Over the last few years, India's pace bowling attack has risen through the ranks to be counted among the best in the business. And with the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand coming up in Southampton, skipper Virat Kohli will once again turn to the likes of Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah to hand the team the upper hand.
While Ishant, Bumrah, and Shami are proven performers, what is heart-warming is the emergence of the backup unit in Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, and T Natarajan.
And one man who deserves credit for creating this pool of pacers is none other than bowling coach Bharat Arun.
With the biggest battle round the corner -- WTC final -- the bowling coach believes the team has the firepower to go the distance. In fact, he says India's consistent performance over the last season is the reason why they made it to the final of the Test championship.
"New Zealand is an excellent team. They've been playing exceptional cricket and are in the final for a reason. Winning any ICC event will be a special feeling," Arun told ANI.
The WTC final will be followed by a five-Test series against England and a win in their background will be all the more special and the bowling coach feels the team is ready for the challenge.
"England has been one of the hardest tours. But we are confident, well prepared, and ready to take up the challenge. We are currently ranked No. 1 in Test cricket. So that says a lot about how consistent we've been over the past few years," he pointed.
Earlier this year, India had managed to defeat Australia 2-1 even when the side was without its key players and was battling major injury issues. After that win, Virat Kohli and co defeated England 3-1 to reach the finals of WTC.
Meanwhile, Ironwood Education, a leading professional training and education company in India has announced the launch of a certification programme for Cricket Coach Education and Development.
The company has roped in head coach Ravi Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar as Advisory Board members to mentor and guide in program development for certified cricket coaching at various levels.
Commenting on the association, Arun said: "Good qualified coaches at the grass-root level will help develop talented youngsters. A good base is always important. Good coaches combined with good programs will help create a pool of youngsters. This will encourage healthy competition and I'm sure the sport will benefit."
