Bangladeshi coach Chandrika Hathurasinghe, who hails from Sri Lanka, has praised the Indian fast bowling trio of the 70s and early 80s, known as the “Trinity of West Indies.” Michael Holding, a part of that formidable pace battery, has also stated that the current Indian pace attack is the finest in the world. While they emphasised on run-up, speed, and short-pitched deliveries in their era, the Indian pace bowlers now exhibit greater diversity in their repertoire.
Undoubtedly, the fast bowling quartet of the West Indies, including Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, and Malcolm Marshall, with Colin Craft also making a notable contribution during a certain period, enjoyed immense popularity during that era.
Michael Holding, who stood at a towering height of six feet, four inches, possessed an exceptionally smooth bowling action. Similarly, Mohammed Shami is recognized for his fluid and spontaneous delivery stride. In contrast, both Shami and Siraj effectively utilize the crease’s corners, exploiting the natural angles in their bowling techniques, just as Colin Croft did.
In addition to this, Joel Garner and Jasprit Bumrah share similarities in their ability to deliver yorkers and generate swings, much like Garner. Bumrah’s standout quality lies in the fact that only a handful of batsmen can anticipate the trajectory of his deliveries at the moment of release. This is why nearly every batsman across the globe approaches Bumrah’s early overs with extreme caution.
Our trio of fast bowlers, Bumrah, Shami, and Siraj, consistently maintain a wicket-taking approach, occasionally incorporating bouncers to unsettle batsmen and compel them into errors. In contrast, the West Indies’ quartet of fast bowlers had a different strategy, as they primarily aimed to deliver deliveries directed at the bodies of opposing batsmen.