Mumbai: T20 cricket has made life difficult for bowlers, especially for the pace bowlers who are often given the responsibility of bowling in death overs.
Veteran Australian fast bowler Brett Lee believes that taking wickets is the best way to restrict your opponents from scoring and for that bowlers need to be braver and have to add more variations to their game.
"For me, what's important, especially in T20 cricket, is that as a bowler you must leave your ego at home. You will get hit for sixes, but that does not mean you will not be able to take wickets,” Lee said.
"A good length with a brand new ball or with even an older one will still get you wickets. Just because it's T20, it doesn't mean that you can't maintain a good line, bowl an accurate short ball, a good yorker. These are essential for all bowlers.”
Sachin Tendulkar and former Australian speedster Mitchell Johnson attended Brett Lee's event in Mumbai. (Photo: PTI)
The pacer, who took over 700 wickets for Australia across all three formats of the game, is in India for the launch of Bowling Master, a tool to help fast bowlers improve their accuracy. At the event, Lee said the fast bowlers are not taking enough risks in the final overs.
"Change of pace is very important, especially in the shorter format. But the one thing I have not seen of late is the slower ball bouncer. If you bowl the slower ball bouncer too high, you are going to be hit for a six. But if you can get the length right, you can induce the batsman to play a false stroke as it's a great tool. Bowling at the death in IPL, I have not seen wide line yorker. This will come with practice," he said.
Quizzed about the most accurate bowler in T20 cricket, Binga picked Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah for his ability to regularly bowl the toe-crushers.
“Bumrah is a guy that can bowl the perfect yorker. Guys that haven’t quite got it, go for six. A yorker is a good yorker in Test, ODI’s and T20 cricket. I still want to see bowlers executing it, it’s all about practice,” Lee said.
