India is the toughest place in the world

Former Australian seamer Glenn McGrath on Tuesday heaped praise on Umesh Yadav, saying the Indian pace spearhead understands well how to manage the workload of international cricket.

"Umesh Yadav is bowling really well at the moment, he is up match after match, he is little bit older then what was a couple of years ago, he is also lot more experienced and he knows, (or) he should know, how to prepare himself, how to recover," McGrath told reporters.

"I always say being fit is not so much, how long you can bowl, it is about how quickly you recover and as we get older we get to know ourselves better. And I think that has helped Umesh and he is bowling well, with confidence," he added.

McGrath, however, stressed on the importance of taking a break for fast bowlers.

"A fast bowler needs an off season. If you keep bowling whole year without an off season, sooner or later injuries are going to creep in, you got to have a break to put that strength and fitness back in," he said.

"Indian bowlers are going well and (Umesh) he knows how to recover and when you know that you got less chances of injuries," added the veteran pacer, who has grabbed 563 Test wickets in his career.

The former Australian speedster is here as part of MRF Pace Foundation to conduct a two-day Coaching Programme for Mumbai Cricket Association for their Ranji, Under 23 and Under-19 category of fast bowlers.

Asked about injuries that plague pacers, McGrath said: "That's the thing even in Australia and all over the world, fast bowlers get injured, it is such a tough part of the sport.

"It's an unnatural thing they say to run it and bowl fast, and put that stress on the body. They also say as we mature and get older our body sort of finishes growing and we have less injuries," he said.

The 47-year-old feels it is very rare to find someone who can bowl really fast and said he is always looking for such talents.

"Everyone wants to bowl fast, I wanted to bowl fast, but no one is express. To be express is a unique thing. It's not that many bowlers can be 140-150 kmph quicker. It is something very unique. It is a raw talent, you can't teach that," he said.

"Express bowlers are very rare and I'm always on the look-out for one. India is probably the toughest place in the world to be a fast bowler, but that plays a part. But as I said (bowling) 150 plus (kmph) is rare," said McGrath, one of the greatest in the game.

He was also of the opinion that the basic of fast bowling have not changed since the times of the fearsome West Indian attack of the 1970s.

Source: Khaleej Times