'Kumble should be the bowler the Indians should turn to'

National selector Tirumalai Ananthan Sekhar is chief coach at the MRF Pace Academy, where India's pace quartet of Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, Zaheer Khan and Harvinder Singh have been moulded into better bowlers.

The 44-year-old former India bowler, who did not do much in his playing days, having played just two Test and three one-dayers, has been instrumental in getting the bowlers ready for the tough tour of South Africa. So, Ashish Magotra caught up with him to check out his assessment of India's chances on the upcoming tour.

Excerpts from the conversation:

As a bowling coach at the MRF academy, how do you think the bowlers should bowl in South Africa?

What matters most in South Africa is not the length; that is optional; but the line. The wickets might have differing bounce so the length is not really a factor. You have to concentrate more on the batsman and see what length he is not comfortable playing.

The bowlers had a short four-day stint at the academy beginning September 14th. The bowlers had a talk with former Australian pace ace Dennis Lillee. Their actions were videotaped and processed by a software, which tells them what line and length they are bowling.

This data will be handed over to Indian coach John Wright as the Indian team now has a software with them to process such data. This will enable the bowlers to keep comparing their performance while on tour.

Who among the Indian bowlers do you think will have the most impact on the South African tour?

Of the Indian bowlers, I think Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan should have the most impact on the tour. Srinath should be especially devastating if he bowls a good line and length. Zaheer is young, and if he is completely fit for the Tests, he has the pace to trouble the South Africans.

Prasad will basically be used as a stock bowler, who will be asked to bowl to one side of the wicket and keep the runs hard to come by. Ashish Nehra, though not as quick as Srinath or Zaheer, is young and gets good bounce from the wicket.

Now that the fast bowlers have been sorted out, let us get to the spinners. Who among the two, Kumble or Harbhajan , should the Indian team play, or should both be played?

There is virtually no way the Indian team should play more than one spinner in any match. The reason being the South Africans are not going to give us wickets that turn. Kumble should be the bowler the Indians should turn to during the series.

The Proteas are not the best players of leg-spin in the world and Kumble relies more on the bounce he gets from the wicket than the turn. His strong point has always been his accuracy and that allows him to be used as a stock bowler too to plug one end up.

What counts in Kumble's favour is that he has toured there before, in 1992 and 1996, and has the experience to come good despite not having played international cricket for so long.

Who among the South Africans poses the greatest threat to the Indians?

On the South African side, I think Nantie Hayward should be the bowler to watch out if he is fit. He showed when he toured in India that he can be devastating and on the faster wickets in South Africa he should be a terror.

Allan Donald is not the same force that he was in 1992 and 1996 (he topped the bowling averages then claiming 20 wickets in the series). He has been struggling with several injuries and I won't be surprised if he gets dropped if he doesn't perform.

Then there is Pollock; he maintains a good stump to stump line and concentrates on line and length. He is not too quick but he is very accurate, in the McGrath mould, and provides an ideal foil to the other bowlers in the team.

And, finally, how different do you think the South Africans are from the Australians?

South Africa is also an aggressive team but their aggression is different from that of Australia, who are much more vocal. Their aggression is more evident in the field; the way they bowl, field and bat. It's going to be a very tough tour and we can only hope for the best. Let's hope the Indian team comes out tops.

Interviews

Mail Cricket Editor