Lucknow [Uttar Pradesh], Nov 26 : West Indies head coach Phil Simmons, who is impressed with India’s pace attack said that the latter nation makes the world cricket exciting.
“I can’t say how long ago, but when I first came here, you would have Madan Lal opening the bowling. Now you have guys bowling at 90 miles per hour opening and your premier fast bowler (Jasprit Bumrah) was injured for this Test, so you still have him to come back. It’s exciting for world cricket,” ESPN Cricinfo quoted Simmons as saying.
Indian fast bowlers were at their devastating best during their recent two-match Test series against Bangladesh. The pace attack which consists of Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav picked 19 wickets in the second innings of the second Test match, with one Bangladeshi batsman being retired hurt.
To overpower Men in Blue, having proper fast bowlers and spinners is a must, according to Simmons.
“Teams know now that you have to play properly on both sides – you have to have proper fast bowlers and proper spinners to beat India. Fast bowling from anybody is exciting, so it’s great to see that happen. Hopefully we can get back our battery of young fast bowlers to the level where we’re competing and giving people trouble,” he said.
Simmons said that seeing Eden Gardens jam-packed during India’s maiden day-night Test match was exciting.
“I did watch the first day. It was exciting to see Eden Gardens full. It’s an awesome sight,” Simmons said.
Simmons also backed India skipper Virat Kohli’s opinion of promoting the longest format of the game as much as the T20 cricket is promoted.
“I think Virat hit the nail on the head when he said we have to promote Test cricket as hard as we promote T20. Even though T20 has more money involved, we have to promote it the same way. I think if that’s done, we can see a resurgence of big crowds in Test cricket anywhere you go in the world,” he said.
West Indies are scheduled to play a one-off Test match against Afghanistan, starting from November 27.
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