Former India bowling coach Bharat Arun, who assembled a pace attack that West Indies great Andy Roberts said in 2019 he envied, is set to launch a nation-wide camp to unearth young fast bowlers. Arun’s plan is to identify and nurture another Mohammed Siraj, whom he had spotted in 2017 during a net session in Hyderabad and paved his path to the Indian team in 2020.
Since stepping down as India’s bowling coach in 2021, Arun runs an academy (Coaching Beyond) in association with Ravi Shastri and R Sridhar in Chennai and Hyderabad. Since leaving the India role, he has been a part of an IPL-winning team – Kolkata Knight Riders – in 2024 and is currently part of the Lucknow Super Giants setup.
“Siraj is a wonderful story for other young upcoming fast bowlers to emulate. And in our own way, we want to do something from Coaching Beyond. It’s not only a challenge to us, but it’s also, I think, one way of doing something for Indian cricket. And more than anything else, to pick a talented boy and to give him the right kind of inputs at the right time. Inputs, I mean not only technical inputs, it’s going to be tactical, it’s going to be physical, it’s also mental,” Arun told The Indian Express.
“This country has a lot of fast bowlers around. And most of these fast bowlers around the country do not have the facilities”.
“Even though they may be exceptionally talented, the facilities are lacking for them. First is the affordability factor. Sometimes there are bowlers who come from different backgrounds, and they are not able to afford it. Or they do not have access to any good inputs to hone their skills.”
Since leaving the India role, he has been a part of an IPL-winning team – Kolkata Knight Riders – in 2024 and is currently part of the Lucknow Super Giants setup.
“So I think looking at the recent past in Indian cricket, I think there are exceptionally good bowlers hiding in different nooks and corners of our country. And I think it would be an interesting challenge to tap that potential,” he added, while pointing to the likes of Auqib Nabi who has emerged from Jammu and Kashmir and won the Ranji Trophy last season.
Laying out his plans is Arun’s way of responding to a question on whether he prefers to take another shot as the bowling coach of the Indian team. After coaching a few seasons in IPL, he is about to embark on his first season of working in the SA20 and The Hundred.
Despite his busy calendar, he still spends a majority of his time at the academy. On a hot summer afternoon in Chennai, where temperatures are touching 38 degrees, he is out coaching a handful of pacers who are bowling to St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, the CPL team that is holding a camp here.
“Continuing as a coach for India, yes, I’ve had my stint with the team. It was a very enjoyable stint. I think there is room to do a lot of work around all this to contribute more towards the development of cricket in the country. It’s not just the Indian team. I think everybody needs a specific time with the Indian team to do that. But there is a different kind of challenge. We are thinking of getting a sponsor to pick at least a dozen fast bowlers and look to give them scholarships, where we take care of their education, boarding and lodging, and also give them full-time coaching,” Arun said of his plans.
The need for such a camp is because of what Arun has observed in recent times. The IPL has given him a chance to witness talents like Harshit Rana, Prince Yadav and Mayank Yadav, to name a few, emerge, but he admitted the fast bowling resources had diminished. “I would say yes, it is a phase that keeps going on and off. So that’s why, to make sure that the fast bowlers and the supply chain remain consistent, we want to do something in our power to make sure that we contribute a little towards that,” the 63-year-old said, with the aim to target fast bowlers in the 18-22 age group for the scholarship programme.
During Arun’s stint, India had the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav; since then, the resources have been thin. While the likes of Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna have emerged and stayed in India’s setup, none are close to cementing their places in any of the formats. And Arun says he would like to give India another pacer like Siraj, who came out of nowhere and became a force to reckon with.
