World Cup 2023: ‘Can't say this is the best-ever…’ Sourav Ganguly on India's current bowling attack

India are the only team of the World Cup 2023 to have remained unbeaten so far. Apart from their star-studded batting line-up, Indian bowling has been quite impressive in the tournament as well.

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The last three teams that India faced failed to surpass the 150-run mark. England were bowled out for 129, Sri Lanka for a mere 55, and South Africa, despite boasting one of the most explosive batting line-ups, were bundled out for 83. The prowess of the Indian bowlers – Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Ravindra Jadeja, and Kuldeep Yadav- has been instrumental.



Such has been the domination of these players, that there are discussions on whether this is one of the best bowling units in white-ball cricket history. Despite having numerous supporters of this notion, former India captain Sourav Ganguly has a different opinion, recalling the pace trio of Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan and Javgal Srinath. He recently spoke about India’s 2003 World Cup bowling attack and how his pacers were a great pack.

“I can’t say this is the best-ever Indian pace attack to date. In the 2003 World Cup, (Ashish) Nehra, Zaheer (Khan), and (Javagal) Srinath also bowled brilliantly,” remarked Ganguly in an interview with Sports Tak.

Ganguly’s perspective is not without merit. While there should not be any comparison between bowling attacks from different eras. Ganguly too had a superb pace attack in his armoury. Zaheer Khan (18 wickets), Javagal Srinath (16), and Ashish Nehra (15) played pivotal roles in guiding India to the finals in South Africa at the 2003 World Cup.

However, Ganguly also spoke highly of the current triumvirate of Shami, Bumrah and Siraj. While the bowlers have excelled, India’s batting department has been spearheaded by captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. India’s middle order, comprising Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, have stepped up when needed.

As far as the bowlers are concerned, Shami has claimed 16 wickets in just four matches, boasting an average of seven and an economy rate of 4.3.

Jasprit Bumrah closely follows with 15 wickets in eight matches, at an average of 15.53 and an economy rate of 3.65. Ravindra Jadeja has emerged as India’s most successful spinner, securing 14 scalps in eight matches, while Kuldeep and Siraj have contributed with 12 and 10 wickets, respectively.

India will next face Netherlands in their final league stage game in Bengaluru on Sunday.