lOT OF GOOD DISSCUSION !
Yes Pakistani are really very good at fast bowling and its no brainer it need lot of muscle mass and for that good diet ( very obvious physical difference is visible between pakistani and indian player , you can notice it in even currently going test series)
Diet in pakistan is so non veg as compared to indian punjabi you just cant imagine , you have to live with them to know this . I got a chance to live and cook with them in London and i was surprised to know they put meat in each and every dish , there dishes goes like this BINDI GHOSTT , KERELA GHOSTT,DAAL GOSTT.......
and in India PUNJABI cook the exactly same dishes without GHOSTT( meat) its like BINDI<,KERELA, DAAL or sometime Aloo ( pataoes ) are added instead of GHOSTT
One more reason is that coaching at basic level is lacking for fast bowlers as most of the Indian Icons like Kumble are more of Spinner ( although a high brid one!!) so trend is not there for fast bowlers
here is the very good article about comparision of fast bowlers
Chowk: : Fast Bowling Resources India & Pakistan
There are four theories that prevail in the Pakistani cricket circles that outline the reasons for Pakistan producing fast men consistently rather then India. Rahul Bhattachariya outlines these in his book, Pundits from Pakistan, in his interview with Aqib Javed, the theories have been put forward by many people in Pakistan cricket at different times, including Imran Khan, but Aqib has put them together in his role as academy coach and under 19’s team coach in the last four years.
The four theories are based on four elements of fast bowling. To be a fast bowler you need to have, it goes without saying, speed, but in order to generate speed you generally need to have a physique suitable for bowling fast, aggression i.e. the mental make up of a bowler, willingness to bowl fast, once again mental side of things and stamina and desire, and culture and a system of grooming fast bowling. So we understand that most of these four factors, if not all of them, make up a fast bowlers along with the natural ability or talent, which is a given for any sport. A closer inspection of these factors one by one reveals the reasons for them being in an individual or not and its impact on the ability to bowl fast consistently.
Physique; no one can argue that you need a certain kind physical shape to be successful fast bowler; big broad shoulders, long legs and long arms make the art of fast bowling much easier. Lillie, Thomson, Holding, Garner, Roberts even Imran and Wasim had these qualities. Imran for long advocated that if Pakistan cricket authorities can extend the game into NWFP, especially the “agencies like Waziristan” then they will have a never ending assembly line of fast bowlers, as Pathan tribesmen living in those areas are physically very strong and ****** minded (literally that is the area where Osama Bin Ladin is arguably hiding and those tribesmen, or some of them, have been fighting US and Pakistan forces for years, they also fought USSR and eventually resulted in its collapse) and physical strength comes naturally to them. Cricket has seen a urbanized version of that in Shahid Afridi, who is a tribesman by origin but lived in Karachi for most part of his life, as a spinner he bowls his faster delivery at almost 80 mph. ( in one game against South Africa couple of years ago, his quicker delivery was quicker then Shaun Pollock’s average speed, he also bowled a quick bouncer to Brian Lara in 2005 in Wes Indies and in second innings of Faisalabad test in the recently concluded series, he took the new ball as the match was heading towards a draw and consistently bowled at 130 kmph albeit with a non coherent action) Shahid Afridi encompasses the brute force that tribal people can bring to cricket. But, tribal areas have not contributed any fast bowlers to Pakistan cricket so far, although it seems like a good plan for future, but so far their contribution is nil, and what about bowlers like Waqar, Shoib Akhtar, Sami and Malcolm Marshal none of them were very tall or big, but, quick nonetheless. On the Indian side, the fastest bowler to emerge in India for the last ten years is Agarkar, not a physical specimen of typical fast bowler shape. Although being tall and big helps, but is not necessarily the only reason for being a fast bowler. Lets not forget that Abbey Kuruvilla, Venkatesh Prasad and Debashish Mohanty were all tall and had the build of fast bowlers but could only bowl medium pace.
The next factor is aggression, how do you become aggressive and cut an intimidating picture in the field. Certainly many factors contribute to that and so far there has not been any conclusive research or psycho analysis done on fast bowlers’ mentality and origins of their aggressive behavior and nature, but Pakistani fast bowlers have pointed to one factor when speaking about Indian fast bowlers aggressiveness or lack of it. It is suggested that the reason why Pakistan produces aggressive, intimidating fast bowlers and India does not, is that Pakistanis consume lot of red meat, where as most Indians don’t. Proteins can be acquired from other sources as well, but it is said that red meat gives you a certain kind of aggressiveness and that is why bowlers like Waqar and Shoib can skittle out wickets on the basis of their presence. Once again a glance around the cricketing world gives some credence to this theory, most, traditionally, fast bowler producing countries are all red meat eating countries like Australia, South Africa and West Indies. Two of the recently aggressive Indian bowlers are both Muslims, presuming red meat eating, Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan.
Going by this, India has almost 150 million Muslims and many other ethnicities that eat red meat, Sikhs and Christians included, yet they have not produced fast bowlers, the only genuine fast bowler actually came from South India, generally a vegetarian region, although he did have the physique. Speaking about aggressive behavior and intent, what about Greg Chappel (a vegetarian), Saurav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Anil Kumble, although not fast bowlers but they have aggression aplenty.
The first two aspects raise an important question, if we assume both of the afore mentioned theories to be true, including Imran’s view on tribal Pathans being suitable to fast bowling, where can India find their next real fast bowler.
Both Imran and Aqib have said many times that the best chance of Indians finding a genuine fast bowlers lies in there northern areas, mainly Punjab, where the vast majority is of Sikhs, generally physically stronger and aggressive in nature, much like there counterparts in Pakistani Punjab that has almost exclusively produced fast bowlers in last 25 years or so, the only exception being Mohammed Sami. Sikhs eat red meat and growing in vast planes and farms makes them used to hard work and physically stronger, a pre requisite for fast bowling. But, as opposed to Pakistani Punjab, India has produced, aggressive, stylish, good looking and cunning players in the shape of Bishen Singh Bedi, Maninder Singh, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Yuvraj Singh. But none of them ever bawled fast. This is where the third theory comes into its own. Desire and willingness to bowl fast, it emanates from the basic principle of hard work, fast bowling is the hardest job in cricket along with wicket keeping. But, what makes people work hard, there are as many answers to this question as there are reasons for it not happening. But, what really encourages youngsters to work hard and take up something, which is as difficult and tiring as fast bowling. It is the urge to emulate your idols, to be some one you see in action and want to be like them. Images in a youngsters mind pretty much determine which way the kid will go. Although the Indian Punjab has all the elements of Pakistani Punjab, but, what they lacked is the critical aspect, an Idol. When every one in Pakistan wanted to run in like Imran Khan and bowl those lovely in swingers, imagining a lithe body, fair complexion, high jump and the ability to not only bowl over batmen but also women and cricket administrators, youngsters in the Indian Punjab were watching Bishen Singh Bedi weaving his web with flight and subtlety of spin bowling. Imran Khan, as much for his ability to bowl fast and his glamorous looks, proved to be a huge influence on how fast bowling was perceived in this region, which only produces mud baked heartbreaking batting tracks.
