Cricket News: Fast bowlers India can bank on in the future

However, the sheer might of the batting failure provided a convenient escape route for India's bowling to avoid the spotlight. 

In truth, India's pacers were all good – Bhuvneshwar Kumar and  Mohammed Shami are both proven international performers, whereas Arshdeep Singh is a breath of fresh air. 

In reality, Bhuvneshwar Kumar struggled when there was no swing on offer, and Mohammad Shami played like a man who hadn't played a T20I in almost a year – which was indeed the case, given he had been all but discarded from the format before Jasprit Bumrah's sudden injuries forced the board's hand. 

Arshdeep Singh, while looking like the best bowler of the lot, didn't look at his best. His biggest asset is his death bowling, but too often, he was routed at the death and mostly found success when bowling up front and in favourable conditions. 

The focus, therefore, again shifts to finding a couple of pacers at least who are of the express pace variety and can extract bounce and trouble batters with speed when there's no movement on offer. 

Thankfully for the Indian team, plenty of players fit that mould. Some have even been a part of the setup with mixed results. 

The most apparent name that comes to mind is Umran Malik, whose searing pace in the 2022 IPL saw many clamours for his fast-tracking to the Indian team. 

He did play the two T20Is against Ireland but was often exposed and thus relegated to the domestic circuit and India A tours, but he's part of the New Zealand tours again – meaning there are plans in place for him. 

There's also Navdeep Saini and Prasidh Krishna, who have spent time in the team with mixed results. 

However, Navdeep Saini's fitness issues and drop-off in form mean he is still the first name on anyone's mind when a slot opens up. 

Prasidh Krishna is indeed part of the ODI scheme of things but has yet to be seen as a regular in the T20Is due to being somewhat erratic in the format. 

Kuldeep Sen is another name, part of the scheme of things for the New Zealand tour, and he looks like a good prospect if you go off the game time he got for Rajasthan Royals in 2022. 

He's consistently fast and doesn't shy away from bowling in the death, which means he could well be seen as one to watch for the selectors. 

The left-field option is Khaleel Ahmed, who has been part of the Indian squad and had a decent IPL in 2022. However, one of the knocks against him is that he doesn't play domestic cricket regularly. 

He's taken steps to rectify that recently and did play a few T20s for Rajasthan in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. But whether that's enough, for now, remains to be seen. 

The good thing for India is they have plenty of options. The bad thing is those good things can sometimes work against them, as has been proven in the past.