New Delhi: Spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will sit out for third straight limited-overs series, but India don't seem to miss the spin twins having beaten Sri Lanka and Australia before the squad for New Zealand was announced. And the team's bowling coach Bharat Arun credits that success to the "verstalie" nature of Indian bowling attack, which is proving to be a "blessing" for the team.
"This Indian team is blessed with bowlers who are so versatile. The biggest challenge would be to make them perform time and again to maintain the level of consistency. For that I need to create a pool of players, all of whom can come in anytime and do their job," Arun was quoted by India Today.
Arun sounded particularly impressed with fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who are fast mastering the art of choking the opposition in death overs.
"It's quite a privilege to have bowlers who are so versatile, especially Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar. They are extremely skillful when it comes to death bowling; they have variety and know when to use their skills perfectly to do well in death overs," he said.
The bowling coach also shed some light on the reasons for extended absence of Ashwin and Jadeja from the squad. He said it's being done to give wrist spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav a "fair run".
"Ashwin and Jadeja have been exceptional spinners, they have done a great job with both the white and red ball. They would definitely be a part of the old setup but it is the team management's view of giving everyone a fair run and it's only fair that we give Kuldeep and Chahal a fair run before we decide what kind of combinations we would like for the 2019 World Cup," the 54-year-old reckoned.
The success of Hardik Pandya as an allrounder has been a major relief for the team that is constantly looking for a seam-up allrounder that can give captain Virat Kohli at least 6-7 overs in an ODI. But Arun said the target is to get a full quota of 10 bowlers from him.
"Pandya is an extremely talented allrounder and a very quick learner. What we are really working on with Hardik is if he can really bring in those 10 overs in ODIs. He's working a lot on his skills and he's not afraid to try, probably one of the most fearless cricketers you can have in the side and it makes our job easier.
"He is someone who constantly wants to improve and he is maturing fast. He is really happy to take up challenges and the biggest challenge he will have in terms of his bowling is to able to bowl his quota of 10 overs in ODIs," the coach added.
India's next assignment at home will be against New Zealand, who are here for a three-match ODI series and an equal number of T20Is.
The tour begins with the first ODI on October 22.
