and the tracks are good to bat on,” he added.

Agarkar spoke with a tone of resignation, but hoped for occasional patches of peace and quiet on the other side. “A dot ball will be like gold here. But despite that, I think there will be opportunities for wickets. It depends on the batsmen and the situation. I’ll just have to think on my feet. This is a World Cup, and that makes it special,” he added.

Pathan also spoke of a batsman-centric approach to his bowling. “We’ll see what happens and what the batsmen do. Personally, I feel fresh, and feel 18 again. It was, of course, disappointing to be out of the side, but there can be only 15 people in the team who perform. I didn’t perform and was not picked,” he said.Bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad kept a close watch on his bowlers who might have to tackle remorselessness at its worst. The team will take on Scotland in its first match on Thursday. The batting looks good, and the bowlers will have just four overs each to either live out their fears or get the better of them.

* * * WEDNESDAY’S MATCHES

1.30 p.m.: Kenya vs. NZ

5.30 p.m.: Pakistan vs. Scotland

9.30 p.m.: Australia vs. Zimbabwe

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