Irfan PathanHe is doing very well for a 19-year-old. I like his attitude. He has the potential to be a very good bowler, provided he adds a yard of pace. He swings the ball and even reverse swings it. He still bowls at 138K and I reckon he has a bright future. He is a young man so he likes to experiment a bit which is alright. His batting could also come on for he likes playing very straight. He could be the all-rounder India is looking for in future.Ashish NehraAshish has to reassess his bowling style. I reckon he has to completely redo his methods. He is averaging 40 plus in Test cricket which is reasonably high for a strike bowler. I am told he was a good swing bowler early in his career but lately his wrist action is not very steady. A couple of ideas could help him but he would have to take that major decision about his bowling ways. He is pretty set in his style and he would have to dismantle it. It would not be easy but he can’t avoid it if he wants to have a long Test career.He has to do couple of things straightaway — he has to be fit and again, he could only be fit if his front foot comes down in line with the pitch. At present his back leg is pointing towards mid-off and it is a very damaging bowling style for any bowler, leave alone a fast bowler. But as I said, he has to take that critical decision about his career.Zaheer KhanIt was disappointing for India to lose Zaheer Khan in two of the four Test matches. I really felt bad when he broke down in Melbourne. It was a pressure game and India had to draw or win and Zaheer was missed. He also has to worry about his fitness standards. If he can be fit, India can look forward to a youngster who has the right attitude and extremely intelligent. He swings the ball in and is very confident about his methods. He also has a good rhythm in his run-up.Ajit AgarkarAjit has been the prime example of what a bowler can do if he understands his limitations. He now knows he can’t be a genuine fast bowler, still he can touch 140K which is still very good. He now concentrates on good line and length and swing the ball around. It has served him beautifully on this tour.Anil KumbleI spoke to him about going round the wicket and using the roughs a little more. The wickets in Australia are peculiar — they can crumble around the batting crease but generally the middle of the pitch remains good.I think he had a talk with Shane Warne before the start of the tour and came back with a few ideas which stood him good in the Test series. Warne told him about changing his grip and you now see him bowl a very good slower ball. Even in Hobart, against Zimbabwe, we saw him bowl a tossed up delivery and Grant Flower was beaten in flight and dismissed. You can see he is beginning to use that ball far more frequently.
