By IANS
New Delhi : Former fast bowlers Javagal Srinath and T.A. Sekhar have urged young seamers not to compromise on speed to sustain their international career.
"Line and length is more a one-day international stuff. It is important but at the same time you cannot compromise too much on pace," Srinath, who is also an International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee, said here Friday.
"There has to be a balance. If you want to have line and length, you must bring it with speed," he said on the sidelines of a talent hunt programme for fast bowlers in the city.
Srinath's comments came when he was asked why genuine quick bowlers like Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel and Vikram Raj Vir Singh, who used to hit the 140 kmph regularly when they burst on the scene, lost their speed gradually.
Sekhar, who is the chief coach of the Chennai-based premier bowling academy MRF Pace Foundation, said the young seamers could cut down their speed if the team management decides so but said that it was not acceptable to him.
"Can you ask Brett Lee or Shoaib Akhtar not to bowl fast?" he said.
"Do you mean to say Brett Lee is not going to last longer because he is bowling at 140 kmph?" he asked.
"If they (team management) are stressing on line and length, they must make the bowlers bowl at 140 kmph with right line and length. No batsman is comfortable facing a bowler operating at 140 kmph and above.
"If you want to bowl at 120 kmph and extend your career, then you must be able to make the ball talk. Otherwise there are any number of bowlers available."
Srinath saw no reason why a bowler should compromise on his speed.
"Till the age of 28, your pace has to be on the upswing. After that your body stops taking the load," he said.
Srinath felicitated Delhi's Abhishek Singh and Chennai's P.K. Dharma as the winners of the 'Gatorade Pacers' 2007 initiative. The duo will be trained at the MRF Pace Foundation under Dennis Lillee for two weeks. He also selected another talented Delhi boy Ravi Kant Sharma for the programme.