Growth of fast bowlers in India has been unbelievable: Roelof van der Merwe - Exclusive interview

Senior cricketer Roelof van der Merwe is mighty impressed with the fresh breed of fast bowlers India has produced lately and the development of Indian pacers has been phenomenal.

Indian fast bowlers are ruling the roost in world cricket with their discipline and variety and van der Merwe, who has been in the international circuit for more than a decade, claimed India has come a long way.

While interacting with MyKhel in a virtual press meet from South Africa, van der Merwe - who is the leading wicket-taker in the ongoing SA20 - claimed that spinners have played a huge role in T20 cricket which is something more than people thought and even highlighted why fast bowlers are treated like gold in the format.

Why are pacers treated like gold in cricket?

When asked about his opinion about the superstar status that the fast bowlers enjoy in the game of cricket, van der Merwe said, "Spinners have played a part in T20 cricket, more than people thought. But fast bowlers are fast bowlers! If you are fast, people always have that (extra) concern about that."

Hailing the rich talent pool of quicks in India and claimed when he was playing IPL there were only a handful of genuine fast bowlers in the country.

"I think the growth of fast bowlers across the globe is good. What India has produced in the past couple of years is commendable. When I played in the IPL, there were only a couple of really good fast bowlers (in the domestic circuit), and now there are so many to pick from. The development of fast bowlers has been unbelievable. Yeah, there will always be space for a bit of pace (winks)."

Why do batters struggle against spin?

The senior spinner - who has picked up 14 wickets in six games playing for Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the competition - also spoke about why the batters are unable to play spinners well these days.

"It comes down to where you are playing, and what kind of surface you are getting. As a spinner, I've always felt the pressure in a T20 game and the game has only got better and developed more. Guys (struggle against spin because they) don't face spin much. In the context of the game, it's all about the pace (nowadays) and the left-handers bowling seam and all that stuff. But I think it goes through stages, as with anything else. Spin is playing a big part in SA20 at the moment. It might play a lesser role in the next tournament but I reckon it's how you hold up," he stated.

Asked about the batters he personally feels uncomfortable bowling to, the left-arm-orthodox tweaker said, "For me personally, guys like Heinrich Klaasen and Riley Roussow. I feel they are very good players of spin. Luckily, they haven't hurt me yet. But those are the guys against whom I've felt the pressure to bowl."

SA20 bodes well for Cricket South Africa

He even opined that the ongoing SA20 seems to have revitalised sport in the Rainbow Nation and reckons the positive buzz created in the first edition of the tournament will do a world of good for the sport in the country.

Fans are turning out in big numbers at the stadium in the flagship T20 competition and the former Protea cricketer - who now plays for the Netherlands - believes SA20 is just the catalyst the country needed to uplift the sport.

"It's a massive deal for South African cricket. Just looking at the tournament thus far, the support has been unreal. We've had a sold-out crowd and if I speak about the collection, we've not had a sold-out crowd in a long time. I think it's a great injection into South African cricket. It can only be good as we need people to want to watch the game and love the game in the country and I think it's a real boost for that. So, it's a massive foot forward for South African cricket," the 38-year-old cricketer stated.