Ajit Agarkar highlights the bowling unit as an area of concern for India

India had an extremely disappointing ODI series against South Africa where they ended up suffering a whitewash. The team’s bowling was a particular area of concern and it looked pretty toothless across all three games. As the focus now switches to the upcoming ODI and T20I series against West Indies, former Indian pacer Ajit Agarkar says he will be keeping a close eye on the performances of the bowlers.

Senior bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami have been rested. While Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar are set to continue, they will be joined by Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Avesh Khan in the pace attack.

When asked about what should be the composition of the bowling attack, Agarkar mentioned that bowling is no longer the team’s strong suit in the ODI format. “They are looking at options, that’s a good thing because clearly, India needed options. Very keen to see how the bowlers go because, which wasn’t the case, it is certainly a weak area for the Indian team.

“I don’t think you can rely on one or two guys, whether it is a Bumrah or a Shami. You need depth, there is enough depth but you need to give people opportunities. I think that’s what they are looking at,” said Agarkar on Star Sports’ show Game Plan.

Despite being included in the squad against South Africa, the likes of Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj didn’t see enough game-time during the ODI series. India, instead went with the experience of Bhuvneshwar Kumar whose days at the top seem to be limited. Bhuvneshwar has looked like a shadow of the player he once was and the team will probably be trying out new combinations in the upcoming series.

“I hope Siraj and Prasidh Krishna if they start, get all three games in this series because it is not easy for any bowler to settle in white-ball cricket. At times, it is slightly easier in Test cricket, you get time as a bowler.

“Siraj without a doubt is a frontrunner for me because he has the ability to bowl with the new ball, to take wickets in the middle and he has good yorkers at the end. Obviously, he will keep getting better with experience but for me, he is clearly the frontrunner at the moment,” concluded Agarkar.