Gambhir has been the most difficult batsman to bowl to; Umesh, Varun are future of Indian bowling: Morne Morkel

There is no denying the fact the Morne Morkel had been a force to reckon with in IPL Season V. It was his pace attack from the front that gave Delhi Daredevils an edge over their rivals throughout the tournament and therefore when he was dropped from the crucial tie against Chennai Super Kings, which was a virtual semi-final, the result was for all to see. Delhi was sent packing off the league and Virender Sehwag too admitted later that Morne was missed in the match.

However the man himself said that he enjoyed every bit of this season. Morkel said IPL was a test of character, where you have to play so many games at a stretch against the top batsmen of the world, who are looking to hit you out of the ground, says a report in the Times Of India. He added that for a bowler it’s more important to be clever. “A paceman should understand the conditions and work accordingly. Pace will always be important, but it’s not the be-all and end-all, said Morne, adding that he is particularly impressed with Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron who are future of Indian pace attack.

“If they know how to control themselves, they should have great careers. The BCCI, too, should look to have a bowling plan for these guys so that they are not overworked,” said Morkel, adding that Gautum Gambhir as the batsman has been the most difficult for him to bowl to in IPL, says the TOI report.

“Gautam Gambhir has always been a quality player and went into this tournament with an excellent plan. He has mixed caution with aggression quite beautifully and that has worked well for him.”

Meanwhile Aakash Chopra in his column in Hindustan Times writes that while our batsmen have learnt a few new tricks to stay ahead of the game, the same can't be said about our bowlers. “In fact, even the settled India bowlers have lost a bit of sheen over the last seven weeks. Let's figure out the new ball options available to the India team. Zaheer Khan is most likely to spearhead the bowling attack but the economy of 7.55 over 15 games is a true reflection of how much he enjoys bowling in this format,” he writes, adding that while he’s a different bowler in the remaining two formats, he’s never been India's best in the T20 format.